6 Powerful Guidelines For Making Video Tutorials

Learn about the basic steps to make a video tutorial, including how to plan your video tutorial and edit it just like a professional.

So you have finally decided to make that online tutorial video, congratulations!

Now, how do you get started?

Online tutorial videos are steadily becoming one of the most valuable types of online content. 

This method of teaching makes it easier and more effective for your audience to learn a new skill.

Also, video tutorials are sure to attract new followers and deepen the impression you already have on your existing audience as a capable and serious content creator aiming to provide them with the best content possible.

Surprisingly, creating a high-quality video tutorial is not difficult at all! 

You can create an excellent video tutorial in just ten minutes and no video editing is required.

To make a tutorial video, you first need to choose your subject, plan the content of your video tutorial, then record, include an introduction to your tutorial video, and publish.

In this article, we will be showing you the steps you need to take to make your online tutorial video with no stress and in no time.

This is going to be fun. Let’s get started!

Step #1 Choose Your Subject

making video tutorial

It’s pretty tempting to just jump on it, but just before you press that record button, you might want to slow down and make sure you know your onions.

The first step to creating a good online tutorial video is to know the ins and outs of the subject you are handling or teaching.

Whether you’re an expert in your niche or not, you should still run through some in-depth training a couple of times to ensure that you make yourself as knowledgeable as possible.

You can also check out other forums and blogs to know what challenges people are having and the types of questions they are asking.

This will help you know how to plan and execute your online tutorial video.

You need to consider the following two aspects in this step. 

1. Who Is Your Audience?

How exactly do you suppose you will be successful in your career without knowing who your audience are?

Knowing your audience is critical when it comes to creating your online tutorial. 

Remember, you are not creating it for yourself, you are creating it for your audience. 

If you are oblivious of your audience, then it’s impossible to make a video that will be helpful to them or answer the questions they are asking.

Understanding your audience will be your guide to the key decisions you will make in your online tutorial videos.

It’s nice to have the general information, but it is more helpful to think in terms of a specific individual’s representative of your audience. 

Think of what their problems are, which is why they will be watching your videos in the first place, what they like and don’t like. 

These will help you in making a tutorial video that is focused on their needs.

2. What Is Your Expertise?

You don’t want to try to run faster than your shadow, rather go at your own pace 

We advise that you pick ONE topic per video. 

Don’t try to cram all your subtopics into one video. 

Otherwise you will adopt a shallow image and your audience will feel cheated because the quality of the video you give will be quite low.

This is not the case when you narrow your scope. 

When you narrow down, your video becomes more focused and qualitative and also easier to make. 

This will help to ensure that your video has the appropriate length and duration required to hold and keep your viewers’ attention.

Step #2 Plan The Content Of Your Tutorial

making video tutorial

We will be talking about 5 aspects in this step. 

1. Create Your Outline

Once you know your audience, it’s time to move on to creating your outline. 

This is the skeleton upon which everything else will rest. 

When you have your skeleton ready, you can then begin to add flesh to it.

You can get creative at this point and draw some pictures. 

An outline is simply a sketch to help you visualize what you plan to present to your audience.

You can try quick sketches and stickmen. 

They are perfectly fine for live videos.

If you are dealing with a screencast or screen recording, you can use a series of simple screenshots to roughly show what you will present with the narration.

When you finish storyboarding and you have your outline all planned out, you want to pick up your recorder, but not so fast!

It’s time to write a script first. 

2. Write A Script

A script is quite simple. 

It helps you to become efficient with your words, saving both you and your viewers time.

Also, with a script, you are far less likely to forget something.

Your script should be an explanation of the tutorial. 

It should sound like you’re explaining something to your friend. 

Stick to simple language, skip the jargons.

3. Show! Don’t Just tell

Many online tutorial videos make the mistake of telling viewers what to do. 

You should not do this.

Instead of giving your viewers a step-by-step play of your on-screen actions, “first, I select, and then I right-click,” let the action speak for itself. 

People naturally don’t like to be told what to do.

Take time to not only say what you are doing but do it and let them know why you are doing it.

4. Practice

Practice makes a man perfect, so make sure to practice loads!

When it comes to putting out an excellent informative tutorial video, there’s no winging it. 

Be sure you read your script out loud (not in your head) again and again before you record.

Many times, you will realize that something that sounded really “Wow!” in your head doesn’t sound so great when you say it out loud. 

Also, if you find that you’re beginning to sound electronic, don’t hesitate to go back, relax, and make sure you’re using your natural sound.

5. Ask For Feedback

Don’t assume that everything is OK. 

Get feedback, you need it. 

Find someone who isn’t scared to tell you what they think and let them vet your script.

This is the part you’ll probably get scared, but hey, it’s fine. 

You’ll get used to it once you start receiving essential feedback. 

You will find that this is as an essential part of your scripting process.

Step #3 Record Your Video Tutorial 

making video tutorial

Now that you have your script in hand, you can begin to record the narration. 

