The Ultimate Guide
to Easily Make
Instructional Videos
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What do you do when you need to learn something new? What if
you need to know how to fix something? Or what if you need to
learn how to use a new software or service?
You probably look for a video.
According to a Pew research study, 87% of users said that YouTube is important for helping them
figure out how to do things they haven’t done before.
Regardless of your industry, video-based learning is the best delivery method if you’re serious about
teaching others, growing your business, or building an online course.
But don’t my word for it. Research shows that when people look for answers to their questions, they
prefer to consult a video. In fact:
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4x as many people prefer to watch a video about a product rather than read
about it when making a purchasing decision.
Two out of three employees complete tasks better when instructions
are provided visually, and they absorb information 7% faster.
7 out of 10 millennials are likely to watch a company video when shopping online.
Learning and educational content is viewed over a billion times a day
on YouTube.
Online video course sites like Udemy, Lynda.com, and Skillshare are growing to
tens of millions of students.
Unfortunately, it can be a challenge for many small businesses, educators, and entrepreneurs to find
the time to create video content.
That’s why we’re here to help!
In this guide, we share our secrets to creating high-quality training and tutorial videos. We know
what works (and what doesn’t) and we’re going to show you exactly what to do to make how-to
and instructional videos.
Here’s what you’ll find in this free guide to create great
instructional videos:
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Part 1: What is an instructional video?
Part 2: Common mistakes people make when creating videos
Part 3: How to make an instructional video with screen recording
Part 4: How to create a training video with a camera
Part 5: The true cost of making a tutorial, training, and explainer videos
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Part 1: What is an instructional video?
An instructional video is any video that demonstrates a process, transfers knowledge, explains a
concept, or shows someone how to do something.
Creating instructional videos isn’t limited to instructional design professionals. At least, not
anymore. Anyone, in any industry, can (and probably should) create instructional videos.
Examples of instructional videos you can create include:
Micro videos
Micro videos are short instructional videos that focus on teaching a single, narrow topic. They’re
usually less than a minute long and appeal to today’s media consumers, who have notoriously
short attention spans.
Tutorial videos
Tutorial videos are the go-to instructional method for teaching a process or providing step-bystep instructions. Usually between 2-10 minutes long, tutorial videos may leverage multiple
instructional methods. Sometimes referred to as “how-to” videos, the best ones are carefully
planned and have a professional touch.
Training videos
Training videos are designed to improve an employee’s workplace skills. Companies often
create online training videos to cover interpersonal topics, such as compliance and harassment
training, or job-related topics, such as hardware and software training. Training videos often use
footage of real people to connect the trainer and trainee. These can be interactive videos and
often fit in among a larger training course.
Explainer videos
Explainer videos are short videos (usually less than two minutes) that explain a business
concept or product in an entertaining, visual way. They typically use basic animations to explain
a larger topic, product, or service. Explainer videos simplify complex ideas into easily digestible
content.
Presentation videos
Recording a presentation makes it available for an audience to watch after the fact — perfect
for people who want to rewatch and reabsorb the content or for those who may not have been
able to attend the in-person event. This might be as simple as recording just the audio for a
presentation, or as advanced as recording PowerPoint point slides, a webcam, and a separate
microphone all at once.
Lecture and presentation capture tend to be longer than a tutorial video and span the length of
the entire class or presentation. This makes them more time intensive to consume and requires
a higher level of investment from the audience.
Screencast videos
Screencasts tend to be quick and informal, and are usually intended for a smaller audience than
tutorial videos. These videos are digital video recordings of your computer screen and usually
include audio narration.
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The format lends itself to just-in-time teaching, where an instructor, colleague, or manager can
quickly create a screencast to answer a question or clear up a problematic concept. Often
considered “disposable” videos, screencasts can be made quickly, with lower production value,
and for a specific purpose — often with a short lifespan.
As you can see, instructional videos go by a variety of diferent names. But whether you need to
make a how-to video or a tutorial, the goal is the same. Unlike other forms of video, an instructional
video instructs. Of course, while you don’t want boring videos, your main goal is for your viewers to
comprehend and learn what you are teaching them.
Part 2: Common mistakes people make when
creating videos
When it comes to making instructional videos there are a few common mistakes people make. Here
are a few you can easily avoid:
1. Not knowing your audience
Knowing your audience is critical. If you don’t know your audience, it’s all but impossible to make
a helpful video. Understanding your audience will guide key decisions about your videos. General
information is helpful, but thinking about a specific individual that is representative of your audience
- what their problems are, why they will be watching your video, what they like and don’t like will help you make a more focused and detailed video. Later in this guide, I’ll show you the right
questions to ask to get a clear picture of your audience.
