The Video Edge: How to Leverage AI and Video to Attract More Leads and Clients – In Just 7 Minutes with Lou Bortone

Resources/Links:

• Download Your Free Ultimate Guide to AI Video!: http://loubortone.com/aiguide

Summary

Are you struggling to cut through the digital noise and get your message seen by your target audience? With millions of messages flooding platforms like Facebook and email daily, standing out can seem nearly impossible.

Lou Bortone has been a pioneer and thought leader in the video space since the launch of YouTube in 2005.

In this episode, Lou shares how to leverage video effectively to attract more leads and clients. He discusses the importance of creating engaging content that resonates with viewers, emphasizing that simply producing a video isn’t enough—it’s about making the message clear, engaging, and being consistent. He also delves into the power of AI tools in video production, highlighting these two tools that he uses himself.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:46 – Lou’s ideal client: My ideal client is an established small business owner who has an open mind about technology and AI and is not afraid to be a little bit of an early adopter.
• 02:24 – The problem Lou helps solve: The problem with a lot of the folks I work with are, they are the best kept secret in their niche.
• 03:06 – Symptoms his client face before meeting him: There’s so much noise and clutter online that you really have to have a clear message to break through and a method to do that.
• 03:56 – Common mistakes his clients make: The biggest mistake is really not being consistent.
• 06:09 – Lou’s Valuable Free Action [VFA]: A lot of it is really just being open to experimenting, especially with AI.
• 07:34 – His valuable Free Resource [VFR]: Download Your Free Ultimate Guide to AI Video!: http://loubortone.com/aiguide
• 08:01 – Q: How did I make the transition from the television industry to online video 20 years ago? A: It was bumpy. But I’m glad I did it.

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“Video marketing, like any kind of marketing, is a marathon and not a sprint.” -Lou Bortone Share on X

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:10
Greetings everyone! A very warm welcome to another edition of Marketing The Invisible. Joined today by Lou Bortone. Lou, welcome. Where are you hanging out?

Lou Bortone 00:18
Hello! I am in New Hampshire in the US about an hour north of Boston, Mass.

Tom Poland 00:23
And you’ve got spring right now, is that right?

Lou Bortone 00:25
Eventually, yes. Yeah.

Tom Poland 00:27
It’s not spring yet?

Lou Bortone 00:29
Not yet.

Tom Poland 00:30
Okay. I’m crossing fingers for you down under here. We’re in Autumn about to dive into winter. Off geography, off climate. Let’s go back to you, Lou. Lou has been a pioneer thought leader in the video space since before video started, almost. You’ve been doing it that long, Lou since the launch of YouTube in 2005. So we’re talking to you, coming up for your 20th anniversary next year. I just have to say, if you do videos right, that engaging and they get cut through, that’s the biggest problem we have, particularly with the internet, is getting that cut through amongst a million noisy messages that are coming flooding through Facebook and emails and everything else. Getting that cut through. So a video done well gets cut through, and unless you get cut through, you have got a snowball’s chance and howl of anything on your message. So this stuff is really, really important and it may not be quite as hard as you think it is to do it. So we’re going to unpack some of that with Lou right now. The title of this little interview is, The Video Edge: How to Leverage, drum roll, AI and Video to Attract More Leads and Clients. I am so looking forward to this. Lou, thanks for being on the show again. Let’s kick off our seven minutes and it’s going to start now. Question number one, who is your ideal client?

Lou Bortone 01:46
My ideal client is an established small business owner who has an open mind about technology and AI and is not afraid to be a little bit of an early adopter, right? I don’t work so much with newbies because the older I get, the less patience I have.

Tom Poland 02:01
You’re working with people Lou, who want to engage an audience, who want to authentically generate leads and new clients on board. They’ve got a bit of a track record, they’re probably doing okay, but they’re looking for that next level at that edge, right? Tell us, probably the reasonably good segue into question two, which is how would you define the problem that you solve for them?

Lou Bortone 02:24
Right. The problem with a lot of the folks I work with are, they are the best kept secret in their niche. So I help them use video to not be the best kept secret, to become more of a thought leader and an industry expert in their niche.

Tom Poland 02:39
Right. There’s something special about why you do videos that gets to cut through, because folks, if you don’t make the message simple and clear and engaging, it’s just going to be blah, blah, blah for people. So it’s not enough just to do a video. There’s a few things that we were going to unpack here, some top tips that’ll help you with that. So, question three, what are the typical symptoms that people would be experiencing if they have a need for your services, and I suppose we’ve maybe answered that. They’re just getting invisible. Anything else you want to add to that?

