How do I turn a finished video job into a case study?

Write it in three parts, in order: the problem the client had, what you did about it, and the result in the client's words, with numbers (enquiries, sales, applications, views) where they exist. Keep it to a page, leave the gear out, and write a two-line version for outreach and follow-up emails.

What questions should I ask in a client video testimonial?

Run the interview in seven parts: a warm-up (who they are and what they do), the situation before, the decision to hire you, the process, the results (with numbers where they have them), the wider impact, and the recommendation (who they'd recommend you to and what they'd say to someone on the fence). Film it as a conversation in their own setting, shoot 20 to 30 minutes for a three to five minute cut, and also cut short highlights and quote graphics from the transcript.

Field Guides / Marketing

The marketing asset you already have and keep ignoring

Q: I need more marketing content for my video business. Where do I start?

Start with the work you've already delivered. Audit your finished films, your behind-the-scenes material and your clients' results, then turn one finished job into a written case study (the problem, what you did, the result in the client's words) and a filmed client testimonial. New creation feels like progress and reuse feels like cheating, so owners plan the next shoot and leave their proof in the archive.

Before you make new marketing for your video business, mine the work you've already delivered. Audit your finished films, your behind-the-scenes material and your clients' results, then turn one finished job into a written case study (the problem, what you did, the result in the client's words) and a filmed client testimonial. The proof you need is usually sitting in jobs you've already invoiced.

Why do video business owners make new marketing instead of using the work they've already delivered?

Owners make new marketing because new creation feels like progress and reuse feels like cheating. So they plan the next shoot and leave the last twelve months of finished jobs in an archive folder.

I see it in the owners I coach. One had 419 images already delivered to a single client. Another had five years of dental work in his portfolio. A third had call prep for one client that applied directly to every emotional storytelling pitch he'd make. In each case the instinct was to create something new when the answer was already in the existing work.

You make testimonials and case studies for your clients for a living. You rarely make one for yourself, because a finished job feels finished: delivered, invoiced, on to the next.

Proof matters because most of the people you reach aren't ready to buy yet. There's an old sales rule of thumb, and one I've used in my workshops: for every 100 people you make contact with, 60 aren't interested, 30 are interested but not right now, 7 are open to buying and 3 are ready to buy now.

How to audit your archive: the method, step by step

An archive audit is a list of every job you've finished, the proof each one holds, and what you'll turn it into. Do it once, then add each job as it's delivered.

List your finished jobs. Work from the last twelve months of invoices rather than your showreel, because the showreel only holds your favourite work. One row per job.
Log the finished film. What was delivered, and whether you can show it publicly. If you're not sure, ask the client.
Log the behind-the-scenes material. Stills, phone clips, the set-up shot, the crew on location.
Log the client result. What changed for the client after the film went out, and anything they've said about it in an email, a message, a review or a LinkedIn recommendation. Quote it exactly. A recommendation you already have can go out as a post this week.
Log the prep that transfers. Research, treatments, pitch prep and call notes that would apply to the next client in the same sector.
Give every row a use, then pick one job. Proof post, case study, testimonial candidate, or outreach attachment. Circle the job with the clearest result and the happiest client: that's the one you work on first. Done looks like a sheet with a use against every row and one job circled.

Copy and paste: the archive audit worksheet

Job: [client, project, month delivered]

Finished film: [what was delivered]. Can we show it publicly: [yes, no, ask]

Behind the scenes: [stills, phone clips, set-up shots we have]

Client result: [what changed for them after delivery]

Client's words: [any email, message, review or recommendation, quoted exactly]

Prep that transfers: [research, treatment or pitch notes that apply to similar clients]

Use: [proof post / case study / testimonial candidate / outreach attachment]

Next action and date: [ ]

How to turn one finished job into a case study

A case study is three parts in order: the problem the client had, what you did about it, and the result in the client's words. Keep it to a page.

Ask the client for numbers where they exist (enquiries, sales, applications, views), and leave the gear out.

Copy and paste: the case study structure

Title: How [client type] [got the result]

The problem: [Where the client was before. What they needed the film to do, and what wasn't working.]

What we did: [The brief, the approach, what we shot and delivered. Two or three sentences.]

The result, in the client's words: "[their quote, exactly as approved]" ([name, role, company])

The numbers, if they have them: [enquiries, sales, applications or views, before and after]

The short version for emails: We worked with [client type] who needed [the problem, in a line]. [The result, in a line]. Happy to send you the full case study.

My old outreach emails had a line for exactly this: an example of a positive outcome, then an invitation to talk. Once the case study exists, it's also the thing to add when a lead goes quiet (see How to write a follow-up email that gets a reply).

