25 must-have tools every entrepreneur needs to...

25 MUST-HAVE TOOLS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR NEEDS TO CREATE AND

MEASURE AN ONLINE VIDEO COURSE

http://vzaar.co/29ATpWA

25 Must Have Tools Every Entrepreneur Needs to Create and Measure an Online Video Course

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Contents

Why Choose Video? A Word From The Pros ..................................................... 4

Tools For Creating Your Website ...................................................................... 5

Security Tools .................................................................................................. 7

Tools For Creating Content ............................................................................ 10

Tools For Adding Sound And Music To Your Videos ........................................ 13

Tools For Embedding Video Into Your Online Course .................................... 14

Tools For Images And Infographics ................................................................ 15

Tools For Creating And Editing Podcasts ....................................................... 17

Tools For Measuring Popularity And Engagement ......................................... 19

Tools For Measuring Video Views................................................................... 21

Smart Feedback Tools .................................................................................... 22

Survey Tools ................................................................................................... 24

And Some Last Minute Tips From The Pros… ................................................. 28

Get Started Today ........................................................................................... 29

Thanks To ....................................................................................................... 30


Starting your online video course can be mind-boggling. There are so many things to

think about, so many options to consider and about a hundred people surrounding you, insisting you install a billion different

pieces of software.

It’s dizzying. Exhausting. And I don’t blame you if you’re a little overwhelmed. Heck, I’d be surprised if you weren’t! Which is why

I’ve come up with this nifty guide of tools to make your life a bit easier.

Enjoy :)


4

Why Choose Video? A Word From The Pros

The main advantage of video is that it’s a more effective media for training as well as sales. It allows you to effectively build a relationship with your prospects and customers while they are watching. Getting your face and voice in front of people repeatedly is powerful.

In a world with digital distractions, busy schedules, and short attention spans, video-based eLearning is a game-changer. Not only does it simplify complex subjects and transform them into visually engaging eLearning experiences, but it can also enhance online learners’ engagement and knowledge retention.

First, video is an ideal format for connecting learners personally with an instructor or concept. A second advantage is that video is easily distributed and shared across all environments and devices. In addition, video is a malleable environment that supports many different teaching styles and can be used effectively by both beginners and experts. Finally, video allows us to segment instruction flexibly , which makes it easy to reuse and reconfigure content.

Jon Ochs, @Jon_OchsMillionaire entrepreneur and online course creator

Christopher Pappas, @CPappasFounder of The eLearning Industry

Rob Reynolds, @xplanarobChief product officer at EdTech platform, NextThought

“

“

“


https://twitter.com/Jon_Ochs

http://www.jonochsblog.com/

https://twitter.com/CPappas

https://elearningindustry.com/members/christopher-pappas

https://twitter.com/xplanarob

https://nextthought.com/

Tools For Creating Your Website



6

WordpressKey Features

Price

First things first. In order to have complete control and flexibility over your online course and business, you’re going to need to create your own website. Don’t worry, this isn’t as scary as you might think.

Once upon a time, in the age of deafening

Wordpress is the world’s most popular website building platform, used by 26% of the world’s websites including eBay and Sony Music. It’s super easy to use and you can make it your own with a world of free and premium themes to choose from, as well as quick customization tools.

dial-up tones, creating and designing your website could have taken weeks. You’d study internet code, stare at your screen and tear your hair out, only to throw your hefty desktop across the room.Today it’s much easier. Thanks to Content Management Systems like Wordpress.

Thousands of free and premium themes and templatesHuge range of plugins available: From membership plugins to multimedia management and everything in betweenSuper-quick, easy to use interface. Upload and embed files in a couple of clicksMobile friendlyBuilt-in social sharingSearch Engine OptimizationIn-depth statsStrong support community both on Wordpress and external forums

Free! Or premium memberships start at $8.25 per month, with a 14 day free trial available.Premium themes are individually priced. Plugins are free or individually priced.



http://wordpress.com


7

Security ToolsLet me guess. You’ve downloaded this guide because you want to make money from your online course. You want to make some profit from it - which means you can’t have the risk of anyone coming along to view your content for free, or worse yet, of some pirate

plundering your content.