Lou Bortone 03:06
Yeah, I mean, you alluded to it earlier, just that there’s so much noise and so much clutter online that you really have to have a clear message to break through and a method to do that, which my method of choice is video because it’s very personal and engaging and, and really is sort of the next best thing to being there.

Tom Poland 03:26
Right. Yes, it is. And so we’re talking about people marketing, products and services online who have done reasonably well. Almost by definition they’re growth orientated and they’re going to be trying stuff all the time. Well, what would you say are some of the things they might have tried? New clients are saying to you, no, I tried this and didn’t work. What are some of the mistakes that you and your clients tell you that they’ve done? And maybe unpack that a little bit.

Lou Bortone 03:56
The biggest mistake is really not being consistent because video marketing, like any kind of marketing, is a marathon and not a sprint. it’s like saying, well, I sent out three emails and nothing happened. It’s like, yeah, nothing happened. So I did two videos on YouTube and they only got 14 views. It’s like, well, to come back to me, let’s talk when you’ve done 25 or 30 videos. It’s really a matter of consistency and really just focus and trying not to give up after your third YouTube video.

Tom Poland 04:28
It’s that boring old, but very true cliche that we just give up too soon that we do a thing. Hopefully we do it well, and we expect that the world will be the path to our door. So consistency, and that’s interesting. A little side question here. Do you notice that if your marketing through YouTube, there’s quite a long lead up to getting the viewership up? Is it like you put stuff in, you put stuff in, you put stuff in. Is there a point where suddenly something happens? Or is it just a gradual linear line where viewership increases?

Lou Bortone 05:02
Oftentimes it’s gradual over time because you have that consistency and maybe you’re posting weekly and trying new things. Oh, maybe I should try YouTube shorts. Those are getting good traction. I mean, for me, I was on YouTube for years and really looking at it as a place to host my videos for free until I realized that it was more of a marketing tool and a potentially huge audience. So, but the good news is it really only takes one video to go viral and to really get that traction. The bad news is you don’t know what that video is until you’ve done it.

Tom Poland 05:32
Until it’s gone viral.

Lou Bortone 05:35
It’s like the old advertising adage that, I know that half of my advertising works. But I don’t know which half.

Tom Poland 05:42
Don’t know which half. Yeah. Well, these are interesting insights. I mean, folks, this may not be something practical you walk away when you do… But that awareness of reality is going to help you to persist a fair bit because you’re not going to be looking for that one magic video that’s going to explode. So let’s flip this now and let’s talk about top tips. What’s one top tip you could give folks in addition to what you’ve already said, a valuable free action that will help them take a step forward?

Lou Bortone 06:09
A lot of it is really just being open to experimenting, especially with AI. What I’ve found in the last 18 months is that AI tools like descript.com and pictory.ai, these tools have made it about as easy as it can possibly be to do video. So now you can do more video, you can do better video, you can do it quicker, you can do it easier. And I think it makes it a lot more accessible. And people are not quite as afraid of it because, oh, I have these tools to assist me. I can use descript.com to take out all my ums and ahs and sound smarter than I am. I can use pictory.ai to put in a prompt and get a video. Now, obviously it’s not cut and paste simple, but it’s a lot simpler than it was a year ago.

Tom Poland 06:54
Right. And folks, you don’t need to rewind the video to get those names because we’ve got something for you in the next question, which is going to help you reference some of the tools you need. Question six, valuable free resource. Where can people find a note getting more about videos and the use of AI?

Lou Bortone 07:11
Yes. I just finished a new guide. It’s an 80-page PDF, so it’s very comprehensive, but very step by step that goes through all… I mean, I love stay up late and try out all these tools and I’ve curated what I think are the best AI tools for video and put that in a guide.

Tom Poland 07:29
And I have just subscribed to that.

Lou Bortone 07:34
Thanks

Tom Poland 07:34
I’m looking forward to it. And folks, to get that guide, go to Lou Bortone, that’s L-O-U, Lou, Bortone, B-O-R-T-O-N-E dot com forward slash AI guide. We’ll have it under the video, but if you’re listening to this on iTunes or something, http://loubortone.com/aiguide. Lou, we’ve got a whopping 25 seconds left. What’s the one question I should’ve asked you but didn’t?

Lou Bortone 08:01
I think, how I made the transition from the television industry to online video 20 years ago, and all I’ll say is that it was bumpy. I did everything wrong. I had a certain amount of revenues coming out of the TV business and thought, oh, this will be a snap. It’s apples and oranges, a bumpy transition. But I’m glad I did it.

Tom Poland 08:20
Some similarities, but so many differences. Fantastic! Thanks once again for your insights, Lou.

Lou Bortone 08:25
Thank you, Tom.

Tom Poland 08:27
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.