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Not sure if video marketing is worth your time? Here’s an eye-opening statistic for you: According to Aberdeen, businesses that use video grow revenue 49% faster year-over-year than businesses that don’t. Still not convinced? Here’s a SlideShare presentation with more stats that illustrate the importance of video.

Of course, even if you are completely sold on the idea of incorporating video into your business’s marketing program, there’s still the issue of actually creating the videos. And in order to do that, you’re going to need some video editing software.

If you have a PC that’s running Microsoft Windows, or an iMac/Macbook, there’s a good chance you already have video editing software installed on your computer. For Windows, that’s Windows Movie Maker, and for Macs, it’s iMovie. However, depending on your particular skill set and/or what it is you’re trying to accomplish with your videos, you may find that the above options are either too complicated or not packed with enough features.

The good news: There are several free video editing solutions you can download that run the gamut from super simple to Hollywood-level powerful.

7 of the Best Pieces of Free Video Editing Software

1) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows)

(Source: Softonic)

At the simple end of the spectrum is Machete Video Editor Lite, which allows you to cut, copy, and paste different sections of video. As the Machete website puts it, Video Editor Lite was “designed for quick and simple ‘slicing’ of your video files.”

The program’s intuitive interface means you won’t have to waste time shuffling through technical support documents. And because Video Editor Lite doesn’t re-encode your video files when you slice them, you don’t have to worry about losing video quality.

The main downsides to the program? It only supports the AVI and WMV video formats, and it doesn’t allow for audio editing. Still, if you have zero video editing experience and only need to make simple edits, it’s a great option.

2) Avidemux (Windows/Mac/Linux)

(Source: Softonic)

Like Machete Video Editor Lite, Avidemux allows you to do basic video editing (no audio editing) without having to worry about loss of video quality. But Avidemux also has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

For starters, the program supports multiple video formats, including AVI, DVD, MPEG, QuickTime, and MP4. What’s more, Avidemux comes with several filters that allow you to perform a host of different functions, from flipping and rotating clips, to adding subtitles, to adjusting colors and brightness levels.

And while the learning curve for Avidemux is slightly steeper compared to Machete Video Editor Lite, the upside is that there’s an extensive Avidemux wiki that covers everything you need to know.

3) WeVideo (Cloud-based)

(Source: WeVideo)

Cloud-based video editing software (i.e., software that you access via a browser instead of downloading directly to your hard drive) is growing more and more popular. And one of the programs leading the charge is WeVideo.

Compared to the first two programs on this list, WeVideo definitely offers some more advanced features and functionality, including audio editing capabilities and a library of commercially licensed music. However, the free version of WeVideo isn’t without its limitations.

One major downside is that you’re only given 5GB of cloud storage. If you’re making a one-off video, this is fine. But if you’re planning to edit multiple videos you’ll definitely need more space. The free version also puts a WeVideo watermark on your videos, which isn’t ideal.

For a complete breakdown of the differences between WeVideo’s free and paid options, check out their pricing page.

4) VSDC Free Video Editor (Windows)

(Source: Softonic)

In experienced hands, the VSDC Free Video Editor can produce some seriously professional-looking video. In addition to supporting nearly every major video format, the program offers advanced video effects, including object transformation and color correction, as well as advanced audio effects like volume correction and sound normalization. And unlike WeVideo, the VSDC Free Video Editor is truly free. You can use the program’s full feature set without having to deal with pesky watermarks.

But unfortunately, there is one catch. If you want technical support, you need to pay. (And because there is a bit of a learning curve, there’s a good chance you’ll need to.) Support for the VSDC Free Video Editor costs $1 for one month, $5 for half a year, and $10 for a full year.

5) Wondershare Filmora (Windows/Mac)

(Source: Wondershare)

Wondershare Filmora (formerly Wondershare Video Editor) is the perfect option if you want to start out with basic video editing functionality while also having the opportunity to get more advanced as you go.

The program’s “Easy Mode” strips away the complexity so you can drag and drop video clips, choose a pre-designed theme, add some music, and produce a finished video in a matter of minutes. Go into “Full Feature Mode,” however, and you’ll be able to do much, much more — from adding transitions, filters, and overlays, to playing video clips in reverse, to using split-screen effects.

