Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, a content marketing & social media firm. She's written three business books, and blogs about small business on sites including Forbes, AllBusiness, and The Marketing Eggspert Blog.

When you're putting a video for your business together, you probably put a lot of attention into your script and your content, but it's easy to overlook a few things that could put a damper on the success of your video (or webinar).

Before you start filming, run through these items to ensure that you're not making any errors that could make you look bad on camera.

1. Keep Your Clothing Simple

You may love that new checked shirt you bought, but trust me: your viewing audience won't. Checked or plaid material tends to render weirdly, and can be a distraction. You also don't want to wear a color that washes you out, or a top (ladies, talking to you) that plunges low enough to keep your viewers from paying attention to what you're saying.

Stick to neutral colors. Feel free to wear a bolder color if you know it's one that looks good with your skin tone. Just skip the trendy patterns or fabric cuts. You want all the attention on your words, not your apparel.

2. Pay Attention to Your Background

If you're sitting at your desk for your video, what will people see behind you? If the answer is your 1999 Sports Illustrated calendar o' girls or a large plant that seems like it's coming out of your head, move things around in the background.

You can even buy a cheap backdrop or hang a white sheet behind you, if you don't want the office setting background.

If you film outside, be aware of things in nature that could take away from attention on you, like your cat stalking a mouse or cars driving by.

3. Film Where It's Quiet

There's nothing worse than spending time filming the perfect video...only to discover you couldn't hear yourself speaking, or there's some awful bird cawing in the background.

Your best bet is to film inside when you know it will be quiet. If the neighboring business is under construction, ask them to stop for a while or film a different day.

4. Watch the Vocalized Pauses

You shouldn't read a script for your video (it sounds canned), but there are also flaws with expounding naturally. Many people get nervous as they're trying to think of what to say next, and end up making vocalized pauses (think: "um" or "ya know") that detract from their message.

You'll want to run through your presentation a few times so it comes more naturally to you. If you speak slowly, that will give you time to catch some of those unnecessary words before they come out of your mouth. The best tip here is practice. You know what they say: it makes perfect.

5. Get a Dedicated Cameraman

Even if you don't have a $10,000 video camera, you can still take a pretty decent video. Rather than propping up your phone on a stack of books and running to see if you managed to cut your head off while filming, ask a coworker or friend to film you. That way, they can zoom in and out where appropriate, and you won't have so many takes trying to do it yourself.

Videos are a great addition to your marketing strategy, and you don't need fancy equipment or staff to get them done right. Just pay attention to these things to ensure you look like a rock star.

Contact us to take the pain out of videos with an explainer video, video ad, or custom whiteboard animation.