Done For You or Do It Yourself: Can a Video Studio Be Both?
Jun 08, 2023
Both. Ridge installs and configures the studio for you, so the camera, lighting, audio and one-click recording are handled. What you say, how you say it and when you press record stays yours. The done-for-you part is the setup. The do-it-yourself part is the content, and that is the part worth keeping.
Why is one studio sold as done for you and do it yourself at the same time?
Because it is both, and the ad said so in two breaths without explaining how they fit together. Ridge ran the same Desktop Studio ad on TikTok and LinkedIn for six months. LinkedIn was polite. TikTok was not, and TikTok was the one that found the problem: one commenter called it the most confusing ad ever made, another said the do-it-yourself message directly contradicted the done-for-you line.
They were right that the wording clashed. They were wrong that the offer did.
"Well, the reality is it's actually a bit of everything. Done for you, done with you, done do it yourself, right?" - Chris Schwager
What exactly is done for you?
The parts nobody wants to research. The studio arrives specified, built and installed, with the camera, lighting, audio and recording path already configured and tested, so there is no shopping list, no compatibility guessing and no cable afternoon. You press one button.
Chris is straight about why that half exists at all. In his words on the episode, not everyone has the time or the expertise to set up a complete video studio and handle the technical intricacies. Treating that as a personal failing is how people end up with a box of gear and no videos. If the fiddling is what keeps stopping you, see how a fixed studio setup ends the fiddling, and see what the Desktop Studio setup involves before you assume it is a weekend project.
What stays yours, and what does the studio not fix?
The message, the delivery and the schedule stay yours. Nobody hands you a script or a posting calendar, and nobody stands over the record button.
"On the other hand, we believe in empowering our users, the DIY aspect signifies that you have the creative control and ability to craft your own content." - Chris Schwager
Which is also the honest limit. An installed studio removes the setup problem. It does not remove the showing-up problem, and it does not make anyone good on camera. Chris raises exactly that at the end of the episode: the quality that is still suffering may be your own delivery rather than the gear, which is why coaching sits alongside the install rather than being an upsell after it. Buyers say the same thing in plainer terms, that the equipment is not the risk, the risk is whether they will actually commit.
A desk studio also cannot leave the desk. Site work, location shoots and anything needing a crew is a different job, and if that is the comparison you are actually making, compare DIY video and agency ROI instead of this one. If your worry is the opposite, that you are not technical enough to run it, discover how to make pro-level DIY videos.
Does confusing messaging actually cost you anything?
Ridge has a measured answer, and it came from the same comment threads. Before there was one published price, the comments were full of people guessing: was it a monthly figure, was it a yearly figure, what was actually in the box. The confusion was not a rounding error, it was the conversation.
So the price was rewritten as a single outright number used everywhere, on the site, in the collateral and by everyone on the team.
"We haven't had any questions about pricing since. It's all very clear." - Chris Schwager
Unclear wording does not announce itself as a problem. It shows up as the same question arriving over and over, and it stops the day the wording gets fixed.
How do you tell useful feedback from noise?
Two platforms, one ad, opposite reactions. LinkedIn was encouraging and told Ridge nothing. TikTok was blunt, mostly junk, and inside the junk were the two comments that changed the product messaging. Chris's own filter is to sift the rubbish for the responses that point at something you legitimately need to improve, whether that is the message, the offer or the product itself.
The cost of dismissing a platform on taste is that you never see the feedback it would have given you. The cost of taking every comment seriously is that you rewrite your business every Tuesday. The work is in between.
Frequently asked questions
If the studio is installed for me, what am I still responsible for?
Everything that appears on screen. Ridge specs, builds and installs the camera, lighting, audio and one-click recording, so no equipment decision lands on you. What you say, who it is for, how you deliver it and when you press record stays entirely yours. The setup is handled. The content is not, and that is deliberate.
Will I actually use it once it is installed?
That is the real question, and it is the one buyers raise most. As one client put it, the equipment is not really the risk, the risk is whether he would show up and commit. Gear bought on its own tends to sit unused. Coaching starts after install for that reason, so the habit gets built rather than assumed.