You can use Camtasia, it comes with a built-in, easy-to-use voice recording feature and can be a great tool.

So, you need to know 4 aspects in this step. 

1. Choosing The Right Equipment

Whether you are familiar with creating videos or not, it can get pretty overwhelming.

You may actually freak out because you feel like you don’t have the right tools to make quality videos.

Everyone wants to have the latest and best gear for recording their tutorial videos, but if you stay in the fancy-wish zone, you won’t get any work done.

You just need to learn the basics, then you can start to upgrade your tools. 

It does not take fancy equipment to make great videos.

2. How To Choose Video Recording Software

Truth is, many people who put out amazing tutorial videos or any kind of videos did not expect to be making videos someday. 

Most of them just stumbled on the job. 

The result sometimes is that many of them didn’t approach their first video production with a well thought out plan.

But the secret of great tutorial videos that are excellent is great planning. 

Yep, it all begins and hangs on planning.

3. Recording Audio

You have to decide if you want to do a voice-over, using a blackboard for your tutorial, or show your face on the screen. 

It’s all up to you to decide. 

Go for what works for you.

In case of a voice-over, you will need to record your voice over before writing down the script. 

This will help you to avoid last-minute alterations and audiovisual sync issues.

If you decide to go for the latter, which is showing your face, you will need to practice in front of the camera often. 

Also, you want to find a quiet place to record your video. 

Make it somewhere attractive and well lighted, just enough light to make you look good.

You need to go for good audio, camera equipment, and video creation software, and as we have said, it doesn’t have to be the most expensive, it just has to be good enough to deliver what you want. 

You also need to have a good microphone while you’re at it.

4. Recording The Video Tutorial

It’s time to clean up your computer screen and close all unnecessary applications. 

Also, you want to turn off all notifications that might pop up.

The last thing you want is to find out that after all your effort and time, that you have a blurry video to show. 

Terrible!

Here’s something to note: when you are picking a screen capture or screencasting device, choose one that comes with a built-in recording, editing, and sharing features. 

This will save you time and ensure you get all the work done in one tool.

Open the application you want to use for your recording and run a few practice walkthroughs of exactly what you want your viewers to see. 

This is test-running the process.

This will help you to get a smooth motion and you will have less editing to do.

Now, you can open your Camtasia recorder and record your screen just like you practiced. 

Note that if you make a mistake, which is normal, simply pause and start right before the mistake. 

You can always smoothen out the ruffles when editing later on.

If you’d like to increase engagement and help your viewers connect with your content simply, you can add a webcam recording to your screencast.

When you are done recording, you can proceed to edit your video.

Step #4 Edit Your Online Tutorial

making video tutorial

This is the part where many people will think “I need to be a professional video editor to make a great video.” 

But that’s not true. 

You don’t need expensive editing tools or a lot of video editing knowledge to make a great video. 

You just need what it takes to get started.

It’s really simple, and in a few steps, you can get your online tutorial video edited and ready to publish.

First, you begin by cutting out the mistakes. 

You do this by selecting them with the play head, then click “Cut.” 

To trim any extra footage from the ends or your recording, simply drag the end of the clip in.

When you are done editing your video, you can proceed to add your audio narration. 

Your narration now appears on the timeline, you can use clip speed and extend the frame to sync the audio and video in your project.

Here are some extra tips to help:

  • If you need more time to explain a concept, you can split the clip and use extend the frame to freeze the video.
  • If you need to speed up a boring part of your recording, add clip speed, then drag the handles to speed it up.
  • If you want to ensure that your viewer’s attention is fixed on your video, you can use animations to zoom in on the important parts.

Step #5 Include A Video Introduction

making video tutorial

What’s a tutorial video without an intro? 

Whack! 

A video intro leads your viewers into the subject matter of the video. 

You want to keep it simple and straight to the point. 

No dancing around and wasting their time.

Your viewers don’t have the time to care about anything else than what you promised to teach them about.

A good intro lays out the topic and quickly explains what they should expect from the video.

So, go ahead, introduce yourself and your subject before leading them on into the body of the matter. 

Remember, don’t take forever, and don’t veer off the subject at hand. 

Focus, save time, deliver!

Step #6 Publish Your Video

making video tutorial

All said and done, your viewers are waiting. 

It’s time to publish your online tutorial video!

But where will your video be hosted? 

There are plenty of options to consider here. 

You can choose to share your video online video platforms like Vimeo and YouTube, or you can choose to save the video as a local file. 

You can also share it directly to your favorite social media sites.

Most online tutors prefer to store their finished productions on YouTube and you might want to consider it too.

However, we recommend that just before you send out your video, you should share it with a few people and get some feedback.

This will ensure that you get extra pairs of eyes to spot what you may have missed and will ensure your video accomplishes its goals.

Conclusion

So these were all the basics that you need to know to make your first ever online tutorial video. 

Did you find this article useful? 

We really hope you did! 

Please let us know.

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