This means you’re going to need some sort of security plugin to make your online course as close to pirate-proof as you can.

Let’s EncryptKey Features

Price

First off, get yourself a shiny green padlock for your website URL, otherwise known as an HTTPS Certificate. This will determine your website as secure and so give you and your students peace of mind that no one can intercept anything that passes between you and them.

Provides free, legit HTTPS certificatesAdds a green padlock to your website URLCompatible with any server, which has a domain nameCertifies multiple domain names if you have more than one website

Free!


https://letsencrypt.org/


8

Restrict Content Pro

S2 Member Plugin

Key Features

Key Features

Price

Price

A complete membership solution for WordPress sites that will restrict certain areas of your site so only subscribers can access them. Create unlimited subscription levels, manage members, track payments, offer discounts, and more.

Turns your free website into a money-making membership site. Control and manage everything to do with your subscriptions and memberships in one plugin.

Create an unlimited number of discount codes for subscribersIntegrations with multiple payment platforms (Stripe, Braintree, 2Checkout, Paypal)Easy to use reports to show you how well your site is performingSend welcome emails to new members, email payment receipts and expiration reminders

Restrict content and pages of your choice with a signup formLink to online payment software (e.g. Paypal)Link to your Email Service Provider (e.g. Mailchimp)Set up secure paymentsSet up enrolment listsGenerate discount vouchersSecurity encryption key and certificateCustomizable email templatesMailing list integrationDownload restriction

From $49 per month

Free! Pro accounts start from $89 (one-time payment)


https://restrictcontentpro.com/

http://s2member.com/


9

Piano

Gumroad

Key Features

Key Features

Price

Price

Piano is a fantastic solution for a website you’ve built from scratch or with any CMS. It sets up a paywall and subscription signup page to restrict your content from non-members.

Not only does Gumroad protect your content from non-subscribers, but it also helps you grow your audience. With a wealth of offer codes and vouchers to offer your audience, you can draw subscribers in. Keep hold of them using the built-in emailing software. You can also track your success using Gumroad’s analytics tool.

Customizable templates for landing pages and discount promos Send out automated notifications to subscribers whose cards are about to expireTracks your campaignsExportable reports on your site’s analyticsSet up subscriptions or one-time access and paymentGrant free and paid trials Manage your users’ identities, profiles and accounts Download restriction

Customizable landing pagesEasily embed an email signup formIntegrate your existing email list, update and add to it or create a new one from scratchSet up email updates and workflows to deliver content to your subscribersTrack your conversion rate, direct sales and audience location with the analytics toolGenerate license keysDownload restrictionBuilt-in encryption key

Piano takes a percentage cut from the revenue you make. There’s also a free trial which allows for up to three $5 transactions

From $10 per month, with a 14 day free trial available


https://piano.io/

https://gumroad.com/

Tools For Creating Content



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Tools For Creating Videos

Now you’ve got your website up and running and you’ve secured it with a shiny new padlock, it’s time to cram it with content! And I’ve got some wonderful news for you: there

are some slick and affordable tools just a click away to get you started creating your online course and sharing it with members in no time.

ScreenflowKey Features

Price

Records your screen to show your viewerexactly what you’re doing. This is particularly useful for showing people around a new piece of software.

For Apple devices onlyRecord your entire screen or a chosen section for any amount of timeSplit and shorten your clipsCreate “callouts” to highlight your cursor and make your actions super clearImport your other media files, including pictures, slides, video clips and audio files

$99 (one-time payment) with a 30-day free trial available

Where a picture paints 1000 words, a one minute video paints 1.8 million

(Forrester Research.)


http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/


12

Adobe CaptivateKey Features

Price

An all-in-one eLearning create and design solution. You can draft and create story-boards, choose from a myriad of customizable themes and templates, add slides, videos, audio and images and edit everything into one neat little lesson. You can even make your videos interactive.