Doesn't professional-quality video still need a crew?
For some jobs, yes. A brand film, a location shoot or anything that has to move around a site is crew work, and a desk studio will not do it. What the studio replaces is the repeatable talking-to-camera video you would otherwise book a crew for every quarter, and never actually book.
Isn't the equipment the part that makes the difference?
It is the easy part. One client's reframe is that equipment is one of four pillars, alongside messaging, on-camera performance and implementation, and the other three are the harder and more decisive ones. Good gear removes the excuse. It does not write the message or fix a stiff delivery.
Transcript
Read the full transcript
Right. This week is an interesting, controversial topic. It's DIY versus DFY versus DWY. These are all acronyms. If you're wondering what they are, well, Done For You is DFY done? Do it Yourself DIY, or Done With You DWY. All acronyms. Testing. Testing and measuring. What the hell is this episode all about?
[00:00:32] Well, in today's episode, we're gonna explore the fascinating world of contradictory ideas and how they can surprisingly align. Specifically, we'll be discussing the feedback we received on our recent ad for the DIY Desktop Studio. I'm your host, Chris Schwager, and this is a Video Made Simple podcast experiment right now.
[00:00:52] Christine thrown this script to me, and I'm in two minds whether to, to run with it. But given the, uh, history of, uh, where we're at with the podcast, I thought I'd, you literally read whatever's in front of me that Christine's prepared. So let's jump, jump right in.
[00:01:11] We've been pushing these ads on different platforms, predominantly TikTok and and LinkedIn, exactly the same ad, but with very different audience feedback, I guess. TikTok people slander it. People say it. It's not for our business. It's not for us. We could never run ads on there. And I'm impartial. I think the, um, market or the audience govern what will work and what doesn't, and people typically lead with their own impression or their own opinions about the platform without fully understanding whether their audience is there for one, but also the opportunities that they may be leaving on the table they might be missing out on. And I think that's ironic that our experience so far with TikTok has been actually quite positive. And, and I only say this because I look at the numbers. What is the dollar return? And if it's in the positive, which it is, I, that's all I care about. And just so you know, we're not asking for a hundred dollars widgets. We are selling $10,000 DIY video desktop studios. So it is, uh, a proposition worth putting a bit of advertising dollars behind it. And ROI on TikTok at the moment is seven times and so it is worth us continuing until it doesn't work any longer. But it's interesting because the audience on TikTok don't give a shit about what they say. It's unlike LinkedIn where they're very conservative, oh, great video, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's all very positive. Whereas TikTok, it's a free platform. They don't give a shit. They just say what they feel and you've gotta kind of, um, you know, dismiss a lot of it, or at least, you know. Re reply professionally to, to those important questions that have been asked. But a lot of it's rubbish. A lot of the questions are just junky, uh, responses. And it's understanding how decipher to decipher those and sift through what's important as feedback of how you legitimately need to improve either the messaging or the product or the offering or whatever it is. And so I read this teleprompter script, with the intent behind it that I'm not out to provide feedback that, um, you know, will give the rule behind the heading idea here, contradictory ideas, giving feedback on what really is the rule here. I just want to make, I guess, a public announcement around what the experience has been for us and how we've utilized feedback, even as weird as it might come across on TikTok to our advantage, uh, to improve the product. The DIY video studio has this ad says, you know, with a push of button, you don't need to fit out your office. You get professional light, sound, camera, take problem to everything you need to start producing videos like a pro Done For You. And the comments are like, well, hang on, it's DIY, and now you're saying it's "done for you."
