I have a friend who decided to participate in the Living Nicaragua International Contest. After going back and forth about whether or not to enter the contest, he finally decided to do it. For those of you who are not familiar with IL Contests, it is a contest where at least once, maybe twice a year, this company called International Living offers to send the winner of the contest all expenses paid to a country foreigner for a stay of one month. To participate in the contest you must make and upload a video telling why you hope to win in order to make the trip to the chosen country.

This year, my friend decided to enter. After he told me about the contest and his participation, I decided to watch his video on YouTube and this is what I thought of his video. By the way, I forgot to tell you that after making the three minute video you should upload it to YouTube, I suppose for everyone to see it and at the same time give visibility to the company. (Smart move for the company)

While watching your video, I started to think, how could this be improved? You definitely need the opinions of others. So here we go. Things you can do to improve your YouTube videos.

  1. Always make sure the sounds are at an appropriate level. I mean, they are loud enough for anyone to hear them. Often times, the sounds are horrible. Fortunately, my friend’s sound is portioned adequate.

  2. Have someone else hold the camera or use a tripod. This way, the camera will not shake and you will have a clear image if the camera is focused correctly.

  3. Dress for success. What does this mean? Wear something appropriate that complements your complexion. If you like what the colors mean, you know what I’m talking about. Here use a color that goes well with your complexion and means what you are trying to say. Like, “I’m happy.” or “I mean business” for just a couple of examples. You could ask, “What color would I use to make myself happy?” You can use yellows or another bright color to complement your complexion. For business, we all know that a dark conservative color works.

  4. Smile. Sometimes we get used to looking harsh because of our jobs or positions in life. We think we should look so serious without realizing that that look stays with us. That stern look becomes our naturalness. Have you ever gone to the store without really thinking about anything negative and someone passes you by and says, “Smile, things can’t be that bad!” and you look up and start to smile while at the same time thinking to yourself that you must have had an evil or sad look on your face.

  5. Comb your hair. Even if you just took off your hat, take her hand and brush your locks the best you can.

  6. Have fun or it looks like you are having fun. People tend to watch videos of people doing something crazy or stupid. So even though your video is about why you want to do something; Have fun showing it on video, don’t make it look like a chore. So go ahead, have fun doing it.

  7. Try to record somewhere without background noise. Unless that’s what you want. Let’s say you want the roar of the sea or people playing volleyball in the background. You don’t want voice competition in your environment.

  8. Set up your video so that people are willing to give you feedback on your project.

  9. Make sure you read all the rules and title your video correctly according to the contest rules, if it is a contest you are entering.

  10. Use a video editor that you are familiar with and know how to use. My friend’s video is only three minutes long, however the YouTube time turned out to be nine minutes and forty seconds. This will definitely affect the number of visits or visits. You realized. Can not.

As I understand it, the rules say, “A three minute video …” might count as nine minutes and forty seconds. Who knows?

I’m sure there are other ways to improve the videos. Please give suggestions on the site.