We introverts are famous for being more comfortable writing than talking.
So does that mean we’re doomed to always be awkward on camera? Does that mean we’ll scare away our potential customers if we try to do a Facebook Live?
Here’s what I have to say about that fear: Nope.
Most of us may prefer to write than speak, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be good at being on camera, or that we can’t learn to love being on camera!
Take these self described introverts:
҉Amy Porterfield
҉Marie Forleo
҉Ryan Levesque
҉Denise Duffield-Thomas
҉James Wedmore
҉Danielle Laporte
All of those introverts I listed above use video as part of their marketing.
The queen of quirky weekly business and life-related Q&A videos – Marie Forleo – is an amazing example of what we can accomplish.
Marie has built an 8-figure online business. She didn’t build her audience primarily with writing really long blog posts, she built her tribe with a weekly Q&A show on YouTube. She even refers to her YouTube channel as “Marie TV,” that’s how much she embraces doing videos.
And, she’s a self-described introvert.
And, perhaps the most important part, she has fun doing her videos. She does her weekly Q&A show her way, in a way that feels right for her.
Here’s one old example, on a relevant topic (she’s gotten a lot goofier over the years, btw):
And of course Marie isn’t the only introvert who uses videos to grow her business. There’s also Ryan Laveque and James Wedmore who both use a 3-part video series to launch their products.
And Amy Porterfield, who has a very popular weekly podcast, and while that’s not technically talking on camera of course, podcasts do obviously involve speaking versus writing. On her podcast Amy has spoken many times about how she dislikes doing Facebook Lives, but she does still incorporates them into her Facebook strategy.
All of the very successful entrepreneurs on that list above (which is only a tiny portion of all the successful introvert internet entrepreneurs) either do videos, in-person speeches, or webinars. And most of them also do live video on Facebook.
You may be thinking “sure, they can do videos because they’re _(insert something you don’t think you have)_, but can I?”
When I first started doing Facebook Lives my voice shook, it still sometimes does. But after doing 14 straight days of Facebook Lives it stopped becoming something scary, and started becoming another tool I can use to communicate with my audience.
The relevant question now isn’t “Can introverts become good at being on camera?” They definitely can be. We have proof that they can be, and we have proof that some of our fellow introverts have used videos to sell and launch huge, very successful programs.
The real question is, are you willing to put in the work to become good at it? Are you willing to keep on trying and learning from the experience, and to study what makes a good Live or a good YouTube video. Are you willing to work through the awkwardness and newness of it to find your video groove?
And, are you ready to take advantage of the opportunity we have right now?
Facebook is prioritizing videos – recorded ones and Lives. Who knows how long Facebook will prioritize them, or what it will prioritize next. Next year it might only prioritize hour-long Lives (I hope not, but who knows!), or it might even prioritize virtual reality next!
We are living in a time when not everyone is willing to put in the work and show up authentically while doing videos. So I really hope you take advantage of that fact and start practicing now. This opportunity is not just something that’s open to extroverts, it’s open to you too. Let’s do this.
Do you want to start doing videos, but fear is stopping you? Would you like help, accountability, and support during your journey to becoming confident with video?
I’ve designed a 4-week workshop for you. Click here to learn more about Camera Shy to Facebook Live.