How to ask a client for a video testimonial

Ask for a video testimonial by email, keep the ask small and specific, and make it easy to say yes: a short filmed conversation at their place, the questions sent ahead, nothing published until they've approved it.

Copy and paste: the testimonial request email

Subject: [First name], can I ask you a favour?

Hi [first name],

Thanks again for [project]. [One line on the result, in their words if they've already said something.]

I'd like to film a short conversation with you about how the project went, to use on our website and socials. It would take about half an hour at your office, or wherever suits you, and I'll send the questions ahead so there are no surprises. Nothing goes out until you've seen it and you're happy with it.

Would [date one] or [date two] work, or is there a better week?

[Your name]

The subject line is one I've used and tested. If the client would rather not be on camera, send the results questions below and ask for a few sentences in writing.

What to ask in a client testimonial interview

A client testimonial interview runs in seven parts: warm-up, the situation before, the decision to hire you, the process, the results, the wider impact, and the recommendation. In that order the client tells the whole story (where they started, what turned it, what changed) in their own voice.

Copy and paste: the testimonial interview questions

1. Warm-up. Can you introduce yourself and your company? What does your company do, and who do you usually serve? What were you doing with video before we worked together?

2. Before. What was the challenge you needed the film to solve? What did that look like day to day? Were there frustrations or roadblocks that kept coming up? How was that affecting the business?

3. The decision. What made you decide to bring us in rather than handle it yourselves? Were you sceptical at first? If so, what helped? What was it like when the project first started?

4. The process. What was most valuable about working with us? How did our approach differ from others you've worked with, if any? Was there one part of the process that made the difference?

5. The results. What changed after the film went out? Have you seen changes in enquiries, sales, applications or views? Beyond the numbers, what's different for you or your team? What's possible now that wasn't before?

6. The impact. What have your team, your clients or your customers said about it? If you could go back to before the project, what would you tell yourself?

7. The recommendation. Who would you recommend us to, and why? If someone's on the fence about hiring a production company, what would you say to them?

How to film it:

Location. Film in their office, studio or wherever their work happens, so the setting backs up the story.
Length. Shoot 20 to 30 minutes for a final cut of three to five minutes.
Versions. Cut it three ways: the full case study film for your website and YouTube, 30 to 60 second highlights for social, and quote graphics pulled from the transcript. The transcript also gives you the quote for the written case study.

A worked example

Here's the audit applied to the three member archives above. The archives are as the members described them; the uses are what the worksheet would assign.

419 images already delivered to one client. Use: a run of proof posts, and the case study for that client.
Five years of dental work in the portfolio. Use: a dental case study, sent with every dental pitch and attached to outreach in that sector.
Call prep for one emotional storytelling pitch. Use: the opening of every similar pitch, filed where it can be found next time.

Three organic posts I've used as examples in workshops came from the same kind of archive: a video case study, a LinkedIn recommendation reposted to Facebook, and a behind-the-scenes photo with a short text post. The behind-the-scenes post reached 320 views in 12 hours, with 10 reactions and 2 comments.

The mistakes that undo it

The archive gets wasted in three ways, and each one leaves good proof unused or weaker than it should be.

Sitting on the fence. A case study that could be about any production company, any client and any film is forgettable. Say who it was for, what was at stake and what changed.
Scripting the client. Lines handed to a client to read sound like an ad. Ask the question and let them answer in their own way.
Skipping the before. A testimonial that opens on how good you were gives the result nothing to be measured against. Ask the before questions in full, so a prospect still in that position can see where the client started.

The rule of thumb for using what you already have

Before you plan new marketing, turn one finished job into a case study with the result in the client's words, and a filmed testimonial.

For the benchmark, the content planning template I used to teach gave proof its own day every week (the client's world, the product in use, a behind-the-scenes photo, reviews) and gave a case study a slot on the offer day.

Hold yourself accountable

Which of these have you taken on or put in place recently?

You've listed every job you delivered in the last twelve months, with a use against each one.
You've written one case study and the client has approved their quote.
You've sent one testimonial request email this month.
You've posted one piece of proof from the archive in the last week.

Your one move this week

What's the one thing you can commit to implementing this week? If you're not sure, start here.

Before your next "I need to make something", list three things you've already delivered that you've never turned into a piece of proof or a reason for someone to call you. Pick the one with the happiest client and send them the testimonial request email.

One thing executed every week creates 50 strategic moves a year.

Questions like these come up regularly on our weekly Elite Boardroom calls. If you'd like someone to hold you to account each week, and to learn from a group of peers who run video businesses too, the Boardroom is for you.