Interactive learning improves learners’ engagement and memory (Mind Research Institute). It releases a neurotransmitter in your brain called dopamine, which speeds up the transition of the short term to long term memory. So if you pop a few games and buttons into your videos, your subscribers are more likely to remember the info you’re teaching them!

Available for Windows and MacCreate storyboards and slidesRecord screencastsSplit and shorten your clipsImport and merge multimedia with slides, text and animationsInclude interactive elements to increase your learners’ engagementCreate workflows in your videos, so the lesson or story changes for each viewer depending on what they click Templates for games and quizzes to include in your classes and customizeEasy to use interfaceShare, save, embed and upload your clips to your websiteUse GPS support to deliver content and assess your students based on their geographical location

From $29.99 per month, with a 30 day free trial available


http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/captivate.html

http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/infographic-brains-games-and-learning

http://blog.mindresearch.org/blog/infographic-brains-games-and-learning


13

Tools For Adding Sound And Music To Your VideosUnless you’re using silence to make a point or teach a lesson, your video classes won’t feel right without some audio accompaniment. Not to mention you’d cut auditory learners from your audience.

A Stanford study found that music engages the brain and improves attention and memory. If you play the right kind of sounds or music in the background when teaching

a key concept, your viewers are more likely to remember it. Just make sure it fits with the video content. You don’t want to distract your viewers with an overly loud song or noise that has nothing to do with what you’re teaching them.

Use these awesome websites to find royalty-free sounds and music to accompany your videos.

FreesoundKey Features

Price

You can pretty much find any sound effect you can think of on here: from crunching a taco to all kinds of weather. Huge library of free to use sound effects with

Creative Commons licenseRegister and upload your own songs and

sounds to share with your fellow creativesFree!

IncompetechKey Features

Price

Incompetech is the Freesound for songs and soundtracks. If you want some free music to compliment your course, this website is the place to get it.

Huge music library displaying songs with a range of different licensesOn-site directory explaining the allowances and restrictions of each content licenseSearch songs by genre to find the perfect backing track for your video classFree when you attribute the song you use, or

buy a standard license for $30 a track


https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-pay-attention-stanford-study-finds.html

https://www.freesound.org/

https://incompetech.com/


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Tools For Embedding Video Into Your Online Course Now you’ve created your awesome video content, you need a way to add it into your course site for your learners to enjoy. For secure playback, YouTube and Vimeo are not the answer. By keeping non-subscribers from seeing your videos, you can make them a real money-maker for your course.

You need a secure video hosting platform to protect your videos from pirates. I have the perfect tool to keep your videos nice and safe. Tailor your videos to your brand and add calls-to-action to turn your visitors into paying subscribers.

vzaarKey Features

Price

vzaar hosts, secures and measures the success of all your online videos. This super supportive and high quality video hosting platform allows you to upload, secure and embed your videos in just a few clicks.

You can edit your uploaded videos at any time. vzaar will automatically update your changes wherever you’ve embedded your videos, so you don’t have to.

Easy to use interface and video analyticsSmooth and reliable streamingSecure your videos with domain control, encrypted streaming, watermarking and password protectionCustomize the video player color and borders to match the style of your siteEmbed your logo, brand text, calls-to-action and email signup forms to engage your viewers and convert them into customersAdd subtitles, cue points and chapters to your videosFrom $25.00 per month with a 30 day free

trial available




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Tools For Images And InfographicsNow you’ve got your video classes on your site looking awesome. Perhaps you want to provide transcripts, blog posts or a written assignment to accompany them. In this case, it’s a good idea to include a few pictures to brighten up your text.

Not only will they make your course that little bit prettier but images will also help you get your message across faster and improve your learners’ memory and engagement.

