Video sales letters can be EXTREMELY profitable — as long as you don’t make this common rookie mistake…
Today, a quick lesson in online video sales letters.
You know, those annoying videos where someone talks while the exact same thing they’re saying is being shown on the screen…
Usually with no video controls, ways to skip to the end, or even ways to take them up on their offer if you don’t want to watch the whole video…
First off, let me address these major objections…
While we in the industry — who see a lot of these things — might be somewhat annoyed by these “features” of the videos…
And while some consumers may attest to not liking these things either…
The truth is, these “rules” for creating video sales letters are that way because they work.
But that’s not even the main topic I wanted to cover today.
Rather, I want to address the big untold lesson of what works in video sales letters!
Here’s the thing…
Classic ads were often written in a PT Barnum voice, with big promises galore. And if you read a lot of the classic books on advertising — especially from folks that straddled direct response and mainstream advertising — you’ll see this as the recommendation.
And so a beginner should be forgiven for thinking that all ads should be presented with bold headlines, and written with a radio announcer voice in mind.
Here’s the thing though…
That may have worked then, it doesn’t work now.
Maybe it’s because of YouTube and the democratization of media. Maybe it’s because these times, they are a changin’. Who knows?
What I can tell you is that what works in advertising today — and especially when you start to do video — is a voice with candor…
What does this mean?
The average prospect today will tune out a video sales letter voice over with a radio announcer voice. If it feels over the top, they won’t engage. Instead, they’ll close the page — and leave.
If you want to write a video sales letter that gets results, you have to make it feel like one real person talking to another. About a topic of shared interest.
The voice has to be casual — on the edge of too casual.
The personality should feel real, not contrived and salesy.
That BS just doesn’t fly anymore.
I saw this on Shark Tank the other day, and there was a lesson…
There was a guy who was building a custom suit maker business. For men who want that perfect fit, his company could make it.
He was a classic sales guy. He pushed hard. He made big promises. He held the line in negotiations.
And he walked out of the room without the deal.
Compare that to the guy who’d invented this crazy portable light that looked like a book.
He didn’t sell hard, but he had a compelling presentation. He was himself — and easy to relate to.
Every single shark fought over the deal, and he was offered TWICE the valuation of his company that he’d come in asking for.
That was a microcosm example of what’s going on today.
While a compelling pitch, delivered with excitement, can still resonate…
You can’t come across as too salesy, or you’re going to get written off.
This lesson applies pretty strongly in video marketing…
With video sales letters, and even more so when you put someone on camera.
Long before you sell, you have to connect on an area of mutual interest. And you have to connect in a way where you feel like a real human being, talking to other real human beings.
The good news if you can do that, you’re going to instantly stand out over the majority of folks who still think they have to pitch hard to get the sale. You’ll look and sound good in your video presentations, and they won’t.
Go up against them, and you’ll get the sale, not them.
What you’ve just read is one of those “pro” secrets that you’ll seldom hear taught by most copywriting gurus…
While most so-called “gurus” are content to rehash lessons that may not apply quite the same ways today as they used to…
My experience working with some of the best direct marketers in the world has taught me that the true A-List copywriters today operate by a different set of rules.
It’s what I taught at my Advanced Direct Response Copywriting Workshop last November…
And I’m proud to say it’s paying off for every single copywriter who joined me for that closed-door affair.
They’ve ALL reported career breakthroughs as a result of coming, and I’ve decided to share their story in this presentation.
It’s also a good example of the type of voice I recommend for video sales letters. It makes an offer at the end for the audio recordings of the workshop — at a price that will only be available for 3 days, and then it will be gone forever.
If you’d like to be able to write more powerful (and profitable!) video sales letters, I recommend you watch that video until the end, and then take me up on the risk-free offer.
It just might make 2015 the breakthrough year you’ve been looking forward to…
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
