One of the biggest marketing tools at your disposal is the power of video. If you don't have video on your site, you're missing out on a big opportunity to showcase your credibility.

But what if you don't have fancy lights and video equipment?

You don't need fancy schmancy stuff. You can do very well with a simple screen video.

You know what a screen video is, don't you? A screen video, or screencast as it is sometimes called, is you sitting at your computer recording what's happening on your screen. You could be recording a presentation. Or demonstrating or teaching software features, seminars and other instructional information.

Yet the moment you sit down to do this screen video, you run into a logistical nightmare.

You have to have your slides/screen ready. You have to record your voice. You have to make sure the slides move ahead correctly. You have to hit the "record" button at the right time. And inevitably all this juggling leads to crappy screen videos.

So what's the best way to record screen video/slides?

* Record the video first.
* Record the audio next.
* Import the audio and place it at the correct spot.

STEP 1: RECORD THE VIDEO FIRST
Most of us may baulk at having to record the video first. This is because we're not sure how much time we'll need to describe what's happening on screen.

And so I use a simple rule of thumb. When you're recording the screen video, allow for about three seconds.

The brain takes about a second to recognise what's on the screen. Then it has to pay attention to the audio, and what you're teaching. When you watch the video example (see the link, above right), notice how that three-second rule has been broken. So the slides seem to pop up so fast that your brain struggles to cope.

If on the other hand each animation/slide movement had about three seconds, you'd see the picture, listen to the audio and still have a second to absorb the information.

This is why it's important to have only ONE message per slide.

In the video example, you'll see that rule two has been broken. Some slides have two and three messages. And it leaves your brain scrambling, because you're struggling to keep up at all times.

STEP 2: RECORDING THE AUDIO
This can be easily done with a USB microphone. The advantage of recording audio later is two-fold: You don't have to focus on several things at a time; and if you make a mistake with the audio, you don't have to stop the video.