Sometimes, you really have to shake things up to make more sales in online marketing. The top earners in the industry are all doing video sales, as this is the trending way to connect to potential buyers. Bonus – YouTube is a great source for free traffic!
That can be scary, to be sure. We all get into a pattern we’re used to and familiar with. Stepping outside of that can seem nothing short of horrifying. It’s much more comfortable to just keep doing the same old, same old.
The ‘out of the box’ way to spruce up your sales letters is to create video sales letters, also known as VSL’s.
Not sure you can create video? You can. Not sure a video sales letter will convert? It absolutely can.
Think about the way video is used on the web in today’s society. Video is often passed around and shared on social media. It’s more easily digestible. Even if someone doesn’t think they have time to read what amounts to being a wall of text, they have the time to watch a video that’s just a few minutes long.
Let’s go back to the part about video being so much easier to digest. Even those who really enjoy reading might skip reading through your sales letter. That’s a problem.
You spend a lot of time trying your best to write words that will captivate people. Even if you write a really great, captivating sales letter, you might lose out on some who would be interested in what you’re selling, simply because they don’t want to read through the sales letter.
Having a video sales letter can save sales for you. A great, high converting video sales letter can help you earn more money. What’s more, it can sometimes be easier and even quicker to create than a long form, text sales letter. That might be exactly what you need.
I know what you might be thinking—there certainly are some people who have no desire to watch a video. They’d much rather scan text than spend time watching a video, however short.
However, it could be worth testing with your audience in particular. They might really respond to a video sales letter in a way that surprises you.
One of the smartest things you can do in my opinion is make use of the best of both worlds. Why not have a typical, written sales letter as well as a video sales letter? Those who want to read can read and those who want to watch can watch. Often, if someone is really interested, they’ll end up doing both.
Some people will find themselves captivated in a way they didn’t think they could be with a video sales letter. Some will be “caught” by the video sales letter when they would have just clicked away otherwise. That’s what you’re going for.
Making A Personal Connection With Video
It’s also worth mentioning that one of your main goals with a great sales letter is to capture people’s attention and make a personal connection with them. You want them to feel like you’re talking directly to them.
That can be hard to do with text, though you try with stories, bits and pieces about you and your struggle, and by detailing the struggle they’re going through.
It’s easier to make a connection and build trust through video. People can hear your voice and see you talking. There’s more than one way to create a video sales letter, of course. You can create a “talking head” video where you talk directly to the camera. You can create one using PowerPoint/slides, using a voiceover, etc.
Online sales can sometimes be more difficult than person-to-person sales. Video is a great way to make that personal connection through the web.
Choosing The Type Of Video You Want To Create
Hopefully, you can now see that video sales letters are a fantastic option for many in online business.
Now, let’s address the fact that you might not be sure which type of video you should create and/or whether or not you’ll be able to do it.
You can get as complicated with this as you want to. If you’re just starting out, you might want to make this as simple as you can.
I recommend you create a PowerPoint video featuring your product’s top benefits. Make the PowerPoint slides as you normally would. Give yourself between 1 minute and 4 minutes or so worth of content, if you’re also using a full text sales letter.
Save the slides as a video and add a voiceover. You can do all of this within PowerPoint (or Keynote, or whatever it is you’re using).
That’s just about as easy as it gets. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve ever done this before or not; it’s quite simple to figure out.
Remember—pay attention to how you’re drawing people in with your video. Focus on the benefits. Talk to them friend-to-friend.
Or, you can use your webcam or even your smart phone to film a simple talking head video. Speak directly to your audience.
You’ll probably want to talk up your product earlier than you would with a text option. People are busy and generally expect videos to be short.
Note that there are plenty of marketers who use longer sales videos. Some even take the controls away from the user so they can’t speed up, rewind, or any of that. This can be annoying, but it’s hard to deny that it does work for certain kinds of marketers running certain types of campaigns.
A Sample Video Script
There’s no one-size-fits-all “script” for a video sales letter. It depends entirely on your audience, what you’re selling, and things like that.
However, I know how hard it can be to get started on something when you’re not entirely sure about it. So, here’s a sample script you might use as a starting point for creating your own VSL (video sales letter).
Introduction:
Start by speaking/showing a “headline” that’s going to draw people in.
Introduce yourself.
Problem:
Introduce the problem your target audience has. Those who are watching the video should feel that they are, very specifically, the target audience. Like you’re speaking directly to them.
Story:
Share a short bit of your story and how you understand what they’re going through. Detail a bit of your journey and hint at the solution.
Benefits:
In addition to having spelled out the main benefit you’re addressing via the headline and introduction, list some bullet point benefits you’ll cover within the product.
Product:
Introduce the product as the solution they’ve been looking for.
Offer:
Introduce the offer—make it one they can’t refuse.
Test Different Things
Get started creating your video sales letter. As time goes on, you might want to test longer and shorter versions. You might want to test without a long form sales letter and with a long form sales letter.
Use Video Sales Letters To Sell More
Now’s the time to get started with this. Creating a video sales letter is a lot easier than you might have thought, and it really can help your conversions.
Test it out. Add a video sales letter component to an existing sales letter. Or, replace a previous sales letter with a video sales letter. Or, split test both options.
Video sales letters can be extremely smart, easy to implement, and can help you earn more money. Don’t be intimidated by the process – get started with it today and you could potentially earn more from your products.