"Flash Video Arrives in
Acrobat 9"
A Moneymaking
Opportunity From Adobe Arrives...!
Flash video support has
finally arrived in Adobe Acrobat 9 and it has
some very important ramifications for Internet
Marketers!
On the 12th May 2005 Adobe completed its
strategic acquisition of Macromedia, the owners
of several leading software tools including the
ubiquitous Flash video technologies, in an
all-stock transaction valued at approximately
$3.4 billion (£1.7b).
BUT it has taken 3 years
for Adobe to actually release to market a
version of Adobe Acrobat with native Flash support
built into its PDF technology!
...finally on the 2nd June 2008 the news was
released that Adobe Acrobat 9 was on its way for
consumers to purchase in early
July 2008!
the concept of using multimedia files in PDF documents is
nothing new, for "many" years you have been able
to embed QuickTime video, and other formats,
into a PDF file.
However, the video always had to use an
external
media player installed on the end users computer.
With the introduction of Flash video in Adobe
Acrobat 9, video can now be played "within" a
PDF document... with NO need to have
any media player installed!
Adobe Acrobat 9 + Flash Video = A Breakthrough
Formula
Think about this for a moment...
Internet Marketers can NOW include Flash-based
videos when they create and share documents in
the popular portable document format, commonly
known as PDF. (I have a couple of examples later
in this article...)
The enhanced capabilities for incorporating
Flash (.SWF) and (.FLV) files into PDF documents
will open new marketing and revenue streams for
Internet Marketers who seize on this
opportunity.
You can even use high quality H.264 encoded
video which Flash 9 handles natively.
Your hard drive is probably littered with .FLV
and .SWF files created as part of your marketing
campaigns, especially if you use Camtasia
Studio.
So imagine being able to
re-purpose this
video content in marketing documents/eBooks that can be played back on
any users computer, as long as they have the FREE
Adobe Reader 9 installed.
(...and remember this is NOT just
for Windows users. Going forward think mobile
devices and even the iPhone too, as Adobe roll
out their new Reader 9 onto these platforms!)
Don't Let Yours
Get Lost In The Crowd
Your prospects computer already has many PDF
files stored on it that are long since forgotten
about!
Using Flash video in your eBooks etc...
will change that.
Here are just a few examples of what is possible
with the new Adobe Acrobat 9 and Flash video:
Example #1
Social Marketer Jack Humphrey has a
GREAT free
resource called the
Authority Black Book 2008.
In this PDF based eBook he guides you through multiple
profit pulling Web
2.0 properties that can boost traffic to your
websites. BUT currently he only uses text
with screenshots..... Now imaging if he was
ACTUALLY SHOWING you the sites in VIDEO, all in
a single PDF? How would that work for you?
Example #2
Ken McCarthy runs
The System Seminar conference
annually and as part of his pre-sales marketing,
releases training videos from that years
speakers, several month in advance. With Adobe
Acrobat 9 these SAME videos can now be
incorporated into PDF files that can be
downloaded or added to an auto-responder
series...
Example #3
Ken Evoy has a great suite of tools for building
small business websites called
Site Build It.
(In fact I have personally used it to create a 6 figure
income online...) Well how about creating some
pre-sales presentations that can be downloaded
complete with built in VIDEO TOURS of all the tools
available? ....Neat eh?
Example #4
Howie Schwartz runs an
exclusive
Private Mastermind for
paying subscribers. He could easily put his
additional thoughts into a few Flash movies then
sprinkle in some up to the minute supporting
notes and complimentary links to recourses on the Web. Then
Howie could
simply password protect the documents and
distribute to his mastermind members.
No-one is doing this yet...
Example #5
VideoPodcasters - These
guys and gals now have the ability to embed
a "link" to each video show and also include
any relevant
show notes, show links etc. ... a new
distribution method?
Example #6
Clickbank Affiliates... Why not create pre-sales
material for download that contains your video
"walkthrough" of the product/software you
recommending and actually demonstrate the key
benefits to the prospect! Give a "call to
action" with YOUR affiliate link conveniently
underneath the video...
(NB - I am currently investigating to see if you
can script a "re-direct" at the finish of the
video and send them to the URL of your choice
automatically!)
Example #7
Product Support - Opens up a whole new world of
possibilities for help files/product support
documents! During 2007 the mantra was "Use video
demonstrations to cut down support costs." Well
in 2008 you now have the ability to combine
video and support documentation on a whole new
level!
Example #8
Bill Stoller, publicity expert, produces a
monthly newsletter that he sends out to paying
subscribers (of which I am one) as a PDF
document. How much more do you think he could
charge by making this a "Video Newsletter" ?
...I'm betting a whole lot more!
So what could you be charging YOUR
customers...?