Nick Nimmin
Find Nick on YouTube: NickNimmin
“[Y]our audience for your videos is the same people that you’re targeting for your
product in the first place. ... [I]f people are buying your product, then people are
looking for how to use that product, how to get better at that product. Things
about that product that they might not know initially when they take it out of
the box. They’re looking for that kind of information.” - Nick Nimmin
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2. Trying to make it perfect
Too often people worry about getting things perfect. It’s good to remember that perfect is an
illusion. If you start with perfection in mind, it will paralyze your creative process and you will
struggle to begin. Remember, the goal of creating video content isn’t to create the perfect video, it’s
to create a video that teaches something.
Sean Cannell
Find Sean on YouTube: THiNKmediaTV
“Punch perfectionism in the face. Punch fear in the face, and just hit publish, because
you just got to put out your first videos, and the reality...is your first videos are going
to be your worst videos. We all start horrible, and I think that’s the fear. We’re afraid
of putting out some bad videos...just accept the fact they’re going to be bad, and get
those ones out there.” - Sean Cannell
3. Worrying too much about equipment
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you don’t have the right tools to create quality videos. It’s
fun to have the latest and greatest gear, but it’s far from a necessity. Learn the basics, then start to
upgrade your tools. It doesn’t take fancy equipment to make great videos, and I’ll prove it later in
this guide when I show you the equipment we use to make great videos.
Andrew Kan
Find Andrew on YouTube: TubeBuddy
“So many people focus on ‘I don’t have the right gear’ and ‘I don’t have the right
camera,’ but they don’t really think about, well, what is my message? What am I
trying to get across with my brand? They don’t want to just be told, buy my product. If
you can make someone feel something, if you can make them relate to what you’re
doing, that’s more important than any piece of gear.” - Andrew Kan
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Part 3: How to make an instructional video with screen recording
Most people who end up making videos didn’t expect that someday they’d be making videos They
stumbled upon the job. The result of this is a lot of people don’t approach their first video with a well
thought out plan.
But, the greatest secret of all is that great videos start with great planning.
The essentials for a complete tutorial video plan include:
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Step 1: Determine and get know your audience
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Step 2: Write a storyboard and script
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Step 3: Record your voice over
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Step: 4: Record your screen
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Step 5: Make a few edits
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Step 6: Add a video intro
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Step 7: Produce and share
How to Make Tutorial Videos | Camtasia | TechSmith
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Step 1. Determine and get to know your audience
Before you even think about hitting the record button, get to know your audience and understand
why they need help.
If you have a product or service, talk to your customers about how they use your product and where
they struggle. If you’re teaching a class, find out what learning outcomes your students hope to
gain. Are you training a new hire? Ask yourself what questions they need to be answered to be
most successful.
Then use that information to choose tutorial topics that will help the most people.
WARNING: As tempting as it may be, DO NOT skip this first step. Even if you know your audience
like the back of your hand, it’s still vital to get that information out of your head and into an outline.
Before you move on to step two, make sure to answer these questions about your audience and
video:
1. What is your topic? Pick ONE topic per video. By narrowing your scope, your video will be
more focused, and easier to create.
2. Who is the audience? Start with basic demographic information like education, age,
professional organizations, association with other groups and then advance to their
interests, concerns, and goals.
3. Why do they care about this topic? Make sure you know why your audience will care. This
will ensure you address their concerns and reasons for watching the video.
4. What is the learning objective? Having a clear learning objective helps you provide clearer
instruction with a more achievable outcome.
5. How does it benefit them? If someone is going to invest time watching your video, what
value are they going to take away?
If you want to learn even more about planning a great video, check out this video from TechSmith’s
video learning guru, Matt Pierce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7lZWrOb5zg
In this short video you’ll get even more questions to consider when planning your video, like:
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Where is your video going to be hosted or end up?
What is the best size for that location?
Do you want to add interactivity, like quizzes or interactive hot spots?
Do you need accessibility features, like captions?
Answering these questions will help you create a video that’s clear, concise, and interesting to
your audience. By spending a little time researching your audience, you’ll know exactly what they
are looking for online. You’ll avoid losing viewers, reduce confusion, and help viewers retain your
information.
