Top 16 Questions to Ask Explainer Video Companies

Transcription

1 Top 16 Questions to Ask Explainer Video Companies When you re looking to get an animated explainer video, you might not always know the right questions to ask the companies you speak to. This can lead to working with a company that may not be a good fit for you and your business. By asking different companies the questions listed below, you ll get a much better understanding of what you ll actually be getting...and easily compare it to offers from other companies you talk to. 1) Why are your prices so high (or so low)? Prices for animated explainer videos vary significantly. There are companies that sell explainer videos for up to $30,000 (mainly to venture-backed companies with a high budget). There are also companies that sell them for less than than $1,000. Most companies who create high quality videos do them for between $2,000 and $7,000. If you find a company who will do it for below $1,000...you re probably not going to be 100% satisfied with the end result, and it won t increase your sales and conversions as much as a higher quality video would. Anything under $1,000 is just not enough to cover the cost of a good script, professional voiceover, the storyboard sketch mockup of all the frames, custom illustrations drawn from scratch, timeintensive animation work, all revisions you'll need throughout the process, etc. It s good to get an affordable price on an explainer video, but anything too low and you ll be taking away from all potential sales and new clients a better video could have been earning you for years to come. That s why we truly believe our price of $1,598 (and $495 for budget template videos) is the lowest possible price out there...for the type of quality we provide. Not to mention all the extras and benefits we offer. What s $1,598 when you compare it to all the potential sales and new clients it can help you get for years to come?

2 2) Can you do any style of explainer video? You may have seen a video that you really like somewhere, but keep in mind that not all companies do all animation styles. Some companies do just one style, and others may just do a few styles...so make sure to ask. With us, you can choose absolutely ANY animation style you ve seen on ANY website on the web (even the websites that do videos for $30,000). By animation style, we re referring to the overall look and feel of the video. How the characters look, how the illustrations look, etc. All you need to do is send us your favorite video, and we ll duplicate that exact style. Our clients are often shocked when they see how close we got to the style they wanted. 3) How many revisions are included? How much does it cost for extra revisions? Most companies include between 1 to 3 rounds of revisions, and charge extra for any rounds after that. Be sure to ask how many rounds of revisions you get for each milestone (the script, the storyboard, the illustrations, and the final video). Believe it or not, we offer UNLIMITED revisions at all 4 milestones at no extra cost! This is a big deal. We don t believe in moving on to the next milestone until you re 100% satisfied with step we re on. 4) How much video time is included? How much more does it cost for extra time? Most companies base their pricing on 60 seconds, and charge extra for any extra video time you need. While it s great to keep your video under 60 seconds, sometimes a little extra time is required to explain your product or service. That s why we provide up to 2 minutes of video time at NO EXTRA COST. That s right - 60 extra seconds absolutely FREE. Many of our clients take advantage of the extra time and create a 90 second, or 2 minute video. And some of our other clients even create 2 videos in the 2 minute time period that s included.

3 5) What kind of payment options do you offer? The standard payment option for most companies is to pay 50% of the cost upfront, and 50% once your video has been completed. This works for most businesses, but what if you re a startup on an extremely tight budget? Unfortunately, with most companies you d be out of luck. But with us, you can take advantage of our 4-month payment plan option that allows you to divide the cost into 4 easy monthly payments. 6) How many scripts can I choose from? A script is the foundation of a video, and really the most important part. Be sure to find out how many scripts you get to choose from. We offer our clients up to 3 scripts to choose from to make sure the message they want to get across is communicated in the best way possible. 7) Are the illustrations done custom? Some companies tend to use stock graphics for your video to save on costs. When the illustrations are not custom, you won t be able to get EXACTLY what you want. Your video may require some unique illustrations that stock graphics may not resemble good enough. We create all of our illustrations from scratch based on the storyboard we create first (sketch of all the frames in the video). We can illustrate everything to look exactly how you want it, and make changes until you re 100% satisfied. 8) What if I want to cancel for some reason? With most companies, once you ve made the first payment to begin work...you re pretty much bound to completing the video. We're all human, and sometimes things just happen. We tend to change our minds sometimes, or decide to go a different direction. At Promoshin, we don't like to penalize you for this.