Adobe PhotoshopKey Features

Price

You’ve probably heard a lot about Photoshop, but you might not know how to use it. Worry not. There are some fab free guides that make it easy to edit your pictures and video assets in no time.

Cut and crop your imagesAdjust the colour and brightnessChoose from a range of filters and alter them to your likingResize your imagesColor grade and add filters to your video assetsMerge multiple files and make your classes look awesome

$9.99 per month, with a 30 day free trial available

Visuals stimulate imagination and improve learning by 400%

(Meeting Network)


http://adobe.com/photoshop

http://web.archive.org/web/20001102203936/http://3m.com/meetingnetwork/files/meetingguide_pres.pdf


16

EasellyKey Features

Price

Infographics appeal to visual and text-based learners at the same time. Plus, they allow you to get your point across much faster and in a fun way too. Instead of a boring black and white table, jazz your class up with a pie chart. Cut down blocky text with an annotated map or diagram. Convey an essay in one awesome infographic.

Get started with a customizable infographic template or create your own from scratchFormat your infographic to match your course, brand and website: colors and fonts, size and position, text and images

Free!


https://www.easel.ly/


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Tools For Creating And Editing PodcastsPodcasts are crazy popular these days. The number of podcasts on ITunes doubled between 2013 and 2015 (Medium) and there are now 55 podcasts recorded every moment (CopyBlogger). They allow your learners to listen to your class content while out and about jogging and driving, shopping and queuing and whatever else they cram into their day. They’re a great way to appeal to busy learners.

So why not pop a few podcasts into your online course? You can make a voice recording with a microphone attached to your device, a voice recording app or a decent dictaphone and upload them easily onto your course site. Here are the tools you’ll need to edit and upload your audio.

Adobe CaptivateKey Features

Price

Not only can you create your storyboards, slides and videos from scratch, Adobe Captivate also has easy audio editing software for videos and podcasts.

Easy to use interfaceCreate, edit and mix audio recordingsCreate workflowsAdjust sound quality, cut and change clips and alter the volume Easily share, save, embed and upload your clips to your website



https://medium.com/@slowerdawn/how-podcasts-have-changed-in-ten-years-by-the-numbers-720a6e984e4e#.cipgfhgrf

http://www.copyblogger.com/growth-of-podcasting/

http://adobe.com/captivate


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vzaar PodcastsKey Features

Price

Not only can you securely upload your videos to vzaar: you can upload your podcasts as well. You can format, replace and embed your vzaar podcasts into your website and emails and track their success just as you can with your videos.

Easily upload your audio content onto your website and iTunesCreate podcasts from your existing video content so your visitors can choose to watch or listen to your classEncrypt and watermark your podcasts to secure them from pirates and hackersTrack your podcast analyticsAdd brand text and call-to-actions to turn your listeners into customers




Tools For Measuring Popularity And Engagement

Tools For Measuring Popularity And Engagement


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Tools For Measuring Popularity And EngagementAnalytics are the key to your success. How can you improve if you only guess at your strengths and weaknesses? You need to keep track of how many people come to your site, watch your videos and sign up to

your course or mailing list. These tools make it easy to constantly monitor and improve your video course.

Google AnalyticsKey Features

Price

Google Analytics gathers quantitative data on where visitors and customers go on your site and how they engage with it. Track how your visitors find your site, how many of them bounce from your pages and how many become customers.

Monitor the analytics of each page on your siteFind out which of your classes are most popular and which ones aren’tTrack analytics across all devicesFind out how your visitors access your course and whether this affects their engagementInstall Google Analytics straight onto your Wordpress siteIntegrate Google Analytics into your vzaar account to track the success of your video classes

Free for a small business account


https://analytics.google.com/


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Tools For Measuring Video ViewsAnalyze video data, play count and bandwidth consumption to see which videos work best for you. See how your viewers engage with your videos by tracking where

