Do you ever stare at your computer screen trying to keyword your stock footage, but nothing seems to come?
I'm almost finished with my next online class where I'll share my 11-step brainstorming method to help you say goodbye to writers' block! I'll show you how I keyword four different clips from start to finish using a variety of strategies and resources. A few of you who took my first course said you wished you had more examples—this one is for you!
(Now included as a FREE BONUS in How to Write Killer Keywords for your Stock Footage on Udemy!)
Until then, here are some quick tips I've put together for you to help speed up your process and keep the fresh ideas coming.
Enjoy!
Do you have a hard time brainstorming conceptual keywords?
Over on my Skillshare course, the typical response I hear is, "I tried, but I couldn't think of any."
I've been there!
Train your brain to start naturally thinking of conceptual keywords by reading articles like this:
15 Images Inspired by Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year, Classic Blue. It's full of emotional associations that the author makes with this color.
If you have a particular color or subject, like a dove, you can also Google search, "dove symbolize", "dove representation", "dove meaning", "dove emotion", "dove concept", etc. You'll find all kinds of articles, posts, and images where people share what that color or subject means to them on a conceptual level.
15 Images Inspired by Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year, Classic Blue. It's full of emotional associations that the author makes with this color.
If you have a particular color or subject, like a dove, you can also Google search, "dove symbolize", "dove representation", "dove meaning", "dove emotion", "dove concept", etc. You'll find all kinds of articles, posts, and images where people share what that color or subject means to them on a conceptual level.
Nothing is worse than heading for the airport and feeling like you forgot something important.
When I submit my stock footage, I don't want to feel like I'm missing keywords, either!
ENTER: The Checklist.
Pond5, Shutterstock, and Adobe all publish articles and send out emails with content ranging from shoot briefs to inspirational collections to educational resources. I like to scan these resources to create lists of the valuable subject-related keywords they include.
If I only write like myself, I'll only attract buyers like myself.
I can reach more buyers if I pay attention to how other people talk and write instead of relying entirely on my own word choice.
EX. Here's a screenshot of a Pond5 email: Trend Watch: November 2019.
They share collections they've put together, along with a short description. I've highlighted all the keywords I'm interested in, especially keywords I might not have thought of on my own.
WINTER:
"winter, landscape, scenic, outdoor recreation, exploration, bundle up, snowy, terrain, wildlife, cozy, coziness, chill, cold, relax, fireplace, curl up"
GLAMOUR:
"glamour, high life, glitz, fashion, precision, pattern, elegant, chic"
"High life" is an example of a keyword I wouldn't have brainstormed on my own.
The Pond5 shoot briefs tell me which keywords are in high demand.
With these creative briefs, Pond5 is telling us that buyers are searching for these keywords and not finding the videos they want.
I might already have these videos and just didn't think to tag them with these keywords.
Let’s take a look at this shoot brief on “Lifestyle” that I've marked up:
Pond5 even gives us suggested conceptual keywords to consider for lifestyle content.
New Pond5 blue links won't change how we keyword.
Some of you may have noticed that Pond5 started turning the first 15 keywords in your metadata into blue links:
We wanted to know if these particular keywords held extra weight in the search engine and if we should be paying attention to the order of the first 15 (instead of just the first 10 for Adobe).
Pond5 wrote back to Marija and said that these keywords don't hold any extra weight and we don't have to change our keywording process at all to accommodate the new feature.
Mystery solved! Thanks for sharing this info, Marija!
I love having tons of tools in my toolbox so I never have to stare at the computer screen and agonize over tags that just aren't coming.
If you have tips of your own, I'd love to hear them and potentially share them in a future post.
Just hit reply to any of my emails or leave a comment on this blog.
Have an awesome day!
If you haven't had a chance to check out my keywording course yet, How to Write Killer Keywords for your Stock Footage, you can check it out on Udemy!
I'll teach you all the best practices you need to know to write professional titles and keywords for Shutterstock, Adobe, and Pond5. As a bonus, you'll get my second course with my personal brainstorming methods included for FREE!
I'll teach you all the best practices you need to know to write professional titles and keywords for Shutterstock, Adobe, and Pond5. As a bonus, you'll get my second course with my personal brainstorming methods included for FREE!
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