There are currently 3 web based article to video services competing in that market space and they are Article 2 Video, Article Video Robot and Video Go Round. There are some other browser based software packages that provide text to video options, but the big three services are A2V, AVR and VGR. I got interested in Article to Video services after I complied a large base of articles that had I submitted to the various article directories such as Ezine Articles and Article Base and felt like I was missing out on the video marketing approach.
There is no doubt that the power of video marketing is as significant as article marketing and some people would argue that video marketing is even more powerful. Recent studies have shown that conversion rates coming from video sources are higher than conversion rates coming from article writing. That combined with the fact that YouTube is the second most visited website on the internet next to Facebook, makes video marketing tough to ignore.
Videos get indexed faster than traditional article writing as recent research has found that search engines prefer video format content. Since links are typically embedded in the videos, this is a tremendous way to create higher search engine ranking. YouTube is a PR8 authority site owned by Google which highlights the significance of video marketing. Creating quality videos can be expensive, time consuming and many people aren’t too excited about being in front of a video camera. I too was looking for an responsible option.
So now I have used all three services and have a pretty solid handle on each product. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and none of them are perfect, but for the most part, the results are pretty good for all three. What I don’t know yet is how well these products will drive traffic. Having now posted dozens of these type of videos on the various video directories, such as YouTube, Metacafe and Daily Motion, the one thing I have noticed is that the videos get indexed and appear higher in the SERP’s than the articles they were created off of. For instance I have 3 videos on page 1 and 2 of Google for a few of my keywords, and I saw none of the articles I had written appear as high or as fast in the rankings.
I have compiled all the information about the 3 services below and I will comment on each of the their respective advantages and drawbacks.
If you are interested in additional information, the various product logos are hyperlinked to their respective sales pages.
Overall any of the services would work just fine, but they all have their idiosyncrasies. I think VGR is the slickest, but like the AVR set up because of its versatility, it’s onsite submission and the price when you include the 50% discount. AVR just needs to fix some of the bothersome bugs. You receive around 40-50 videos for $47 a month and 100 to unlimited videos for around $97 a month for all three services.
Article Video Robot is a browser based package that creates talking videos out of written text from article directories. The process creates effective videos that includes animation, music, graphics and voice over.
This service uses static backgrounds and so is not as compelling as the video motion backgrounds that Article 2cVideo offers. I kept on having annoying audio problems however. The voice offer would include the phrase “registered trademark” at several points during the 3 minute video. There seems to be is a bug in the system that kept recurring even after I complained to customer support. They assured me that the problem had been fixed, but it was never resolved.
AVR offers the most flexibility because, in addition to using the stock backgrounds and audio, you can can upload your own images and audio and you ultimately have more control over the entire production process. So as you get used to the interface, your videos can become more sophisticated.
AVR also offers the best pricing including a 14 day free trial. They offered me a 50% savings after my trial period was coming to an end. Not too bad! I ended up canceling my account because of the audio problems, but think that if they can resolve the issue, that this may be the best one with the 50% savings ad the more control you ultimately have over the entire process.
The service includes Video Submit Robot, the distribution portion of the AVR package. Video Submit Robot takes the completed videos to various video directories. Neither A2V of VGR offer as complete a package. Post production is completed in less than a minute and your videos are quickly ready for distribution. This is a key advantage because the videos do not need to be downloaded to your computer in order to to be distributed. You can make a video and distribute it, without leaving the interface, all in a few minutes. Pretty nifty!
The entire process takes just 8 steps:
- Copy and paste title and body
- Arrange into paragraphs
- Summarize paragraphs
- Select movie backgrounds from the onsite background library
- Set background music from onsite music library
- Create author resource box
- Preview video and save
- Submit via Video Submit Robot (bundled product) to 17+ video sites
- Article Video Robot – 50 videos per month – $47.
- 125 videos per month – $97.
- 14 day trial – free (no credit card needed).
Article2Video is a browser based software package that will convert article that you may have already created into video’s. By mixing text with advanced graphics, animation, music and voice over technology, Article2Video will bring your written articles to life and bring the power of video into your marketing mix.
The Article 2 Video service is very similar to AVR, but instead of a static background, they include a video motion background. The service selects the appropriate video background based on your keyword selection and then everything is done in the background and is out of your control. The video motion backgrounds are kind of cool, but there are only a few options per keyword, so if your videos are all in the same market niche, then you’ll end up seeing the same backgrounds over and over again.
Post production of the videos takes from 10 to 60 minutes depending on the volume of activity in their servers. I noticed if I produced 4 video’s, one after another, that the first video wouldn’t be ready for distribution for 15 minutes and the 4th video took over an hour before it was ready. It’s not a problem if you’re not planning to submit your videos at the same setting. You’ll need to come back to the projects an hour or so later.
A2V offers the services of Traffic Geyser to distribute their videos through their system, but Traffic Geyser cost over $90 a month. It’s a great service, but not cheap. So you end up having to download the completed videos to you computer where you can then manually submit them to the various video directories. Overall, I ended up liking this service the least of the three, but it’s not that bad either.
The entire process takes just 8 steps:
- Fully automated process of converting articles into videos.
- Three step copy and paste technique to convert these articles.
- Voice-over process created by actual human voices
- 50 background template library to choose from.
- Sizable music background library available.
- Videos formatted in MP4 which is well supported to minimize compatibility issues.
- Video distribution guide included to aid in distribution process.
- Customer /Technical support available.
- Article 2 Video – 40 videos per month – $47.
- 100 videos per month – $77.
- 200 videos per month – $97.
- 48 hour trial offer – $1.
Video Go Round is very similar in concept, but instead of displaying the textual graphics on the screen, a computer generated avatar serves as a host for the video presentation. What you do get is the option to select 1 of the 6 models and choose the setting: an office, a classroom or a blue and white x’s and o’s background. That’s it though. This process makes this service the easiest to use, but limits variety over time.
VGR does not include video distribution and so all completed videos must must be downloaded to your computer before they can be submitted. You can use Tube Mogul or Traffic Geyser to submit to multiple video directories simultaniously. You can also manually submit to each video service too, at no charge. The video’s are downloaded to you computer in a zip file, so the process is quick. Article 2 Video download are not zip files and so download a little slower. The files aren’t huge, however. Post production only take a few minutes so the videos are ready for downloading pretty quickly.
The entire article to video process is completed in 5 steps:
- Select the setting for the avatar, such as an office or classroom.
- Choose one from a cast of six male or female avatar’s.
- Insert the text via copy and paste.
- Download completed video to your computer hard drive.
- Upload video to YouTube or other video sites.
- Video Go Round – 50 videos per month – $47.
- Unlimited videos per month – $97.
- 10 day trial – $4.95
Image courtesy of HH-Michael at Flickr.com: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2314/2347903517_157de5b821.jpg
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