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Step 2. Write a storyboard and script
Storyboard
Once you have your topic and know your audience, I recommend you create a storyboard to
outline and visualize what you plan to show.
Some people get really creative and draw elaborate pictures.
Honestly, though, they can be as simple as this:
Quick sketches and stick figures are perfectly fine for live video. For a screencast or screen
recording, you can use a series of simple screenshots to roughly show what you plan to display with
the narration.
When you finish storyboarding and you have your plan in hand you’re ready to record, right?
Not quite. Before you go any further, write a script.
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Script
A script (even a simple one) will help you be efcient with what you say, saving you and your
viewers time. You’re also far less likely to forget something.
Here are a few scriptwriting tips to get you started.
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Write your script like your explaining the process to a friend. Try to be as straightforward as
possible with your language.
2. Show and tell. Instead of simply giving a play-by-play of your on-screen actions, “first I click
this, then I click that,” let the actions speak for themselves. Take time to both say what you’re
doing and why you’re doing it.
3. Practice, practice…and then practice some more. Read your script aloud and see how it
flows. If you find yourself getting tripped up, go back and make sure you’re using natural
language.
4. Get feedback. Find someone who’s not afraid to tell you what they really think and send
them your script. This might seem scary at first, but once you get used to receiving
feedback, it becomes an essential part of the scripting process.
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Step 3. Record your voice over
With your script in hand, it’s time to record the narration. I use Camtasia, which comes with a built-in,
easy-to-use voice recording feature. You can even paste a script to read from during recording.
Next, if you can, get your hands on the best microphone you can find. Even a middle of the road mic
(like the one connected to your headphones) will provide much better sound quality than the one
built into your computer.
Then, find a quiet place to record. At TechSmith, have a recording studio with sound dampening
foam, which is great, however, we realize this isn’t feasible for everyone. If you want a low-cost
solution, a broom closet or small ofce can sometimes get you a pretty similar sound.
When you’re ready, record your script and make sure to speak slowly and clearly. If you make
mistakes, don’t start over, simply pause, then start again right before you made the mistake. You can
always remove the mistakes when you’re finished. I recommend using Audacity or Adobe Audition
to remove mistakes and any extra noise from your audio. With your audio narration done, you can
record your video.
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Step 4. Record your screen
Start by cleaning up your computer screen and closing unnecessary applications. Turn of
notifications that might pop up. Follow these directions to get crisp, clear, screen video. The last
thing you want after you record all your footage is to realize you have a blurry video.
TIP: When you choose a screen capture or screencasting software, pick
a tool with built-in recording, editing, and sharing features. It will save you
time and let you do all of your work in one tool.
Open the application you want to record and conduct a few practice walkthroughs of exactly what
you want to show your viewers. This will help you get smooth cursor motions and, in the end, you’ll
have less editing to do.
Then, open the Camtasia recorder and record your screen just as you practiced. Remember, if you
make a mistake, simply pause and then start right before the mistake. You can always smooth things
out when editing later on.
If you want a simple way to increase engagement and help viewers connect with your content, try
adding a webcam recording to your screencast. When you finish recording your desktop, you can
edit your video.
Step 5. Edit the video
Most people feel like they need to be a professional video editor to make a nice looking video. But
you don’t need expensive editing tools or a lot of knowledge to get started. It takes just a few steps.
To start, cut out mistakes by selecting them with the playhead, then clicking cut. To trim extra
footage from the ends or your recording, drag the end of the clip in.
When you finish editing the
video, add your audio narration.
With your narration on the
timeline, you can use clip speed
and extend frame to sync the
audio and video in your project.
Editing In-Depth 1 | Camtasia | TechSmith
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Here are a few examples of
simple edits:
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If you need more time to explain
a concept split the clip and use
extend frame to essentially
freeze the video.
To speed up a boring part of your
recording, add clip speed, then
drag the handles to speed it up.
Or to focus your viewer’s
attention, use animations to
zoom in on the important parts.
Ripple Move & Extend Frame | Camtasia | TechSmith
Step 6. Add a video intro
A video intro leads your viewers into your content, but don’t get too crazy. Keep your intro simple
and to the point. Viewers want to get to the meat of your content. They don’t care about anything
other than what you promised to teach them.
A good intro clearly lays out the topic and quickly explains what the viewers can expect to learn. To
create your own video intro, add some space at the beginning of your video. Hold the shift key on
your keyboard and drag the playhead to the right.
