The good news is you have delirium

Just wanted to announce that we are working hard on a new design for the www.deliriummedia.com web site. We are hoping to have it ready for February 1st.

Stay tuned…

Delirium Media now has a dedicated page on the popular social networking site, Facebook.

This year’s WEVA Expo is being held at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida. I am very excited to get down there and learn some new tricks.

Not being from around Florida, I’ll need to hop on a plane and fly there. Ah, but where to book a flight, and when?

For last year’s expo in Las Vegas, I used Travelocity. It was a rather simple and painless process, and at a great price.

But…

Then my friend told me about kayak.com. It searches around 140 different sites for the best prices.

Beautiful!

So I found a place to book a flight, but pricing changes all the time, so which day of the week is best to book? From my research, I would say Tuesday.

Depending on the day, the best price could be as high as $269, but I’m happy to say that my Tuesday booking set me up with round trip airfare from Detroit to Orlando for $214.

If you look at other wedding videographer’s web sites, you’ll notice they tend to generally have the same content. Usually there is a blurb about the company (perhaps mentioning how they’re unique), there will be some video clip samples, and some contact information in case you want to learn more or book an appointment.

But there is one thing not everyone lists.

Pricing.

The ratio of sites with pricing compared to those that do not list pricing is probably split around 50/50. If you have some time on your hands, try browsing the videographer links listed on WEVA’s site. They are listed by US State. Canadian listings are in the International section.

There are a couple schools of thought here, each with their own pros and cons.

Those who choose not to show their prices are hoping that the customer has enough interest in the service that they will take the initiative to call and (hopefully) book an appointment. The upside to this method is that once the videographer reveals his/her pricing, he/she gets a chance to talk to the client, and explain why they are unique and why their pricing is fair. On the down side, some customers may think that if the pricing is not listed, it must be very expensive, and therefore, they never call.

Those who choose to show their prices are generally doing so to save both the customer and themselves a lot of time by not having to take that all-too-familiar “what are your prices?” phone call. By displaying his/her prices, the videographer is saying “these are my prices, I’m worth it, and I have nothing to hide.” This can also save the videographer some cash, as there is not really any need to print expensive brochures. Instead, customers can just be directed to a web site with all the info. Another pro is that if a customer does call, chances are they are more likely to book an appointment, because obviously your pricing did not scare them away, so you are talking to more serious customers. One con is that if a customer thinks the prices are too high, they won’t call, and the videographer won’t get the chance to explain their value.

Which method is best?

There is no right or wrong answer here. I personally did not show my prices for the first couple years, but I’ve just had too many calls from “shoppers,” so now my pricing is online. I always tried to explain my value to customers, but often, they were in a rush because they wanted to call a dozen other videographers, so I didn’t get to sell myself. I also was tired of throwing out hundreds of expensive brochures every year (packages and pricing changes every year). And lastly, having already tried the “no show” method, I thought I’d mix things up and see if displaying my prices would improve sales. Having only posted the prices a couple weeks ago, it’s too soon to say that there has been a difference, but I certainly seem to be taking less calls from shoppers, so that’s a plus.

To the videographers out there, I say do whatever works for you. And experiment, try it both ways, see how your market reacts.

To the customer, give every videographer a chance to explain their style and their unique service. And remember, there is much more than price to consider. What good is saving $200 on a video if you don’t receive it for 8 months after the wedding?! Ask about turnaround times, equipment, style, and training.

No two videographers are the same, so it’s up to YOU to do the research and find the right one. To view my current packages and pricing, click here.

I have recently registered the following domain names:

WindsorVideoProduction.com
WindsorFilm.com
WindsorVideographer.com and
WindsorWeddingVideo.com

None of them are active yet, as I have not decided exactly what I will do with these new domains, but I have a feeling it will have something to do with creating a monopoly in Windsor for the video production market.

And now, a toast…

Gentlemen, to evil!

Whew!

The blog was down for about 14 hours but it’s back. It all happened last night when I tried upgrading to the latest version of WordPress. I didn’t have any trouble the first time I upgraded, but this time, it obviously didn’t go so well.

I’m still relatively new to the whole blog thing so I was worried I lost everything. Luckily it’s all still here. Not to brag, but I fixed this all on my own, and believe me, it’s not that easy.

Anyways, all is well. The sky is not falling.

I watched a very cool documentary on CBC the other night.

It was about the wonderful world of advertising, in particular, the way advertising is shifting from television to the Internet and mobile phones, and from big ad agencies to everyday people who create user generated content.

Did you know that in Japan, they actually swipe their cell phones like debit cards to make transactions? Wild!

You can learn more about “The Selling Game” by clicking here, or actually watch it by clicking here.

Every now and then, something really big comes along.

YouTube certainly fits that bill. YouTube is more than just “big,” it’s pop culture. It allows anyone, anywhere, to upload any video (within reason) they’ve captured. It’s brilliant. The next logical step would be to broadcast video live.

Enter Ustream.

Ustream.tv allows anyone with a camera and an internet connection to broadcast video live to a global audience of unlimited size.

Wow!

Broadcast video on the web has been around for years, but from my knowledge, it was quite costly and not worth investing in unless you were guaranteed a large audience. The beauty of Ustream, and why it is destined to become the “next thing” is because, like YouTube, it’s free.

Think of all the possibilities. It could be used for business, education, entertainment, and personal events, like weddings and birthdays.

As of this posting, there are 267,919 users with Ustream.tv accounts. I am very interested in seeing where those numbers are at one year from now.

I have created an account for Delirium Media, which is called Delirium Stream. There’s nothing there just yet, after all, this is something I just discovered, but I will be sure to post any updates on this matter.

The very definition of “delirium” is intense excitement. I think that’s how I would describe what I’m feeling now that I can say Delirium Media is proud to offer live broadcast video as a service to you.