Standard measurement systems calculate your videos’ popularity by measuring the number of times they’re loaded on a page (impressions) against their play count. They would rank a video with 10,000 impressions and 3,500 plays (35% play/impression) as less popular than a video with 100 impressions and 40 plays (40% play/impression). This is because they don’t take the scale of your videos into account. But scale might well be your primary

they pause, restart, use the seek button and stop watching. You can also monitor your videos’ popularity with the vzaar playability index (vpi).

concern as it determines which video generates the most interest. vzaar understands the importance of this, which is why we’ve come up with the vpi. It measures your videos’ scale as well to give you a more accurate popularity percentage. If your video doesn’t get as high a popularity percentage as you’d hoped, you can change it to reduce the risk of your class bombing and improve your chances of success.

vzaarKey Features

Price

The vpi Explained

vzaar keeps track of all your videos’ analytics, based on the amount of times they’re seen, played and paused. Your video analytics are super easy to access and interpret, helping you to predict the popularity of your video ahead of time.

Hourly break down so you know when your videos are most activevpi shows your videos’ popularity: the higher the score the more popular your videoGoogle Analytics integration puts all your website analytics in one placeTrack when and where people watch your videosMeasure how much of the video your audience watches





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Smart Feedback ToolsSmart feedback tools go a step further than simple analytics. They monitor the behaviour of every visitor to your site, letting you gain a better understanding of how your visitors interact with your course.

They track how your visitors navigate your menus, scroll through each page and which area of your site they last visited before they left. Use this data to make overlooked areas of your site easier to find, raise your viewers’ engagement and improve the overall user experience.

HotjarKey Features

Price

Hotjar is a fantastic tool for gathering information about user activity on your website. It doesn’t stop at surveys to gain customer feedback. It goes to a whole other level.

Hotjar screen-records user activity on your site See how your viewers navigate through the pages of your site and which buttons they clickView your visitors’ journey through your sales funnel to track how many convert into subscribersCarry out on-site surveysRecruit viewers of your choice to take part in one-on-one interviews and questionnaires via custom messaging

Free for basic account. Paid plans start at $29 per month, with a 15 day free trial available


https://www.hotjar.com


23

WoopraKey Features

Price

Woopra creates a profile for each of your customers and keeps tabs on their activity through all of your touch points. Track your visitors’ activity on your site, mobile

app, live chat, support and emails Gives a comprehensive story for each of your customers in real time so you can tackle their specific needsGathers quantitative data in analytics that you can personalize for your business Real-time graphs and charts, including a funnel chart to monitor how many of your visitors are subscribing to your email or course

Free! Paid plans from $79.95 per month, with a 30 day free trial available


https://www.woopra.com/


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Survey ToolsWhile smart feedback and analytics tools give you a wealth of data, it’s best to get some real thoughts and voices to back that data up. Carrying out surveys will give you the why to the what. By gathering feedback you

can ask your students why they preferred some classes over others and what they think will improve your course and website. This eliminates guesswork and gives you better insight into your target audience.

HivelyKey Features

Price

Hively is a super-quick email and on-site survey tool that allows you to ask multiple choice questions for your visitors to answer through emojis.

Embed surveys into your emailsEmbed quick questions into your footer so that every time you send a piece of class content to your learners, you can get feedback from them Make the survey choices emojis so they’re even quicker to clickKeep a leadership board to compare the success of your different courses, modules, classes and videosMonitor which classes get the best response to avoid mistakes and repeat the things you’re doing well

Free! Upgrade to a premium account for $15 per month


http://teamhively.com/


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Client Heartbeat

Usabilla

Key Features

Key Features

Price

Price

Client Heartbeat is another email survey tool. It shines in the way it lets you track your survey results over time. This can be great for longer courses in helping to reduce your student drop-out rate.

A sleek and seamless way to carry out on-site surveys. This tool guides your visitors to click the area of your site that they want to give feedback on. This eliminates guesswork and stops them from having to describe a particular page or section.

