Why I Killed Mixergy’s “Trailers.” (With Your Help.)
on May 29, 2009 - 4:51 PM PST
What is the trailer
The trailer is that 2- to 5-minute video that I used to make to show you what was in the full interviews. It was my way of teaching you some of what I learned in my interviews and encouraging you to download or watch the full program.
Where can you see the change?
Here’s an interview that has the new layout. I posted a screen shot of it below.
Why I killed it. (You helped me decide)
My trouble:
- It took too long to make – I sometimes spent 3 hours writing, shooting and editing those trailers.
- It was a dumb process – Unlike doing the actual interviews, I wasn’t learning much from making the trailers.
- I couldn’t outsource it – I couldn’t find a way to give my full interview to someone and have them quickly and cheaply send me trailer.
- It became a distraction – Doing the trailers kept me from doing the most important thing to me: posting interviews.
Your input (from here):
- It confused people – Tom Lambert said (here) that people he told about Mixergy couldn’t figure what was the trailer and what was the full program.
- Many of you didn’t watch it – Khuram Malik said (here) that he just skipped it and went for the full programs.
- You prefer text summaries – CandyMath said (here) that he preferred text.
- Simplifying didn’t help – Chris Overcash and I came up with a way to simplify the process, and it still took too long to edit.
What I’ll do instead
- Move the interview – I’ll move the video to top of each post where everyone can see it.
- Post snippets – Because people like Alex Houle asked (here) for a way to quickly see what’s in the full interview, I’ll post video excerpts. (But I’ll only do it when I have time.
View Comments to “Why I Killed Mixergy’s “Trailers.” (With Your Help.)”
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May 29th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Good call. I hope you'll consider creating an iTunes feed of the long form video too.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Think its a great decision man. Keep up the awesomeness!
May 29th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Good move
May 29th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
You're right.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Thanks. I hope it saves me enough time that I can research/do/edit/post at
least one interview every day and still have time to do other work. I think
it'll get me much closer to that goal.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Thanks. I wish I'd done this months ago. Or at least weeks a go. Glad you
like it.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Questionable. I loved the trailers.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Wow. I didn't realize there was passion for them out there. Maybe after I
get caught up on my videos, I'll come up with a way to do the trailers
faster so I can bring them back.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Maybe just add the trailer as the lead-in for the video and dont make them separate?
Im not looking for an exciting plot with a twist, so knowing whats coming only allows me to better prepare and absorb it once it gets here, and taking away information from interviews is what I love about this site.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:24 am
Damn I loved the trailers.
I actually saw what was in the video before hand and it really helped me decide to or against a lot of videos. Especially when I first started watching mixergy. I think that for first timers the trailers are key, I'm sure its doesn't make a big difference to many devoted fans because we watch most if not all of your videos anyways but to those new people It could make the difference of following you or not. For instance, when I showed my friend your site I just showed him a few of the trailers, now he's hooked.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:24 am
Damn I loved the trailers.
I actually saw what was in the video before hand and it really helped me decide to or against a lot of videos. Especially when I first started watching mixergy. I think that for first timers the trailers are key, I'm sure its doesn't make a big difference to many devoted fans because we watch most if not all of your videos anyways but to those new people It could make the difference of following you or not. For instance, when I showed my friend your site I just showed him a few of the trailers, now he's hooked.