Shooting videos is becoming second nature to people who have grown up with YouTube as a daily feature of their lives, but small business owners are only just beginning to discover the true power of online video and how it can be used to shoot their business to the top!
The fact is – if you think your business has a web presence and you aren’t using online video marketing nowadays then your online presence is a little, well…. lost in the Cloud!
People expect to see video when they go to a site now. It’s the consequence of Social Media and many billions of YouTube videos watched worldwide per month. So how can a video increase your conversion rate?
It isn’t just about making a fun video in your office. One great way for businesses to use online video to boost sales is to make video sales letters. There has been a tendency for online businesses to use the traditional sales letter in text-only format on their sites, some better than others admittedly, but generally these do not really keep the buyer reading on unless they are particularly well written or attention-grabbing. Often the reader has clicked away before the end of the first paragraph. Bang! Another lost sale…
Well-made video sales letters have the potential to convert visitors to buyers much more than text because people buy from people; if they like you and trust you then they will feel comfortable buying from you. This is nothing new but using video to do it is.
So how do we make a great Video Sales Letter?
Well, it’s much the same principal as writing a great sales letter and involves a 3-step process, but it is delivered dynamically by someone with the potential to engage your audience much better. Before starting, consider what your ideal audience is and direct your video sales letter to them and then create your video around these 3 steps:
1. The Hook
First we need to grab the audience attention with a statement that breaks them out of their normal pattern. Be creative, make it interesting – maybe like a newspaper headline that jumps out at the reader and challenges them. Take them out of their comfort zone and identify a concern they may have or something you know can benefit their business. Be direct and let them know what’s in it for them – either a solution to a problem or a major benefit. This is critical to keep them watching.
2. Tell a Story
The second stage is to explain the situation that you know your audience’s business is in, so that they know you understand their predicament. Spell out the consequences of not acting, not in a manipulating fashion, but in a way that will show them the positives to their business by taking up your solution. Tell them the story of how they will go on to achieve better things with your product or service and create the vision for them. Spell out what it is and how it will work for their business.
3. The Sell
This will be a call to action for what the viewer needs to do next. Possibly a URL to click on to register interest or a phone number or email address, but make it worth their while for doing so…perhaps with an offer of a free industry-related report or promotional coupon attached to their next action.
Do you see how a video sales letter structured like the one above can grab attention, keep interest maintained and then convert an interested viewer into a sale?
You can get loads more video sales letter production tips.
Just Click Here To Get A Copy Of The – “Lights, Camera, Profits!” DVD Course.
Really great video tutorial, David, whether you making a sales letter, a sales page or a sales video it’s really important too include these elements. I’ve never heard of that radio station WIIFM, have to check them out 😉
I’d rather watch and listen to video sales letter than to actually read the longer version usually placed in the sales pages. This certainly gets my attention, and I am more likely to stick with it until the last word said on the video. 🙂
Great tips! It’s just like what John Carlton teaches in his Simple Writing System. I’m not a fan of long sales letters but you’re right, now is the age of social media and people prefer to watch videos. I know I would, even if it’s a long sales letter video as long as I got hooked from the very beginning… which I’m telling you is a tough one to do.
It’s obvious why video sales letters are making a killing. People like to watch rather than read… less effort.
A great tip to construct an avatar to create your web video around. Thinking about what would stop that particular person from watching your video or buying your product is an excellent place to start. Thanks!
@ Grace- That’s right. Personally, I want to listen more to a moving person than just read a long sales letter.