Sound too good to be true? Welp, you’re right: The free version of Wondershare Filmora adds a watermark to your videos that you can only remove through upgrading to their paid service.

6) Blender (Windows/Mac/Linux)

(Source: Blender)

The open source program Blender is more than just a video editor: It’s a full-blown 3D animation suite, which allows for modeling, rendering, motion tracking, and more.

On the video editing side, there are a ton of features, including transitions, speed control, filters, adjustment layers, and more. There are also 32 slots available for adding video clips, audio clips, images, and effects, which means you can produce some incredibly complex video.

For the amateur video editor, all the functionality that’s available can be a bit overwhelming. But if you’re looking to produce truly professional-quality video — without having to deal with watermarks — Blender is a solid option.

7) Lightworks (Windows/Mac/Linux)

(Source: ZDNet)

Like Blender, Lightworks is definitely on the more advanced (and powerful) end of the video editing software spectrum. In fact, it’s a program that’s been used to edit some well-known and award-winning films, including Pulp Fiction, L.A. Confidential, and The King’s Speech.

There are two different licenses you can choose from with Lightworks: “Free” and “Pro.” (The latter of which, as you might have guessed, requires that you pony up some cash.)  The main difference between the two licenses is that the Pro version offers more features, including stereoscopic output and advanced project sharing. But the free version is still quite powerful, providing 100+ effects and supporting multicam editing.

Too see the complete list of differences between Lightworks Free and Pro, check out their “Compare Versions” page.

Know of another great piece of video editing software that’s not on this list? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Ever gotten so “in the zone” at work that you completely lost track of time?

This intense state of concentration is sometimes also called “flow.” Your whole world becomes you and the project you’re working on — and it feels great to emerge from that state after getting a whole lot done in not a lot of time.

If you’re like most people, achieving “flow” only happens every once in a while. In fact, the average office worker gets interrupted from their work every three minutes.

Thankfully, if you combine self-discipline, good habits, and a productive work space, you can retrain yourself to get into a deep state of focus when you really need to. Check out the infographic below from Online Course Report to learn helpful tips on getting “in the zone” and increasing your productivity when it really matters. (Be sure to check out the flowchart in there on whether a meeting is actually worth your time.)

For ecommerce retailers, website security is the cornerstone of a successful online business. Why? It’s simple: people only want to give their money and their business to companies and organizations that they can trust.

If a retailer has an insecure website, then, all other marketing and inbound efforts simply won’t bring results. Here, we run through some basic security practices that all ecommerce retailers should employ to make sure that their website is a secure, successful online destination.

PCI Compliance

The PCI Security Standards Council is a global group — whose founding members include American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard and Visa Inc. — formed to develop, enhance and maintain security standards for payment account security.

Together, the members of this group came up with a set of security requirements, known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) that all merchants or organizations that process, store, or transmit credit card information must adhere to. There is good reason for this: these guidelines ensure that all stored credit card data is protected and that sensitive information is secure throughout the transaction process.

Many companies meet these guidelines through the use of tokenization:

Tokenization is when sensitive information —such as digits in a credit card number —is replaced by non-sensitive information, or tokens, so that it cannot be read. This is an effective means of encrypting data because it’s extremely secure: the tokenized information can only be detokenized to redeem the sensitive data under strict security controls and the storage of tokens and payment card data must comply with PCI standards, including the use of strong cryptography.

Staying PCI Compliant and ensuring that all stored credit card data is fully tokenized in this way greatly reduces the risk of this sensitive information being stolen and used. Keeping this data secure is extremely important for all online retailers: if cardholder data is stolen, their credit can be negatively affected and they could lose credibility, money, and even their business.

SEE ALSO: Top 5 Considerations for Creating a Successful ecommerce Website 

SSL Certificate

The SSL Certificate — also mandatory per PCI — also works to ensure that the sensitive information that is sent over the internet is encrypted and secure. When retailers or site visitors send information or data over the internet, it gets passed through multiple computers before reaching its destination server. At any point during this chain, it could get stolen if it is not encrypted with an SSL Certificate.

