If you’ve ever wondered how people create those great tutorials shown on YouTube or whatnot, you’re in luck. Today I’m here to talk about video screen capture software, and specifically how to use Camtasia byTechSmith. First off, you don’t need a video camera over your shoulder to record what you’re doing on your computer screen. In fact, you don’t even need a video camera, period. That’s where Camtasia comes in. Screen recorder software records what is being displayed on your monitor without the fuss of external hardware.
Using Camtasia Studio to Record Your Computer Screen
When you open Camtasia Studio, the first thing you’ll notice is how user-friendly the layout is. When you mouse-over most icons or areas, a little pop-up will go into further detail and explain what said object is or does. This is a life-saver to a newcomer into screen capturing software. There is nothing more frustrating than having a great piece of software but have no idea where to begin. Cantasia Studio even comes with a nice intro tutorial to go through some of the basics. We thought we’d try our hand at creating a video tutorial with Camtasia to show how easy creating a video tutorial is with Camtasia. Basically, we used Camtasia to record our Camtasia recording. Confused? So are we.
I created a mock project to use as an example. I then opened a new Camtasia project and showed the basics of the zoom function and exporting your video for web uploading. While Camtasia boasts all sorts of other great features like callouts (overlay text bubbles), transitions, and title clips, due to length constraints I couldn’t tackle them all in this tutorial. However, with the easy-to-use layout, it only will take a few minutes to figure out.
Bottom Line
I was quite impressed with how quickly I was able to create my own web video tutorial. From the time I first opened Camtasia Studio to knowing how to zoom, add transitions, and export the video for the web all took me less than an hour. The hardest part was the audio overlay. I had to do several takes due to speech flubs. That’s where adding your own audio after-the-fact comes in handy.
Blogs are another kind of website. The content is usually organized by date and category with the most recent post/content displaying first.
If you look at this site, the content is organized by content and not by date or category. This is a static website.
So it's important to think about how you want your content to be organized by default. Having your visitors view/sort your content by date and category may not be the optimal solution for every kind of site because the content will get buried as your site gets older.
Have you ever visited a blog and had trouble finding what you're looking for because of the content organization?
This is because the owner didn't do a good job of making use of static content to help you navigate through it. As I said, by default, blogs are sorted by category and date (newest content displayed first.)
You can change this, but it requires you to learn how to manipulate your blog (use plug-ins, static pages, etc.) and perhaps do some extra coding.
SiteSell Says Blogs Aren't Always Best
Ken Evoy of SiteSell.com made some pretty bold statements about people who choose blogs to build a business. While many people make money with blogs, I do agree that they aren't always the best choice for business sites -- especially affiliate marketing (the way I earn a living.)
All my static websites have always outperformed my blog from a money making and traffic standpoint.
To create a self-hosted blog (more on why self-hosted is better later), you need a domain name (yoursite.com) and a web host.
Even though a site like Blogger is free and makes setup a snap, you don't actually own the content or the site because it's hosted on Blogger's domain.
So if Blogger ever decides to shut down, guess what will happen to your blog?
Yup... bye, bye to all your hard work! (Trust me. I've seen this happen more than once.)
Not a good strategy if you are trying to make money with your blog.
If you use a company like WebsitePalace.com to buy your domain and host your site then you can setup a self-hosted WordPress blog for free in seconds.
You simply login to your hosting account and choose the option to "Install WordPress" and instantly the blog will be up and running on yourdomain.com. You can begin blogging right away and you own your content and domain.
I like WordPress much better because they have a bunch of free plug-ins you can use to make your blog much more interactive, functional and fun.
Let's say you want to add a shopping cart to your blog so people can buy products. With WordPress, all you have to do is download a plug-in (most are free) and the functionality will be added to your blog in seconds!
There are literally thousands of free plug-ins available.
Blog or Website? Can't Decide?
A lot of people get confused and wonder if they should create a blog or a static website. The video below explains the major differences.
WordPress? Blogger? Which is Best?
WordPress and Blogger are hands down the two most popular blogging platforms. I honestly see no reason to consider any of the others.
I started with Blogger, but when I started learning about the flexibility WordPress provided, I switched over in December 2007 and I'm so glad I did.
Blogger is great because it's super easy to use. However, WordPress has a lot more features and plug-ins that will allow you to enhance your blog.
And even though setting up a WordPress blog is slightly more involved, it's well worth it in the long run.
Remotely Hosted Blog or Self Hosted Blog?
Remotely Hosted
There are two ways to host a blog. The first way is to remotely host it-- which means your content/files literally sit on the server of the blogging platform (WordPress.com, Blogger.com, etc.)
As I mentioned above, there's always a risk involved with doing it this way because if Blogger or WordPress decide to shut your blog down (for whatever reason), you would lose all your content.
It also doesn't look as professional to have a blog address like http://yourblog.blogspot.com or http://yourblog.wordpress.com. And if you want to make money, first impressions mean a lot.
For the record, I don't endorse remotely hosted blogs. I think hosting is so cheap these days that it's worth spending a few extra dollars to own your content and have a real blog address like http://yourblog.com -- especially if you want to make money.
Self Hosted
With a self hosted blog, all your content sits on the hosting account that you own. Your blog address is more professional and easy to remember because you can have a true domain like http://yourblog.com.
My blog is a self hosted WordPress blog. What that means is my blog's content is published to my own domain, 2CreateAWebSite.com and I even got to create a subdirectory called "blog" so my blog address is http://blog.2createawebsite.com.
Watch the video below to learn how to setup a blog on your own domain.
Even though I already have a successful website, I decided to create a blog too.
Here on my site, you'll find more static/unchanging tutorials, and my blog is more like a journal where I talk about current topics in the world of website creation, blogging and making money.
As I mentioned in the video above, whether you use a blog, a website or both is up to you. There is no rule of thumb. You really have to feel your way around and see what's best for your needs. But if you're just starting, I'd definitely only focus on one or the other.
Serious About Making Money From a Blog?
If your goal is to make money from a blog, you might want to consider Yaro Starak's Blog Coaching Service. This guy is no amateur and makes 6 figures per year from blogging alone.
In his free report, Blog Profits Blueprint, he lays the groundwork for creating a successful blog and helps you keep your expectations in check when it comes to making money. Very solid advice here.
Blogs are another kind of website. The content is usually organized by date and category with the most recent post/content displaying first.