Creating videos that pitch viewers on a product or service can be quite lucrative, even if you have zero on-camera experience.
Few skills will put more money in your bank account than learning how to make high-converting video sales letters.
Video sales letters are videos that pitch viewers on a product or service. They resemble sales letters you may have read online, except with a richer media experience. Some sales pages for products and services may consist of a single video and no copy.
We’re visual creatures, and we’ve never had more visual content to consume.
The average consumer watches hours of Netflix, streaming content, and television per week. More video is then consumed on Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram. We love video, and video sales letters are an insanely effective way to leverage this format to capture attention and convert it into action.
Video sales letters, along with other high-income skills like copywriting, helped me build a multimillion-dollar business from scratch. They’ve also helped me build captive audiences in the tens of thousands on YouTube and Instagram. And they’ve put more dollars in my pocket than most other advertising and sales formats combined.
In the process, I’ve learned the following core principles behind million-dollar video sales letters. No matter your skill level or business, you can use this high-income technique to beef up your bank account.
Remember that video sales letters are fundamentally about copywriting.
Video may be a different medium than text, but the same principles that you would use in effective copywriting will result in a great video sales letter.
At the end of the day, video and copy are the same. You are capturing a prospect’s attention, addressing their top pain points and objections, then persuading them to take action.
You’ll want to follow the core principles of good copywriting in order to write a good video sales letter script. Deeply understand your market. Speak conversationally. Write no higher than a third- or fourth-grade reading level.
Pick one big idea.
The most successful video sales letters succeed or fail based on whether or not they have a single big idea. If you have a powerful big idea behind your letter, it stands a much better chance of converting — even if the other elements aren’t perfect.
One example of this is the extremely popular workout program P90X. The product’s video advertisements all centered on a single big idea: muscle confusion. The reason to buy the product over all others was because its different workouts confused muscle groups, which led to extraordinary results in a short time — extraordinary results that anyone, even the overweight and out of shape, could achieve.
This single big idea led P90X to sell millions of copies.
The big idea is so important that advertising legend David Ogilvy said, “Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night.”
You must captivate viewers in the first 30 seconds.
We all know attention spans are short. Every marketing communication must have a great hook to reel in your audience. But the stakes are much higher for video sales letters.
If you write copy that has a lame introduction, it’s possible your prospect will keep reading if your headline’s promise is powerful enough. After all, they can skim your sales letter for the information they want.
The same cannot be said for video. Nobody skips around a video the way they would scan a sales letter, looking for the information they need. They don’t have the time.
Bore your viewers and they’re gone forever.
I’ve built a substantial business on video sales letters, and my data shows that more than half of viewers drop off in the first 30 seconds of the video.
The solution? You must grab and keep attention in the first 10 to 30 seconds of your video.
Don’t be afraid to address your prospect’s pain point head on. Don’t be afraid to pull out all the stops right away to gain attention. The beginning of your video is not the time for subtlety. Hit people right away with the most arresting information, messaging, or visuals.
The rest of the video will describe all the details of your offer, but you must get the viewer’s undivided attention first.
My experience shows that if you do the first 10 to 30 seconds of your video sales letter right, you buy yourself another five minutes of your prospect’s attention.
Practice making a video every day.
The tips above are essential for creating great video sales letters, but you also need to perform well. Body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice all matter enormously when you’re on camera. Even the perfect pitch will fall flat if you don’t know how to deliver it.
The problem is that a lot of people think they need coaching or practice before they make their first video. It’s the opposite. You get great at being on camera by practicing being on camera.
If you want to create better video sales letters, I recommend you do a 30-day challenge: Post a video on Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram every day for a month. It can be about anything, and it can be any length.
The point is to post daily and publicly, so you see exactly how you come across on video and have pressure to improve. It’s uncomfortable, but it works.
Most importantly, it’s worth it. Being great at video sales letters will take you from broke as a joke to high income faster than you can imagine. But that only happens if you take action.