Why should you create a video pitch?

1. Statistics show that campaigns with pitch videos raise more money than campaigns without.
2. Different people “get it” in different ways. Some people like to read, some look at the pictures, but if a picture is worth a 1000 words, a movie is worth 1000 pictures.
3. It is not as difficult as you may think it is to make one.
4. People often share the video itself to promote your campaign.
5. We will help you make a better pitch video than you thought you could!

“I have a promo video”
Many people tell me “oh, yeah, we have a promo video”. A crowdfunding pitch video is very different than a promo video. Your promo video is a great start and sometimes better than nothing, but it lacks the most important piece of the puzzle: the ask. Promo videos answer the question (mainly) of who you are, in other words, the outcome of the video is that the viewer knows who you are and what you do (important). What is the outcome you want from a crowdfunding pitch video? Plain and simple, you want people to contribute to your cause or share your campaign (or both). This is the reason they are so different.

TECHNICAL:

1. Search online for general tips on how to create an amateur video with regards to sound and lighting. There are plenty online. It is important that the viewer would be able to SEE and HEAR you.
2. You could use a friend who is a video photographer, you could even pay for someone to do it professionally, but that should not be your reason not to do it. You could also do it with your smart phone.
3. Your video should not exceed 3 min unless it is absolutely necessary for the completeness of the story you are telling.

STRATEGY: 

The most important element of your pitch video is the structure of the story you are about to tell. The video should have 4 parts which we shorten to: WHO, WHAT, WHY, ACT.

1. WHO are you and why should we listen to you
   Explain who is behind the campaign and what makes you the right person for this. Make it brief. You can add more elements of this later.
2. WHAT are you looking to do
   Be very clear on what are you looking to do. Is it a movie, is it an organization? The viewer MUST know very clearly what it is you are looking to do.
3. WHY is it important to do what you want to do
   Why is it important to do what you want to do? Why should we care? Why are you the one who should be doing it (related to the first part).
4. ACT – what can the viewer do
   This is the most important part and the one that most people fail to do well. After leading the viewer to this point correctly, they would be asking themselves how they can help. Here is where you answer it. The most important thing to remember is not to beg for help and money. People get turned off by it.

The important principle to remember:

YOU ARE NOT ASKING FOR MONEY. YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF SOMETHING AMAZING.

So do not use “please help” and “please send us money”. Rather, use “Join us on this” or “Be part of the amazing group that…”.

Also, do not forget to add that people can also help by sharing the campaign page. It is VERY important that you provide people with an easy link to remember (Jewcer will create you a short link for you, make sure you include that in the video).

EXAMPLES:
Here are some great examples on Jewcer that have followed our advice. Some are professionally done, some are not. They all follow the structure I provided above.

http://jewcer.org/project/samurai-jew
http://jewcer.org/project/the-hebrew-hammer-vs-hitler
http://jewcer.org/project/thanksgivukkah-festival-l-a-light-liberty-latkes
http://jewcer.org/project/embracing-wholiness
http://jewcer.org/project/bibliyoga-kosher-sutras

HOW TO TURN OFF YOUTUBE ADVERTISEMENT

We recommend that if you use YouTube to embed your video in your Jewcer page, to turn off YouTube advertisement as it would distract the viewer from your pitch. Here is a video tutorial on how to do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlhysvqpSE