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What Is Loom?
Simply put, Loom is a quick and easy to use screen recording and video sharing tool.
Through their free browser extension, you can easily record your screen (and face) within a few clicks.
After you end your recording, your video file is automatically saved to your Loom library where you save it, edit it, or publish it live or to other platforms.
Despite having more robust features available for paid users, getting started with Loom is free, which makes it a great screen recording tool for freelancers or solopreneurs who are just getting started and need to keep costs low.
Why i’ve been using Loom for the last 4 years
I first started using Loom because the other browser extension I was using was a bit complicated and some of their previous free features were going away so that they could upcharge users.
Not fun.
During my search for other in browser screen recording tools, I read through a few articles that all spoke incredibly highly about Loom and given that they had a free version and free trial for the premium, I figured “what have I got to lose?” and signed up immediately.
It didn’t disappoint.
It took me a few minutes to sign up for my account through their google integration and create my first video.
Some softwares that I purchase or have used in the past have much higher learning curves than this so it was a relief to use a product where I immediately got value out of it.
My primary reason for using it was to record educational resources for my contractors and potential customers at the time. For my partners, instead of writing out long and complex SOPs for them to follow, I would simply create a video for them walking them through a process step by step.
They loved it and it saved me a huge headache from any back and forth that would normally happen.
When it came to new customers, I would often send them a write up of my proposed marketing strategy for their business. These were nice and well received, but I had a feeling that customers weren’t actually reading them.
Loom helped bridge that gap and allowed me to rewrite down only the most important aspects of the plan and use the screen share to show them the parts that were difficult to explain.
Worked like a charm.
I’ve since used Loom for many other parts of my business, but saving time and energy on processes combined with making my sales processes smoother have been the biggest wins for me by far.
How to use Loom to grow your freelancing business (that have worked for me)
As I mentioned, Loom has helped me out in many different ways, but there are four main use cases that I keep coming back to:
- Showcasing my services and examples of client results
- Sending personalized demos to prospective clients
- Creating step by step tutorials for my partners and team members
- Eliminating the need for meetings and other inefficient communication
Let’s break down each of these.
1. Video tutorials of your offer on your website
It’s no secret that in 2022 and beyond, most people prefer to learn more about your offer via a concise and informative video than other forms of content.
Videos are low effort for the customer but yet can offer so much more context than text and images can.
A great way to boost engagement on your website and improve your conversion rates, is through recording a Loom video for a few key areas of your freelancing business:
- About. Instead of only describing who you are and how you got started in business, show a video of yourself explaining as well. Loom allows you to record video without your browser window as well.
- Offer. Whatever your offer is, showcasing an example of it in the wild or the impact that it has had on a live customer speaks volumes to potential new clients. Especially if you’re in the services or digital marketing niches.
- Education. Reading through a helpful blog post or article can still get the job done, but if you want your customers or users to really understand your advice, then creating a video step by step walkthrough is going to leave them impressed and satisfied.
Remember, if a few sentences can’t adequately explain something, a video is likely a good idea.
2. Sales pitches & prospecting
As solopreneur or freelancer, one of the most daunting aspects of growing your business is getting new customers.
Yes, there are marketplaces like Toptal or Upwork that can make this process a little smoother at first, but ultimately, you’re still going to have to roll up your sleeves and do some good ol fashioned selling at the end of the day.
If you’re like me and have a complex service offering, then you already know how difficult it can be to explain what you do to a prospective client.
One really helpful technique that I’ve done for years is sending over a demo video to prospects before our sales call. These are Loom videos that walk them through suggestions I have for their business so they can get a taste of what working with me will feel and the kind of outcomes they can expect.
Prospects love this because it takes away almost all of the complexity of the offer in a way they can easily see and understand.
By the time the sales call rolls around, we’re mostly talking about how we will best work together and getting to know each other, not the technical details.
At the end of the day, video content has been proven to help convince most people to make buying decisions.
So how do you put that knowledge to good use? Here are three ways:
- Create a personalized video for 10 companies or people you really want to have as a customer or a partner.
- Before you jump on the first sales call with a prospect, send them a video walkthrough of who you are, how you can help them, and your proposed scope of work.
- Make a video of your unique value proposition based on all of the common objections you get in the sales process. You can send this to potential customers after your sales call to give them even more confidence.
3. Building SOPs for your partners or virtual assistants
One of the most difficult aspects of being a freelancer is knowing when and how to start scaling your business beyond your own efforts.
It may not make sense for you to hire full time employees or build a team, but the time will come where you want to grow your client base or remove monotonous work to unlock yourself to do more of what you love.
One of the easiest ways to get the ball rolling with your own growth is by building SOPs. SOP stands for standard operating procedures, which are step by step instructions on how to accomplish a task.
Creating SOPs are crucial to growing your business in case you want to hire a virtual assistant or other team member to do a job that you currently do. Instead of them fumbling their way through the task or having to come back and ask you a million basic questions, they can just refer to the SOP instead.
However, SOPs are also useful for you to make sure that you’re doing the process in the most efficient way possible. Recording the process forces you to really think through each step of it and if it’s something new for you, you can follow your own SOP until it becomes a habit.
I’ve always included the following for every SOP:
- Write up of how the SOP is to be used and a checklist of steps
- Video walkthrough of the task step by step
- Video overview to explain the importance of the SOP and the task from a strategic lense.
Since Loom keeps your video recordings handy and allows you to give each a title, you can easily share the links with others when needed, or use something like Google sheets or Google docs to make your own SOP library with the Loom links included.
Go forth, prosper, and scale!
4. Time saved from email or another inefficient communication
There is nothing I love more than saving time.
As a business owner, your time is precious. Especially as you grow and have less energy to spend long days and nights working.
One of the easiest ways you can reduce wasted time is through eliminating unnecessary communications. Here are a few examples:
- Long email threads
- Quick zoom meetings
- In person meetings
All of those typically waste time with unnecessary banter, they keep your mind occupied while you wait for the next message to come through, and discussing complex or nuanced topics is really difficult.
That’s where video comes in.
It’s not going to replace those forms of communication ,which all have their place, but it will make the time spent during those forms much more efficient and productive.
Before getting on a call with someone or spending half an hour Slack messaging back and forth, i’ll often record a quick Loom video for them explaining my thoughts and walking them through the problem with any context I have.
This way, they can respond directly in the message with their own questions and videos, and if things are clear, no need to continue. If anything is unclear, we’ll at least know exactly what’s wrong and can resolve the issue much more efficiently from there.
It’s a win-win no matter what.
So there you have it, my top four ways to use Loom’s screen and video recording features to improve your freelancing business.
Enjoy!