...you could even try
linking from an external video that changes
each week, no need to keep sending out a new
PDF!
You've Got To See
It To Believe It
OK...
So you're more than a little "interested"
at this point. So how about downloading an
example PDF file
with a Flash video embedded in it?
(...and remember you can
always LINK to an EXTERNAL file hosted on such
services as
Amazon S3,
the video file does not have to be embedded in
the PDF - if you wish to keep the file size down!)
# 1 - Example of "Embedded
Flash Video" -
Click Here
IMPORTANT: First make sure you have the
UPDATED version of
Adobe Reader
installed - Version 9 (about 5 mins
on a 1Mb DSL/cable connection) or you will NOT
be able to playback the video!
The Cutting Edge
of Video Distribution
Adobe Acrobat 9 still has
an additional surprise for the Internet
Marketer, and its called "PDF Portfolios".
A PDF Portfolio is a single PDF document that
can incorporate drawings, emails, spreadsheets
and multimedia files into a single compressed
file!
PDF Portfolios can contain lots of different
files types to make a custom portfolio with a
"Welcome Page" and a highly functional
navigation that can contain sliding pages or 3D
document rotation (similar to flip 3D in Windows
Vista).
You can also create a custom
"skin" or "User Interface (UI)", so branding
your PDF portfolio is entirely possible using
Action Script 3 and Flex, skills that can be
purchased easily on sites like RentaACoder.com
For the novice your PDF Portfolio can also be created using the
built in document
creation features for the "welcome page" and logo/branding
area, you can even change the hex (colour)
values for the documents. So you may not require
the help of a Flash developer if you just wish to
keep it simple...
Just think about the capability to create a
downloadable presentation that contains multiple
PDF files, excel spreadsheets, a welcome page in
Flash video etc...
Wouldn't that make a great eBook on steroids!
SWIFF Charts!
 Adobe
Acrobat 9 also gives you the possibility to add
advanced and visually rich data charts
- directly into
your PDF documents.
Take data from an Excel Spreadsheet or even manually enter your data and use a program like
SWIFF Charts to create a
Flash movie!
Take a look at the
following example:
# - Example of an "Embedded Chart" -
Click Here
So static content like images and graphs can be
morphed for a for better visualization of data!
No longer do your
presentations have to be boring when your images
can come alive.
A Safe
and Lasting Solution
It takes only seconds to
embed/link a Flash video into a new PDF file and
these new multimedia enabled eBooks etc.. can
start working in your marketing campaigns
instantly!
AND, as each video can
either be viewed in the document, as a "floating
video" or as a full screen video,
just by right clicking it. YOUR
customer/prospect has a choice on how to consume
YOUR
content...
Its a NEW way to package information for 2008 and
beyond!
Which Version Of
Adobe Acrobat 9
The enhanced Flash
support, including native playback, is available
to ALL via Adobe's updated Acrobat Reader
9.
HOWEVER to create the PDF files there are three products in the
paid-for range: The entry level
Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard,
The
Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro edition and The
Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro
Extended edition. All of which
can be found on the Adobe
company store along with
full package and relevant upgrade prices.
Acrobat 9 Pro and
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended will still let
you embed legacy multimedia types which work as
they did in previous versions of Acrobat. (Those
will require a locally installed player to be
available for playback of course, as before.)
Acrobat 9 Pro and
Acrobat 9 Pro Extended both
allow you at add .FLV (or H.264 encoded video
which Flash 9 handles natively) to a PDF
document for playback in Acrobat Reader 9.
In addition, Acrobat 9 Pro Extended will also give
you the option to convert those other formats to
Flash Video, PRIOR to embedding, so that these videos playback in
Acrobat Reader 9
without the need for additional players to be
installed - very neat!
Get Started Today!
I really hope this article has "fired your
creative mind into action" ...so
now go and create those multimedia PDF's that will translate
into additional streams of revenue!
...and lets face it in this new era of an
economic downturn EVERY competitive advantage
you can get is welcome.
If this article has raised any issues concerning
Adobe Acrobat 9, please feel free to
Contact Me.
Thanks for
taking the time to read this page today and
thanks to
Internet Marketing News Watch
and
Chris French - Adobe Product Manager for giving me a mention...!
Kind
Regards
Marc
Liron
Internet Analyst & Microsoft MVP
Marc Liron has been working
and having fun online since 1994. For the last 6
years he has been writing about technology and
has been awarded the coveted Microsoft MVP award
5 years in a row for his technical knowledge and
willingness to share it with the online
community! He also owns one of the most popular
websites created using the SiteBuildIt
suite of tools and is
currently researching the impact of the Semantic
Web on Internet Marketing over the next
18 months...
What's a Microsoft
MVP? -
Click Here
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