Then, open your media bin and select the Library tab. From the “Motion Graphics - Intro Clips”
folder, drag the intro you like onto the timeline.
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Camtasia comes stocked with a few
built-in video intro templates, but you can
get an entire catalog of pre-made video
assets, including intro templates from
TechSmith Assets.
To customize your intro clip, select it on the timeline
and then edit the text and shapes in the properties
panel. Enter text, choose a font, and change any
colors or other settings for the shapes and text.
After you have your video all put together, now is a
great time to add some music to your video. While
it’s not required, music can make a good video that
much better. For a how-to or video lesson, try to
choose something upbeat and positive. You want
your viewers to feel good as they’re learning.
Step 7. Produce and share
Finally, think about where your video
will live. There are many video hosting
options to choose from these days.
You can share your video to an online
video platform like YouTube, Vimeo, or
Screencast, or you can choose to save
the video as a local file. You can also
share directly to your favorite social
media site.
We’ve found that the majority of our
users prefer to store finished videos on
YouTube, especially for external videos.
Before sending your video out into the
world, I recommend sharing your video with a few people to get some video feedback.
This helps ensure your message is clear and your video accomplishes your goals.
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Part 4: How to create a training video with a camera
This is where we start to level
up. There are a lot of similarities
between a screencast and
creating training video with a
camera. You still need a video
plan, a script, and the right
tools, but stepping in front of
the camera also brings some
new challenges.
Here are a few unique things
to consider when creating a
training video that includes
camera video.
How to Create Training Videos | Camtasia | TechSmith
Start by gathering any equipment you need for your video. Remember, don’t get overwhelmed by
equipment. For the example, in the video above, we only used five tools:
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Tripod
Smartphone
Phone clip (to keep the camera steady and attach it to the tripod)
A clean backdrop
Lights
Set up your recording space and make sure the area is well lit. You’ll either want to record in a spot
that has a lot of natural light or add some video lighting to your equipment list.
Place your camera on a tripod
and position it as close to your
subject as possible, while still
getting everything you need
in the shot. Being close to
the subject will help you get
the best possible audio when
recording with a smartphone
camera.
When the scene is set, use
your storyboard and script
to guide you through each
step. Remember, just because
you have a camera video, it
doesn’t mean you can’t also use screen video. Some of the best tutorial and training videos include
both! Camtasia makes it easy to combine camera and screen video in one project.
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Part 5: The true cost of making a tutorial, training,
and explainer videos
Before you roll up your sleeves DIY style or hand of your project to a professional video company,
let’s take a step back and make sure the right people are making your video.
Budget often plays a large role in this decision, you may want to start by considering the impact you
want the video to have.
Here are a few questions to ask when weighing the options.
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How many videos do I need?
How much money am I willing to spend?
Is this video going to lead the marketing eforts for a campaign?
Will it live in a prominent place, such as on a website landing page?
Below, I’ve laid out the pros and cons of common options for creating an instructional video.
Hire an outside company
Pros:
Cons:
Video production companies have the
talent, skills, and experience to create the
best explainer videos. Good companies
work with you to make your video exactly
how you want it.
It’ll cost you. The average cost for a
custom 60-second explainer video
is roughly $8,000. And just one
professionally-made tutorial video can cost
$10,000 or more.
If there’s a lot depending on this video (and you only need one), you might want to consider hiring
an external company to produce a “knock their socks of” level video. But buyer beware. This will
cost you a lot of time and money. Furthermore, if you want to edit the video further for use in other
places, you’ll have to pay extra for that.
Make your own videos
Pros:
You have complete creative freedom and
more control over the budget.
Cons:
Cons: You’re limited by your own skills,
time, software, and hardware.
This is my favorite option because If you create your videos in-house you’ll have more control over
the budget and complete creative freedom. A screencast tool like Camtasia is a perfect option for
those looking for a DIY option.
And, while you might never reach the level of a full-time video producer, you’ll be amazed at the
quality of the videos you can create with just a little bit of practice.
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What’s next?
Whether you’re just getting started, or you’re a video ninja, you’ve learned some of the key tools
and strategies to create successful instructional videos.
Take this guide, download a free trial of Camtasia, and hop in.
Camtasia is built for anyone who needs to make any kind of instructional video. We ofer a ton of
helpful tutorials to get you started. And, for the record, we make 100% of our tutorials and other
screencasts using Camtasia.
If you want to learn even more about creating videos, try out the new TechSmith Academy. It’s a
totally free resource designed to level-up new video creators!
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