Track your survey results over timeFind out which parts of your course resonate most with your audience and which don’tTrack course engagement to prevent users from dropping outMeasure your website up against your competitors that use Client Heartbeat

Pop a feedback button straight onto your website and format it to fit your branding Create feedback triggers to ask visitors for feedback based on their behaviourTrack your analytics in real time using the reporting dashboardGet notifications to immediately alert you whenever someone leaves feedbackPrioritize the feedback most important to your business with filters


Request a demo for Usabilla on their website and choose which plan you would like from there.


https://www.clientheartbeat.com/

https://usabilla.com/


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PollCasterKey Features

Price

Skip the surveys and go for polls instead to make things super quick and easy.

Embed a poll into multiple areas on your site to get feedback for each of your classesGather quantitative data on which classes and modules resonate most with your learnersFilter feedback by region, age and gender so you can monitor your audience demographics Format the style and colour to fit your branding and website

Free!

ClassMarkerKey Features

Price

ClassMarker is an awesome free tool to quiz your learners. You can automatically save all your quizzes and questions to your account so quizzes are randomized every time they’re taken. Plus, you can reuse and update them for future classes and courses.

Create, save and format quizzes to your likingRandomize your saved questions with each quizEdit and update old questions and quizzes to reuse in new classesGive instant or email feedbackInclude multiple choice, short answer, essay and even more question typesEmbed images, videos and sounds into your quizzesEmbed the quiz easily onto your own course page



https://www.pollcaster.com/

https://www.classmarker.com/


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JavaScript In vzaarKey Features

Price

Quickly and easily add cue points, quizzes and chapters with vzaar’s javascript feature. You can choose for the video to continue playing or pause until your viewer chooses the right answer.

Create multiple choice quizzes so they become part of your course videosYour viewers will have to engage and answer the questions before they can move on to the next part of the videoEngage your learners and test them at the same time





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And Some Last Minute Tips From The Pros…

Video will continue to dominate as a medium online. Just look at the use of video on Facebook. Just make sure you’re solid with what software you’re going to use and that you’re comfortable on video.

Jon Ochs, @Jon_OchsMillionaire entrepreneur and online course creator

“

Shorter videos are easier to digest and reuse, so try to make yours no longer than five minutes. Highlight important information using text or arrows and weed out anything that is not a core part of your presentation.

Rob Reynolds, @xplanarobChief product officer at EdTech platform, NextThought

“

Instead of just telling your audience what they need to know, offer them a dynamic and demonstrative online example to get the message across.

Christopher Pappas, @CPappasFounder of The eLearning Industry

“


https://twitter.com/Jon_Ochs

http://www.jonochsblog.com/


https://nextthought.com/

https://twitter.com/CPappas

https://elearningindustry.com/members/christopher-pappas


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Get Started TodayTime To Get Started

Thanks for reading!

Get the ball rolling with these tools and I’ll see you on the other side when you upload

your videos with vzaar.

START YOUR 30 DAY FREE TRIAL WITH VZAAR






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ROB REYNOLDS@xplanarob @NextThought

Rob Reynolds is an edtech entrepreneur, master learning architect, and writer. His career includes service as a traditional faculty member and university

administrator, a publishing executive, and an educational technology product designer. He currently serves as Chief Learning Officer at NextThought, and is

also Associate Director at the Institute for Learning Environment Design.

CHRISTOPHER PAPPAS@cpappas @elearningindustry

Christopher Pappas is founder of The eLearning Industry’s Network, which is the largest online community of professionals involved in the eLearning Industry.

Christopher holds an MBA, and an M.Ed. (Learning Design) from BGSU.

JON OCHSjonochsfanpage

Jon Ochs built a multiple 6-figure business online in the last 3 years. He now focuses on sharing ‘how to’ strategies to help others escape the average lifestyle.

Thanks To...



https://twitter.com/NextThought

https://twitter.com/cpappas

https://twitter.com/elearningindustry

https://www.facebook.com/jonochsfanpage/

vzaar.com | +44 20 7820 6288 | 1-800-986-9209



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