I have a face that's perfect for radio, but unfortunately my voice isn't. It never bothered my growing up, but now that the world is an interconnected, technology driven place I regret not being photogenic and gifted with a radio broadcaster's voice.

My regret isn't because I'm vain. No, my regret is that over time the world has become inhabited by a population with attention spans measured in heartbeats rather than minutes. Why this is a problem for me is simple … I make my living marketing goods and services online and my fellow inhabitants no longer read product descriptions or presentations. They will, however, watch a video.

With video having developed into the most effective means of online promotion, not feeling comfortable in front of a camera is a handicap. I envy the men and women I see presenting their messages on video, or hear them doing the voice over for a video slideshow flowing across my monitor. When I remind myself they're my competition, my envy turns to regret.

Determined to compete in the video marketing arena I tried hiring on camera people to present my products. To say I was disappointed is putting it mildly. Even when I had professionals create a video, the end product appeared amateurish, which in my mind cheapened what I was trying to promote. Quite by accident I happened upon a site offering Adobe After Effects templates . The slick, professional looking slideshows were just what I was looking for.

Adobe After Effects is a program used for creating motion graphics and visual effects in 2D and 3D using a variety of built-in tools and third party plug-ins. I'm computer literate, but barely able to create a blog header or banner using Photoshop. So to navigate the intricacies of a video editor or graphics animation program isn't even on my radar. That said, the website offering the AE templates promised they were easy to edit. I was desperate, and the templates were cheap. I downloaded a trial version of After Effects, purchased a template I though would work for my current marketing project and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was, indeed, a very simple process.

I selected a template that all I needed to do was add my product photos where it was indicated they go, add text where I was asked to enter it, and then cue the sound track. I had a freelance musician make and cue the soundtrack for me. The end result was an eye catching video presentation of one minute that presented all of the product photos and text information necessary for the viewer to make a purchasing decision, and it ended with a call to action. Finally, I too was a video marketer!

After Effects integrates with other Adobe software titles, such as; Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Encore, Flash, and third-party 3D programs like Cinema 4D and Autodesk 3Ds Max. I used only Photoshop and After Effects to create that first marketing video, and still do.

Although there are free After Effects templates available online, I purchase the ones I use because I need really top notch templates. That said, AE templates are all very affordable.

Rather than purchasing After Effects when the trial version I downloaded expired, I subscribed through Adobe for a one year plan. I'll purchase it when the year expires because I'm now convinced I have discovered a fast, easy and very affordable way to make quality marketing videos.