I am ugly. So are you. Now let's make a video to promote our business.

4 min reading time

It needs to be said.

I am an ugly man.

Before you send me reassuring messages, take a good, long look at this photo.

That’s a frame from my now-famous 0:45 promotional video entitled, “Meet Julie at MDTX.”

Confessions with Lucia

I said to Lucia last week, “Please don’t refute what I’m about to say. Just listen, okay?”

I said, “I am an ugly man. I mean, look at this bald spot! I can’t believe how big it got. I see it in photographs and sometimes in video. I hate it.”

And look at my face. Am I sweating? I look oily.

There is a blemish right there on my nose! My receding hairline isn’t even receding evenly! My forehead is broken out.

Even my supportive wife admitted, “You look forced in this video. Speak naturally.”

And I replied, “I’m trying to smile as I speak. If I spoke naturally, it would look as though I was angry,” concluding, “I hate the way I look in video.”

Which brings me to the first of four points for today’s Journey.

1. The only one surprised is you!

ugly2 It occurred to me as I complained at Lucia: I may have just come to realize how big my bald spot is. But everyone around me? They’ve seen it grow for years now.

And you know what?

They still love me, despite the image to the right.

If any of the compliments or testimonials I’ve received are true, “You like me. You really like me.”

(P.S. That’s not really what Sally said. See for yourself.)

And, is it possible, someone watching me is thinking, “Joe should really address that blemish on his nose” while I’m talking?

Yes. Absolutely. I do it all the time to them. ????

But I’m not yet aware of my efficacy being undermined by my “good looks.” And I haven’t avoided a business decision based on someone’s over-sized pores, moles, crooked noses, scars, or double chins.

So, Point #1: The sooner you embrace your “ugliness,” the sooner you can start.

Look, everybody else already knows how “ugly” you are, and they’re still talking with you, aren’t they?

Move on, already.

2. You’re not alone.

A must-read article for you today is Video-Phobic Marketers: It’s Time to Get Over Your Fear of Producing Video.

Another is “The Science Behind Why No One Likes to Be on Camera.” It’s fascinating, really.

In a 1970’s, it was concluded, “In two studies, Person was found reliably to prefer her mirror image over her true image, whereas the reverse tendency characterized preferences of Person’s Friend or Lover.”

That’s why you hate the way you look in every picture. You don’t look like “mirror you.”

So, Point #2: The cards are stacked against you, and everyone else. Overcome your fear. Get started.

3. That’s what editing is for.

Here’s a video I made with Lucia a few weeks back. As promotional videos go, I think this one is great.

Watch it and I’ll tell you a secret about it.

The secret?

I shot video in my driveway for 35 minutes for those precious 39 seconds.

That means we threw away more than 98 percent of our footage.

And if you re-watch it, count how many “swoosh” sound effects there are, each accompanying another piece of the story.

Why is that?

Because I couldn’t deliver more than a sentence or two in a row without messing up.

And every time you hear my voice and don’t see me? I’m reading directly from a script. Over and over again so Lucia can pick the best reading.

So, Point #3: I’ve said this before, get yourself a Lucia – even my Lucia ❤️ – as long as I keep first dibs on her time.

Everyone sucks in the beginning.

I did. And so will you. As crappy videos go, this early 2011 one with my badass handlebar moustache, is reasonably okay, thanks mostly to Carl Jameson, who helped me shoot this incredibly effective video back in my Cardiac Science days about a teenage girl resuscitated by an automated external defibrillator.

So, Point #4: Like anything else, you’ll improve with practice.

So who’s with me?

You?

If yes, just click on our little camera here. ????️ Maybe Lucia and I can help you.

Fast Round

Those little emojis I added.

I found http://getemoji.com/. You can include them in emails and blog posts because, using “relieved face” ???? as an example, it says, Relieved Face was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015.

Whatever ???? you ???? do, don’t ???? overuse ???? them. It gets annoying. ????

Tell me about your passwords.

I discovered https://haveibeenpwned.com/. Enter your email address and you’ll learn if/where your passwords have been compromised by security breaches. Ever used bitly? Dropbox? Tumblr? Then you’re at risk. Matt Barnett tells me he’s going to transition me to LastPass. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Also check https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity. It will tell you the locations where your devices have been accessed. If it says “Russia,” and you haven’t been in Russia, well, you got trouble.