Most of the sales copy I've written for clients over the last two years has been video copy. These videos perform, on average, 20-30% better than a traditional text-based sales letter.
If you aren’t already using video to deliver your sales presentations, I encourage you to experiment with this method. It has dramatically increased profits for several of my clients.
Technology makes it relatively easy and inexpensive to produce sales videos.
Even though it's nowhere near as costly as it once was to produce good video, it's still a significant investment. You want to make sure, as far as possible, that you have the best video sales presentation possible. Avoiding “do-overs” on these productions can save you a bundle.
In the interest of getting it right the first time… and based on the home runs I’ve helped create for clients… here are 7 keys to creating more powerful, persuasive marketing videos:
- Promise a transformation. People aren’t buying your box of stuff (DVD’s, manuals, pills, potions, or lotions).. they’re buying the transformation they believe your stuff will bring them.
- Copywriting still rules the day. Now more than ever, the power of persuasive language is the key to successful selling. Copywriting is more important than ever.
- Tell the truth. You will prosper more, and sleep better, if you operate in a culture of honor and honesty. Plus, it just so happens that the most effective advertising is based on the truth.
- Use lots of testimonials and credibility-builders. Most of the successful infomercials consist of around 70% testimonials. The reason is simple: the more testimonials you show, the more you sell. Just make true they’re true.
- Use the power of music. Filmmakers know the power of music to move our emotions. Just try watching the Lord of the Rings without the sound, and you’ll begin to understand how important music is to your experience of the story. Music can do the same for your sales videos that it does for movies and TV shows.
- Choose the right voice. The “voice” you choose for your video is important. In the case I'm not referring to the audio qualities of the narrator – but rather who the story is being told by. Is it the inventor of the product? The CEO of the company? A customer who loved the product so much that she bought the company? Who you choose to tell the story can make all the difference.
- Make an irresistible offer. If you pile on the value so that the offer is impossible to refuse… so that we would have to feel stupid for not buying… and then top it off with a free bonus or free shipping… your offer will become truly irresistible. An irresistible offer can cover a multitude of other mistakes.
It helps to realize that a video sales presentation is more than just a normal sales letter with visuals. The most successful video sales presentations are those that use the emotion-amplifying power of cinema to multiply sales.
And now… lights, camera, profits!