http://video.yahoo.com/

http://www.brightcove.com/

http://www.metacafe.com/

You will find videos there on just about anything imaginable!

The nice thing about YouTube and Google Video is that they easily allow you to share these videos with others by providing you with the means to add the video to your website, or your blog, or to email it to a friend.

If you want to add videos from Google or YouTube to your eBook you need to build an EXE eBook, as this is the only eBook format that can support this.

Although not all the video contributors on YouTube and Google Video enable this function, for the many that do, there will be a link on the right side of the page. This link will provide a snippet of HTML code that you add to your website or blog.

Once you’ve added this code, and you run your site or blog, it appears as though the video is running right from your blog or website. In reality, it is running from the YouTube or Google Video website servers (computers) which saves you a lot of money because running video from your own website can end up costing a lot – depending on how many visitors watch it.

Even major players in Internet Marketing are uploading some of their videos onto YouTube and Google Video in order to save money. You don’t usually have to worry about this unless you have a lot of visitors watching video that’s actually located on your site.

As we mentioned previously, the charge comes from what is called “bandwidth” use.  In the example given we talked about 10 different visitors watching a video that was 10 megabytes in size, which would amount to a bandwidth usage of 100 megabytes (Mb).

However, the truth is that many online videos are up to and sometimes over 100 megabytes in size. Every time someone watches the video that’s actually on your site, 100 megabytes of data is transferred from your website to your viewer’s computer. If 10 people watch it, that’s 1,000 megabytes, or 1 Gigabyte.

If 100 people watch it, that’s 10 Gigabytes of data transferred in the video. If your website hosting company only allows you 5 Gigabytes of data transfer, you will get charged for the remaining 5 Gigabytes of over usage.

Major website hosting companies like 1and1 give you bandwidth of over 2,000 Gigabytes per month. If you plan on using video you will actually store and use on your website, make sure the website hosting company you choose gives you ample bandwidth. Also find out what their additional bandwidth charges are.

You have to decide if uploading your video to YouTube or Google Video helps in your ultimate goals for your business. Just remember that others will have access to it as well, which can be used to your advantage if you are promoting your product or website in the process.

The only trade-off in using other people’s business videos from YouTube and Google Video is that, like you, these companies also want to promote their products, services, or websites through their video. You need to assess each video’s viability. However, you can find some great training videos there with little or no promotion.

Using video on your website to actually promote your product could also be beneficial for you, in that it gives people who either don't want to read your sales page, or don't have the time to stop for too long, a quick overview of your product and how it will benefit them.

Notice I said, “Benefit THEM”.

That's called the "What's In It For Me?" factor and it is extremely important. If you can only say how good your product is and what it offers, but can't say what benefits your customer will get from it, then you should either rethink your sales pitch or search the Internet and hire someone else to write your sales page for you. Always see things from your customer’s point of view.

Another thing about video on your sales page is that you can direct your prospect on what to do next. You always want to have the outcome in mind. For example, you could say, "If you're really serious about (mention the benefits here) then scroll to the bottom of this page, click on the I-Want-It-Now button, and instantly you will be (restate the benefits)."

If your software allows you the option of letting the viewer click the play button to watch the video, rather than automatically starting, then I personally would use that route. Remember, some people are surfing the Internet at work and don't want others to know.

Also, they may not have speakers set up on their computer and you would look like a goof talking away and not being heard. It doesn't look professional.

Some video screen capture programs, like Camtasia, will offer you the ability to make a video, convert it into a flash video for streaming on the Internet, then, once the video is finished, it will whisk the viewer off to a website that you determine. (You enter the website address in the creation stage.)

This means that you can put out a free video on how to do something like check the sparkplugs on a car engine. Then, once the video finishes, it transfers the viewer automatically to your website that promotes your new video series on how to maintain your car engine without being an auto mechanic. Maybe you sell car maintenance products.

Or, if you sell insurance online, you could have a video that shows your prospect how to fill in the form. Once they've watched the video they are immediately, and automatically, redirected to where the online form is located, along with a downloadable eBooklet version of the how-to video, which can be printed.

If you have a site selling a variety of products, you may use a video to show your prospect how to navigate through your site, or even how to order.

If you’re into health and wellness products, you could have a video introducing the benefits of certain products or educating your visitor on why they need nutritional products.

There are so many uses for video. It's mind blowing. The possibilities are endless, and as new software technology comes out there will be even more things that you'll be able to do. I've only scratched the surface here to give you a taste of what's possible. The rest is only limited by your imagination and creativity.

Search online and see what other people are doing with video, then get creative and get shooting.

Remember, there's no point in reinventing the wheel. If you find someone doing something that seems to work really well, then, without copying the content, you can certainly use the idea or style for your own benefit. But remember, people will do that to you as well when you have a great marketing idea that can’t be copyright protected. Another option, instead of duplicating what's being done, would be to become an affiliate marketer for their product. (Remember, an “affiliate” is like a commissioned sales person).

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