An Explainer Video, like a website, is an investment.

The fundamentals behind building a great website all hold true for an Explainer Video too. Just like in creating a website, the team handling it makes all the difference to the final product. Therefore, to say that an Explainer Video costs ‘X’ would be a fallacy.

A great Explainer Video can cost anywhere from $5000 to $10000, with many agencies charging even up till $100,000!

But, to be honest, there is a bunch of agencies and freelancers out there who can create one for you for as little as a $1000.

What we really need to question is this: Will I be okay not having a video over having a bad one?

A poorly crafted video can irreparably damage your brand’s image. The impact of visual content on the brain is much higher than any other type of content, which also means that an A- video will be remembered more than, say, a B- blog post. So, consider and act. So what’s the nutshell? If budget is a constraint, do not go in for a video. I repeat, do not get a video made.

But, why do videos cost so much?

It’s a fairly simply calculation. An effective video is a result of a collaboration of experts from 4 distinct fields: Copywriting, Graphic Design, Animation and Voice-over recording.

Talent in these fields doesn’t keep cheap and combining the 4 together is what hikes up the cost.

The best way to do the mathematics is to do a short exercise by contacting individuals online and asking them their hourly rates. The answer would surprise you in most cases.

Thinking out of the box is an expensive exercise. But if you want to reap the benefits of an Explainer Video, it is imperative that you approach someone who has that ability.

But how can I still reduce the cost?

Any smart homegrown bootstrapped entrepreneur will hustle his way to a better deal. These are a few ways you can look at reducing the cost and still not risk quality-loss.

• Do the copywriting yourself

Copywriting in an Explainer Video is about constructing a script that explains your product in about 250 words. To be honest, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but Neil Patel here does a great job of the guidelines: http://www.quicksprout.com/2012/08/13/how-to-create-an-explainer-video-that-converts/

• Go for website demo videos

A website video is the best starter option for anyone who wants to educate their visitors. These basically use your dashboard, product, website as the visual. That combined with a crisp script and voiceover, leads to quite an effective video

• Squeeze the length

Generally, the price of an Explainer Video increases with the length of the video. See if a 30-45 seconds video works fine for you. A lot of great products (like Groupon) have been explained effectively in that much time. Its about ensuring you have the right production team to work with.

• Look hard for an alternative production house

While the world is full of shady $1000 video agencies, there are a few who don’t charge you a bomb and still deliver a quality product. The key is to keep looking. Here are a few ways to judge quality:

1. Once you have scanned the video quality of the more famous production houses, go back to the cheaper ones and see if most of their videos offer the same quality
2. Most credible production houses run an active blog and their founders/ creative heads are available on social media. Get in touch with them on Twitter, LinkedIn etc

• Have a candid discussion

It is best to have a candid discussion with your creative company of choice. Sometimes the bigger production houses are willing to give a hefty discount to a startup just because they fall in love with your idea! Or, they are willing to come up with alternative payment schemes.

You will never know till you ask.

So is it worth it?

Statistics say that a video can increase your conversion up to 80%. That’s no mean number! Very few have actually reached that level. But a rise of 10-15% is almost guaranteed.

Also, it’s all about a cost-benefit analysis. Answer the following questions about your business:

• Is my business stuck in a growth rut?
• Do I need a growth propeller?
• Is the rest of my website design conducive to attract my kind of business
• Do I want to be considered new age?
• Does my target audience sit on YouTube? (It is the world’s second largest search engine now!)

If the answer to even one of the above questions is yes, then you should consider an Explainer Video.

Conclusion

An Explainer Video should be considered an investment. While you can look for hacks to reduce the cost, you should be very wary of falling prey to cheaper options promising the same quality. It just doesn’t exist! In that case, it is better to wait for the right time to get one.

By: Deepasha Kakkar

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