[00:04:16] Well, the reality is it's actually a bit of everything. Done for you, done with you, done do it yourself, right? And on TikTok, we'll receive some interesting comments pointing out the contradiction between DIY and DFY. Now, you could argue who gives a shit, right? Like Whoopty do. What's the big deal? And I think it's worth paying attention to this at this point, because we all probably don't think, I guess that messaging or the confusion around messaging is overly important. It's something we can put on the back burner. Hey, you know, whatever. I'll get, I'll get around to it when I get around to it. But we had a similar experience with our pricing for this as well, where people just came up with a lot of comments and expressing confusion around, oh, okay, is it eight 70 per month? Is it 10 K a year? What? You know, like the, the feed of comments was around pricing and whether people were for or against it, or you know, what was the price? And it actually forced us to commit to putting a universal price together that was gonna work and solve the confusion issue.
[00:05:21] And funnily enough, it did that. We haven't had any questions about pricing since. It's all very clear. It's an outright price. It's ten eight. It's done, right? And it's not only made the clarity for our market, um, better, but also it's easier to sell because it's just, it's just a, a simple message, um, that is universal across the website, across any marketing collateral. Everybody on the team knows exactly what it is and what's in the box.
[00:05:49] So let's take a look at this apparent contradiction. Well, @MortgageFriends commented, DIY DFY, this is the most confusing ad ever made, right? Which is untrue, but they, they're expressing confusion. Um, and @mlmclnens I shared some friendly feedback saying the DIY message directly contradicts your done for you comment, makes it confusing as to what you offer.
[00:06:17] Well, It has in this particular situation, but this is the first time we've heard it and we've been running these ads for six months. But I completely appreciate exactly where this person's going from coming from. And at first glance, it may seem contradictory, but let's dive deeper. Our goal with the DIY Desktop Studios to make the video production process accessible and hassle free. We understand that not everyone has the time to or the expertise to set up and complete video studio. Uh, set up a complete video studio and handle technical intricacies. That's where the DFY, the done for you aspect comes into play. By providing a preconfigured setup with professional grade equipment.
[00:07:03] This sounds like a sales message, but Christine, you know, take this on board. You no longer have to work or worry about what equipment you need and how you're going to build it. You get rid of blurry videos, inconsistent colors of lighting, and poor audio quality. With a simple click of a button, you start recording videos with confidence knowing that the technical aspects have already been taken care of.
[00:07:27] On the other hand, we believe in empowering our users, the DIY aspect signifies that you have the creative control and ability to craft your own content. While we handle the setup and technical complexities, you can focus on delivering your message and showcasing your expertise. It's about striking a balance between convenience and personalisation.
[00:07:52] So let's address the feedback. We understand that the message may have confused some viewers. We appreciate their insights. Effective communication is vital, and we acknowledge that it's crucial to continually refine the message to ensure clarity. We firmly believe that seemingly contradictory ideas can coexist and make sense in the right context. By highlighting the benefits of our product, we aim to bridge the gap between DFY and DIY, simplifying the video production process while still enabling you to create professional grade videos on your terms.
[00:08:34] Now let's wrap this up with some final thoughts. We encourage you to think critically about contradictions and how they can align in various scenarios. Sometimes it's through embracing these contradictions that we discover new perspectives and innovative solutions.
[00:08:52] I was just talking about this today with a client, and I think it's so amazing that whilst it may be a flippant, quick re reactive comment made, what it actually does is for those that that care to listen creates positive feedback to improve not only the messaging, but the overall offer and product.
[00:09:20] So did we answer the question? We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic. Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you're ready to enhance your message and elevate your presentation. Maybe it's still the video quality in the audio quality that suffers. Our team of experts provide personalised coaching to help you excel in delivering impactful presentations.
[00:09:42] So contact us today and unlock your full communication potential. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for valuable tips on improving messaging and mastering tone in your presentations. Look, this is definitely an interesting and off the cuff style podcast. What do you think? Was it useful? Have you had contradictions in your marketing?
[00:10:06] Give us some feedback. That's all for this episode. Thanks for listening and see you next week.
Which of these sounds like you?
"Setting up takes so long I end up not recording." That is what the Desktop Studio removes. Installed for you, one click to record.
"I record, but I don't like how I come across." That is what Video Coaching is for: messaging, performance, tech and implementation, worked live every week.
"Honestly, both." Book a call and we will work out where to start.
