Diva Mogul

The blog about business and entrepreneurship

Are you considering creating your own videos or show here on Twolia and/or on another site like YouTube? You might find consistency and frequent video posts are the key to becoming an online video sensation. Here’s why:

Humans are creatures of habit. They like stability and have a tendency to remember something if it’s part of their daily or weekly schedule. If you make it a point to post your videos on a regular basis (meaning daily or weekly), people are more likely to come back and see what’s new.

People want to feel identified with you.
Why do you tune into your favorite television show every single week? Most likely because you either feel identified with the characters or are seeking entertainment. Use this same logic to get people to watch your videos.

People who have been successful in the online video world have mastered the art of giving people what they want. How will you give them what they want?

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Besides great sound, the other important element to a great video or vlog is LIGHTING. Without great lighting, nobody can see your pretty face and unless you’re as famous as Selena Gomez & Demi Lovato, they won’t stick around to watch.

An example of bad lighting & what NOT TO DO:

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Someone turn on the lamp, please!

An example of GREAT video lighting:

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Even when iJustine is out and about, she makes lighting her priority.

  • You don’t have to spend a lot of money on fancy lighting, particularly if you’re just starting out in video. Check Ikea for deals, they have some pretty nice lamps in the $12-20 range.

wordpressThis week is fun because you’re picking your Wordpress Theme for your small business website!

There are two types of Wordpress themes: free and premium (paid).

  • If you have a couple of extra bucks to spend, I’d highly recommend buying a premium theme. Most cost between $30-90 and provide technical support in their forums in you have issues as well as a how-to manual for installation and use. Not only that, many times you’re able to customize these themes a lot easier because they come with simple buttons to change the colors. If you’re talking SEO, these themes are the way to go.

Google ‘Wordpress Premium Themes’ for a full listing of available options. Here are a few I’ve used and enjoy:

-WP Remix

-DIY Themes

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Presentation is everything and when it comes to putting your jewels on display (no, not those jewels :-P ), lighting is everything.

Perhaps you want to sell some of your goodies here on Twolia, but don’t want to pay a professional photographer? The good news: You can do it yourself and it’s easy. Check out this video:

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Tools needed:

-Box

-Knife to cut the box

-White poster board

-Tape

-Lighting

For more information on how to make a lightbox, visit Strobist (picture, video courtesy of this website) for details.

picture-11When building a self-hosted Wordpress site for your small business or endeavor, you’ll need a domain name and a host.

Picking your domain name:
To break it down further—what address are people going to type in to find your website? Twolia’s domain name is www.twolia.com. Unclaimed domain names are typically inexpensive and cost an average of $10/year. GoDaddy.com is an excellent place to start your domain name search. Pick a good one!

Choosing a host:

The next thing you’ll need for a self-hosted Wordpress site is a host. Think of it as real estate rental in cyber space—your files need a space to call home. When dealing with website hosting, always remember that cheap isn’t necessarily the best option. You also need to make sure the host is Wordpress Compatible. This is super important. Host Gator or Blue Host have good reputations and work well with Wordpress.

Facebook Walls.
Utilize Facebook as a platform to showcase your videos. Post the video to your profile. Type in a brief content description (1-2 sentences) and ask your friends to click “Share” and pass on the good find if they like the video. This will post your video to their wall giving you more exposure.

Ask Bloggers.

If you have a really great video that pertains to a certain blog, contact the blogger. Tell them why your video is helpful to their readers and ask them to post the video, but only if they like it. Do your research and don’t just approach any blogger.

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Showcasing your talent here on Twolia is easy. You’ve got the talent and Twolia has the platform!

Perhaps you have ideas for a video, but aren’t quite sure where to begin. Here are a few resources to help you become the next Lady Twolia.

CAMERAS:

  • My personal favorite is the FLIP ULTRA HD. It’s inexpensive (under $200) and you can’t beat the easy-to-use built in software. I like that you can take this camera anywhere and aren’t stuck filming from your computer.
  • If you have a Mac or any computer with a built-in-camera, this is the perfect way to start creating videos. Macs even come with free video editing software, so take advantage of iSight and iMovie. Watch the online tutorials if you’re not sure how it works.

wordpressIn a previous post, I mentioned Wordpress as a great option for small business owners who want an attractive, inexpensive, easy-to-use website. Because this blog is targeted to small business owners and artists/musicians who want to make their mark in the online world, I’ve decided Wordpress needs more than a passing mention…

I’m going to do a series of blog posts that will help YOU learn about and use Wordpress for your small business or creative ventures.

Because Wordpress is a FREE open source platform, developers create themes and plugins for people like you and me, however, it’s up to us to physically create the site we want. While I hope to make the process easier, you’ll need time and patience to do this yourself because there could be a learning curve. The Twolia crowd is a bright, talented, and creatively-inclined bunch, so I have know no doubt YOU CAN DO IT.

If you’re up to creating your very own www.yournamehere.com website with Wordpress, check back every Wednesday for tips, how-to, and other information.

HOMEWORK: This week, start exploring more about what self-hosted Wordpress is and what this platform can do for your business. Visit Wordpress.org and Google “self-hosted Wordpress” to learn more.

Stay Tuned: Next week we’ll start getting dirty!

This past November, I said goodbye to my dear readers and wished everyone the best of luck here at Twolia. But today I’m here and very proud to announce that Diva Mogul is BACK!

Yes, I’ll be here at Twolia, once again, blogging 3 times a week. For now, expect to hear from me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday about business & entrepreneurship.

Over the next few months, you’ll notice the blogs here at Twolia shifting more towards a female musician and artist focus. Diva Mogul fits into the new mix because it’s about business and enterprising women.

Is there anything pertaining to business or entrepreneurship that you would like to know? Any special topics you’d like me to cover here at Diva Mogul? Leave a comment or send an email…

It’s great to be back! See you Wednesday…

Right now I’m giving thanks to all of you.

Thanks for giving me this great space to allow my creative juices to flow, voice what’s on my insanely active mind, and tell you what’s up in the business world.

Blogging with Twolia has been one heck of a ride.

I’ve had a great time being a part of Twolia during the continual growth. I’ve been here as new bloggers were brought onboard to unleash their sweet fury, share their fashion fetishes, and delve into TMI regarding not-so-savory relationships and savvy celebrity gossip among other topics.  Now there’s also a store, videos, music, and astrology reports.

Growth sweet growth.

But, as nothing is permanent in life, with growth comes inevitable change. My life is busy these days and so is business. Because of this, I have found myself taking a look at la dolce vita and thinking about my own growth and changes.

Some things in my life will stay very much the way they are while other things, naturally, will have to go.

Among some of these changes, I have decided, is to bid farewell to my Diva Mogul blogging days here at Twolia.

I’ve had fun being a part of the blogging team and virtually meeting so many magnificent fellow Diva Moguls.

Know that this isn’t the end of me! I’ll be lurking around Twolia from time to time, reading and commenting or listening to the latest tunes from groovy chicks like you.

Take all this as further proof that…You can take the girl out of Twolia, but you can’t take the Twolia out of the girl!

You can also keep in touch with me at EntrepreneurGoddess.com. My contact information is on that site, so take note. And, as usual, you can follow me on Twitter @egoddess. ;-)

[Cue the Sound of Music] So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen good-bye…

Wishing you success in business and in life,

Katie :-)

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