How does the certificate work? It essentially makes all sensitive information —which includes passwords, credit card information, and usernames — unreadable for everyone except the destination server, thereby protecting all communication from eavesdropping and theft.

It is particularly valuable for ecommerce retailers not just for security reasons, but also to build trust with site visitors and prospective customers: attaining an SSL certificate essentially verifies an entity’s credentials, certifying that they are who they say they are and that their site is safe to visit.

Make sure to watch for changes in requirements – such as the recent change from SHA1 encryption to SHA2 encryption – to make sure your company stays compliant.

Use HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer, or HTTPS, is a protocol to transfer data over the web that should be used instead of HTTP on all pages where data is created. Once again, the issue here is all about encryption. With HTTP, information is not encrypted — instead, it is sent as plain text, which means that anyone can intercept it and read what has been sent.

Further, many customers know about this insecurity and tend to avoid ecommerce websites that use HTTP. This means that keeping HTTP could hurt a retailer’s security and their business over time. 

 It’s important to note, though, that HTTPS isn’t necessary on every page of a website. Why? If retailers try to include it everywhere, it will slow their page load speed and likely hurt their business. Instead, HTTPS should just be used on pages that collect and store data so that site visitors customers can feel secure sending their information. That means skip the homepage, about us page, etc. 

DoS and DDOS protection

DoS and DDOS protection work to guard against denial of service and distributed denial of service attacks.

Denial of Service and Distributed denial of service: During both denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, attackers attempt to block legitimate users from accessing information or services by flooding a network with requests, thereby overwhelming the bandwidth of the targeted system and preventing legitimate requests from coming through.

While both attacks work in the same way, the key difference is that a DoS attacker usually uses a single computer and internet connection, while a DDoS attacker uses multiple connected devices, making the flood of information that much larger harder to deflect.

There are many ways to protect from DoS and DDoS attacks. The easiest and most expensive way is to buy more bandwidth. Think about it: during these attacks, they’re trying to flood your space, so if you have a ton of space it will be more difficult for attackers to overwhelm you. However, this is a largely impractical solution -especially for DDoS attacks – since in today’s day and age the attacks are just too large to overcome.

However, there are more inexpensive and effective other ways to mitigate attacks. Setting up effective, well-configured firewalls, for example, can prevent this attack traffic from reaching your computer.

Use a Firewall 

As the name suggests, a firewall is a hardware or software system that essentially works as a wall or gateway between two or more networks, permitting authorized traffic and blocking unauthorized or potentially malicious traffic from accessing a network or system. Like an actual wall.

It essentially protects what is inside a network from the outside — a.k.a from other networks or from threats on the internet like backdoor and DDoS attacks. Since ecommerce websites have a lot of inbound traffic, they need firewalls to protect themselves against malicious entry.

There are many different kinds of firewalls, but two very effective firewalls for online retailers are application gateways and proxy firewalls. Both function as intermediary programs between two or more networks, meaning that incoming traffic has no direct connection or access to a retailer’s network.

Application Gateways

With an application gateway in place, there are two lines of communication: one between your computer and the proxy, then one between the proxy and the destination computer or network. It’s essentially a checkpoint that all network information has to stop at. By serving as this middle point, the application gateways help hide and protect your network from others’, only letting in traffic -or packets -that have been authorized.

Proxy Firewalls

Proxy firewalls are among the most secure. Why? Like the application gateway, the proxy serves as an intermediary connection. However, they take it one step further -instead of your network connection going all the way through, a new network connection is started at the proxy firewall. This means that there is no direct connection between systems at all, which makes it even harder for attackers to discover your network and get in.

It is important to note that, for a firewall to be effective, it has to be properly configured. What does this mean? Well, firewalls don’t automatically know which traffic is malicious — they need to be programmed with this information. Make sure, then, that whoever sets up the firewall is properly configuring it so that all of the right information gets through.

By staying on top of all these security measures, online retailers can effectively build their customers’ trust and their own company’s reputability, taking the first steps to ensuring that they have a successful, long-lasting online presence.