4 You have the opportunity to cancel the video project at ANY time during the video creation process. We will only charge you for any work that has already been done, and refund you the remainder. 9) Will I be able to choose from different voiceover artists and accents? Depending on the country you're from, you may want a specific accent for your voiceover. You may also just have a preference for the specific type of voice you re looking for. Make sure to find out if the company has the type of voiceover artist you re looking for. We provide ALL types of accents, and have different artists to choose from for each type. 10) I m on an extremely tight budget. What options do you have for me? If you re on an extremely tight budget, most companies will just tell you to look elsewhere for an explainer video (especially if you re budget is under $2,000). Not with us. If our already extremely low price of $1,598 doesn t work for your budget... We can also do template-based explainer videos for only $495. And if our template-based videos aren t your thing, you can get a custom video by taking advantage of our flexible 4-month payment plan option. 11) How long will it take to get my video? Most companies are pretty standard with this, but be sure to ask. It typically takes anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks...although some companies may take up to 2-3 months. We tell our clients it takes 3 to 5 weeks, but it greatly varies depending on the number of revisions that are needed at each milestone...and how long it takes for you to get back to us with the changes you need. The template-based videos take about a week to complete.

5 12) Do you understand what my website, product, or service does? Some technology startups can sometimes be a little difficult to fully understand. And in order to write great scripts and create great illustrations that explain and communicate your product or service in the best way, you need to make sure the company you work with fully understands what your website, product, or service does. At Promoshin, our writers, illustrators, and animation team put in the necessary time required to fully understand what your business does. We have worked with LOTS of technology startups, websites, and apps...and know what s required to bring out the best in them. 13) Do you have any references or testimonials? Every company can say they re great and they re the best, but what do their past clients say? Be sure to ask for references and/or testimonials. And a few written testimonials on their website is not enough. At Promoshin, we have a page on our website that s dedicated to dozens of past client video testimonials...located right next to the video we created for them. Our past clients are so happy with our work and service that they re willing to show their face and give their testimonial about us on video! We can also provide you with dozens of references you can call (all over the world). 14) Will I have full rights to the video? Different companies have different rules on who owns the rights to the video, so be sure to ask about this. We give our clients FULL rights to the video we create for them. 15) The video will be animated, right? There are some companies out there who claim to be animation companies, but create videos that look more like PowerPoint slides rather than a video, because the characters and icons aren t actually animated and there s not much motion to engage viewers. Make sure to find out about this and confirm that there will be animation.

6 16) Do you offer any extras or other reasons why I should choose your company? Sure, you should be happy if you could just get a high quality video at an affordable price, but it doesn t hurt to ask if you ll get any other extras or benefits. At Promoshin, we offer a few other extras on top of already providing a high quality video at an extremely affordable price. Here are a few: 1,000 FREE YouTube Views - We ll jump start the marketing efforts of your video by advertising it on YouTube and getting it viewed by 1,000 people. FREE Landing Page Design - Don t have a website to promote your newly created video on yet? We ll design a beautiful landing page for you, and feature your video on it. FREE Mascot Image File - Want to use the same character(s) used in your video, on your website? We ll send you the graphic files of your characters for you to use for any of your marketing material. FREE Logo Design - Don t have a logo yet for your new product, service, or website? No problem, we ll create one for you. $100 AdWords Coupon - We ll give you a FREE $100 AdWords coupon that you can use to advertise you business. We Work 7 Days a Week - We don t waste any time when it comes to creating your video. We ll work on your video in the day, night, weekends, holidays...it doesn t matter. Our priority is to get your video done as soon as possible. Dedicated Project Manager - You ll always have someone you can with any questions, concerns, changes, etc. Lowest Price Guarantee - If by some by chance you find a company that provides the same quality of videos we provide at a lower price, we ll beat their price by 10%! Believe it or not, It hasn t happened yet Hopefully the questions above will help you make a better decision on which company to choose for your animated explainer video. It s a very important marketing tool, so it s crucial to choose the right company. Since you now also know what we offer, feel free to compare the answers you get to the questions from other companies with our answers and decide who has the best offer for yourself. Note: All the information mentioned here is based on what we've found, but please don't take our word for any of it. We highly recommend that you do your own research and shopping around to compare your findings with ours...and ultimately work with the company you feel is best for you.