For a creator like you, turning your ideas into an online course is easy.

But performing in front of a webcam?

Eh…not so much.

We all know video is a powerful way to connect with your audience, but at the same time, getting in front of the camera can feel like a huge risk.

Maybe it’s the fact that you don’t have the “right” lighting, a fancy camera, or an expensive sound kit. Or maybe you just get the jitters as soon as you know you’re being recorded.

But here’s the thing:

Rather than fixate on your limitations, think of them as vehicles that can help you create more personal, more effective videos.

In fact, according to numerous studies, using more “DIY” (or amateur) video production quality can actually help you build trust and appear more relatable.

To help illustrate, we’re busting 3 myths about “professional” video production with research and tips that prove how DIY video production can actually be the edge you need in building a relationship with your audience.

We’ll take a look at what the latest research says about why you should be making DIY video, and we’ll look at a case study of a DIY ethics course created using Soapbox, a simple and free video creation tool.

By the end of this article, you’ll have all the tools and knowledge you need to take full advantage of DIY video.

Myth 1: Professional videos are more trustworthy

It’s natural to think that high-quality video production equates to higher customer trust.

Think again.

The key to facilitating trust is getting others to empathize with you, and the key to creating empathy is taking advantage of neurological pathways that are much more receptive to DIY video than to professionally polished video.

Here’s that bit of neuroscience you may not know: your brain contains mirror neurons, which fire when you perform a certain action, and when you see others perform that same action.

This means that watching someone discuss a topic in a video can put you in their shoes on a deep psychological level. And here’s the trick: watching someone who looks less professional and more authentic will put you in their shoes more — not less.

The result: your audience will trust DIY videos more than professional videos.

To see this in action, take a look at this video from a course on consequentialist ethics:

Because of the DIY quality, this video feels more authentic, and less scripted.

It feels more approachable, like you’re in a living room with a friend, not a classroom with an impersonal lecturer.

You also don’t get the sense that you’re being “pitched” by a slick-sounding salesman. Rather, you feel as if the creator is speaking directly to you, in a conversational tone.

And the best part?

The “person-to-person” conversation style gets those mirror neurons firing more than a professionally produced video, which, as you know, will help you build a deep connection with your audience.

Myth 2: My audience relates better to professional videos

You might think that it’s easier to connect with your audience if your video is extremely professional and polished.

“After all,” you may say, “poor production quality distracts viewers from me and my content.”

But, according to a study from Harvard, your audience may actually relate better to you through a personal, DIY-quality video versus an anonymous, professional-quality video.

A Harvardx/MITx study recorded the behavior of students in a large, open online course during the second year of the school’s program.

The results? 50% of the students stopped participating in the course during its very first week.

The study found that the student drop-off could be attributed to the style of the online course program: the lectures were huge, impersonal, and made it difficult to engage with the instructor.

That’s why it’s so important to use tools like video to connect with your audience. The more DIY it looks, the more your audience will feel like they know you personally.

Take a look at this video from a course on non-consequentialist ethics, and see how the creator makes a connection with you:

Notice how the creator shares a personal anecdote during the lesson — this humanizes him in a way that takes full advantage of the DIY video format.

Once the audience learns about the creator’s history with ethics, he seems more authentic and less like a textbook or generic lecturer .

(And let’s be real: when the content is as challenging as Kant, it’s really important that the creator connects with his audience 😉 .)

Myth 3: Professional videos reinforce your expertise

You might have thought that a DIY video would dilute your professionalism and perceived expertise because it doesn’t look professionally-produced.

But in reality, this, too, is a myth.

In fact, making a DIY video can make you seem like more of a subject-matter expert to your audience.

It turns out that in some situations, when you tell people negative information about something, you end up making whatever positive information they have about that thing seem even more positive.

In 2012, two Stanford Business School professors published a paper about what they call “the blemishing effect.” They conducted experiments in which they presented positive and negative information about hiking boots, chocolate, and champagne glasses to participants.

They discovered that some negative information can make you feel better about a product than when you only hear positive information about that same product.

For example, imagine two situations. In the first situation, you’re told about a hiking boot that’s supportive, lightweight, and durable. In the second situation, you’re told about a hiking boot that’s equally supportive, lightweight and durable; however, you’re also told that its outer shell is dented from the production process.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, the blemishing effect predicts that you’ll actually be more attracted to the second boot—the one for which you have negative information that doesn’t impact its key function (hiking).

What does this mean for you? It may sound crazy, but have DIY-quality video can actually make you seem like more of an expert than professional video would.

The lower production quality of DIY video—the “negative information” for the blemishing effect—highlights your actual content—the “positive information”—making it seem even better and more expert in quality. The DIY quality is like the dents in the hiking boot: even though it’s negative information, it doesn’t actually impact the key function of the video: communicating your content to your audience.

For an example of what this looks like, check out this video from a course on virtue ethics, where the creator uses video games to teach about moral dilemmas.

The DIY quality of this video makes the audience more excited to explore the unusual connection the creator makes between philosophy and video games. The blemishing effect highlights the value of this connection, making it seem even more insightful.

Notice how organic it feels when the creator switches between recording himself and recording game footage. These transitions split the attention of the audience between the creator and his screen, augmenting the impact of the blemishing effect.

Ultimately, the creator uses DIY video to emphasize his expertise, rather than focusing on video quality. This encourages the students to stay engaged and click the link at the end of the video to continue the lesson.

Ready to bust some video myths?

Bust out some knowledge and turn on that webcam! The biggest “reasons” to avoid making DIY videos aren’t reasons at all: they’re myths.

Once you see that DIY video will actually help your brand and audience relationship, rather than hurting it, you should have the confidence to face the webcam with a smile.

Afraid your first video won’t be awesome? Don’t worry: we know that’s just a myth, too!