How to create a pitch video for your idea

what

Before you do anything else on this page, make sure you've reviewed the slides on how to pitch (and you should have also viewed the many embedded pitching videos!).

Pitching is kind of like a sport. You only get better through practice, and you learn by watching your own pitches on video as well as those of others (great pitches and bad pitches are both categories of accelerated learning). If you decide to become a "student" of pitching you will become a master of pitching. So study pitching as if it were your major in college.

Major points

  • Pitching is a process intended to capture your audience’s interest by making them identify with an unmet need or “big pain,” then introducing your own brilliant solution (the solution must logically solve the big pain, and be "congruent" with the scale, scope, and frequency of the big pain. Just saying.)
  • In less than one minute, you describe the pain, solution, how you’re different, why you? (or a status update, or a story about how you became passionate about this problem...), and a call to action
  • Generally, Your goal is to bait the hook, not close the deal – your product or service description and rewards should help close the deal
  • In crowdfunding the goal of your pitch is to make your campaign page “sticky” so that they will read your story and pledge-reward offerings. In a so-called "elevator pitch," your goal is to hear them say, "Tell me more..."

How

Read:

    • Lights, camera, action: How to craft a compelling pitch video (entrepreneur.indiegogo.com). "It can be scary or intimidating to think about making a video but know that all great videos have the same basic elements." Some key points: keep it around one minute; focus first on the problem and its aspects, then focus on benefits your unique features provide; be real and personal (Backers get excited about a product when they connect with the team behind it. So keep it real. A personal connection can be deeply rewarding for you and your contributors. It also shows them that they can trust you to build and deliver the product. So be sure to: Speak directly to the camera; Be completely honest ( never misrepresent your company or product); Show us your passion! If you believe in it, we’ll believe in it! AND... make sure we can hear you, AND...end with a call to action (discussed in the slides). Try to see the video through the eyes of someone who knows nothing about your product.

and this:

  • So you've viewed the how to pitch slides; here's a summary of what you should do in this specific instance of creating a video pitch

The pitch

  1. Open with a big pain or unmet need or WOW-inducing statement that instantly captures your audience’s attention
  2. Follow your opener with your brilliant solution
    • Show the product or service
  3. State how your offering is different from what audience is currently using – cherry-pick lesser features of your competition
  4. Let the audience know “Why You” are the person they should back (or)
    • Let them know where you are in the project (status) (or)
    • Emphasize the cool factor or utility to current customers
  5. Close with a call to action (pledge now, share this link with your friends, retweet, etc.)

The video

  • Video offers a deep, rich communicative experience that can engage the viewer more effectively than text or pictures alone
  • A video says you care enough about what you’re doing to put yourself out there
  • A video is by far the best way to get a feel for the emotions, motivations, and character of a project – it’s a demonstration of effort and a good predictor of success.
  • As a result… “projects with videos succeed at a much higher rate than those without (50% vs. 30%)”

and finish this module by doing this:

  • Use your iPhone or close substitute (in landscape mode, please) or your computer camera to create your pitching video: use the big pain, brilliant solution, differentiation, why you?, and CTA framework to scaffold your pitch. Email your video pitching file to me at NVDBAMA@gmail.com (or to the email address that corresponds with the course you're taking from me) or post your video to YouTube as unlisted (only people with the link will be able to view it) and send me the link to your video.l