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Have you heard of effective video sales letters (VSLs)? It’s exactly what it sounds like, a sales letter created on video that inspires your customer to choose you. Keep reading for video sales letter examples, video sales letter templates, and AI-powered tools for video sales letter software that you can use to create video sales letters.
If you’ve been avoiding creating videos for landing pages and opt-in pages because you don’t like it, you think it’s expensive, hard, or takes forever. this cheat sheet is for you. After 15 years, I’m embracing video sales letters and sharing my short-cuts. Fellow video avoiders — help is on the way!
I hate video. I know I’m in the minority because the statistics don’t support my preferences. So, let that be a lesson to you. Marketing isn’t about you and what you love – it’s about connecting with your audience. And my audience loves videos. Want proof?
What is a Video Sales Letter (VSL)
A video sales letter is a short, persuasive video that is used to sell a product or service to your target audience. It is typically between 2 and 5 minutes long, and it is a great way to connect with potential customers, establish rapport, and create a connection that can lead to a sale. Video sales letters can significantly enhance traditional sales pitches by providing a more engaging and personalized experience. Additionally, video sales letters can improve conversion rates by effectively capturing and maintaining the viewer’s attention.
A video sales letter can be as simple as a written sales letter converted to video, to a talking head video (where you appear on the video) and do a simple presentation.
What Makes an Effective Video Sales Letter
In order to create an effective video sales letter, you need to keep a few things in mind. First, you need to identify your audience and craft your message accordingly. Second, you need to make sure that your video is visually appealing and easy to follow. Third, you need to ensure that your video is properly optimized for search engines. It is also important to track engagement metrics to measure the video’s effectiveness. Finally, you need to track your results and adjust your strategy as needed. Additionally, a strong call to action is crucial to guide viewers on the next steps and enhance conversion rates. By following these tips, you can create an effective video sales letter that will help you boost your sales and reach your target audience.
Do Video Sales Letters Work?
I always like to say that if video content didn’t work, no one would use it. The following data shows that videos are a very effective way to create sales letters to deliver a sales pitch. Video sales letters are an invaluable tool for sales professionals looking to engage potential clients more effectively.
Customer testimonials can further validate the effectiveness of video sales letters.
According to Wyzowl:
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96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
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88% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
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78% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy or download a piece of software or app by watching a video.
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When asked how they’d most like to learn about a product or service, 73% said they’d prefer to watch a short video. This compares to 11% who’d rather read a text-based article, website or post, 4% who’d like to view an infographic, 3% who’d rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who’d rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 3% who’d like a sales call or demo.
That’s market research. The data has spoken. And that means that I’m going to create videos. Oh, there’s this other reason too — I want to increase my conversion rates by 80%-86% by using video compared to a 5.31% conversion rate without a video.
But first, a little context.
The evolution of the video sales letter (VSL)
A video sales letter (VSL) is …you guessed it – a sales letter in video format.
Ever since David Ogilvy said that people will read any length of copy as long as it’s about them, sales letters have been an insanely effective form of direct marketing.
And then, when video technology evolved to the point where the rest of us could create high-quality videos, the video sales letter was born. The advent of advanced video editing tools has further enhanced the effectiveness of video sales letters. Visual storytelling has become an integral part of modern video sales letters, making them more engaging and impactful.
The first video sales letters were text with a voiceover.
It looks something like this: a PowerPoint slide video with large text and a simple voiceover.
Don’t judge. Even though these videos weren’t fancy or pretty, they were insanely effective. During the 2010’s they were all the rage and marketing were using them to sell everything from $15,000 programs to books.
As you watch this video pay attention to how they address their customer’s pain points.
The next big thing was explainer videos
But then beautiful, high-quality videos became even easier to make. And so — videos with both text and videos are even MORE effective.
This is an example of an explainer video. It uses highly effective visuals that support the voice-over to explain a concept, product, or service.
Explainer videos can significantly improve viewer retention by keeping the audience engaged and interested in the content.
So now, when you land on the homepage of a website, a landing page, or a sales page the video you see there is — some variation of a video sales letter.
Heck, if you’ve watched TikTok, you’ll notice that many of those videos are (in essence) a video sales letter – especially if you turn on the captions.
Now you know.
OK – You want to make a video sales letter – now what?
There are hundreds of articles and videos out there that will give you templates and scripts to create a video sales letter. And you are free to search Google and do that work. Or — you can pay thousands of dollars to have someone do this for you — and not give you what you paid for.
Content creation is a crucial part of the process when making a video sales letter, as it ensures your message is clear and engaging.
Here’s my solution.
It’s short and sweet. You will pay something for the tool but believe me it is WORTH IT!
Let’s get started.
Sign up for Jasper.ai
Jasper.ai is a powerful tool that can help entrepreneurs create high-quality content quickly and efficiently. Its advanced AI technology, customizable interface, high-quality content, affordability, and templates make it the best AI writing tool for entrepreneurs.
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No — seriously. I have written video sales letter scripts before and it was long, hard, and painful. It took me about 40 hours to write the script and create the video. (I’m bolding this so you can come back and compare).
I’ve also hired people to do this and paid them thousands of dollars to screw up something I could have done for free. So there’s that.
Jasper has just added a video sales letter template that is worth the price of admission. Check this out!
Jasper.ai produces AI-generated content for video sales letters, making the process much faster and easier.
In this image, you can see that Jasper offers a template form for you to fill out. And then turns your answers into several variations of a video sales letter script.
Here are the form fields:
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Your Name
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Company Name
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Who is your ideal buyer audience
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List your key benefits and features
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What current pain or negative circumstance is your customer facing now?
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What’s a true negative or scary fact?
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What’s the big idea in 2-
Adding Video Testimonials
I want to say a few words about video testimonials. You don’t have to use video testimonials, although collecting written customer testimonials and featuring them in video form is very effective. Video testimonials provide social proof, enhancing the credibility of your product or service.
If you don’t have testimonials right now, don’t let that stop you. You can include them in future videos.
Turn your script into a presentation video
My next step was to create a basic presentation video. Remember, I don’t want to be on camera, so presentation video first. Video editors can help you create professional-looking presentation videos that effectively convey your message.
Scriptwriting is crucial in creating effective presentation videos, as it ensures your message is clear and engaging.
Again, I’m lazy and cheap. So I’m looking for a video tool that’s going to convert this script into a gorgeous video in a few minutes.
I tried a couple of tools. Here’s what I got and I’ll tell you, and show you what I chose.
Lumen5
I have so much love for this tool. I use the free plan because I get unlimited videos if I let them show their logo. This is such a great tool – I’m happy to show their logo.
Normally, I use this tool to plug in a URL from an article and their AI generates a quick video from the content. Lumen5 facilitates automated video creation, making the process incredibly efficient.
I’m not kidding — it’s that easy.
Granted, you will have to do some video editing. Be real — it’s a machine! But not too much editing.
In this case, I cut and paste my script and messed around with the slide design. Having a well-structured sales script is crucial for creating an engaging video.
It was ok. It didn’t make me smile or anything. But, hey, it was free.
My next stop was:
invideo.io
Like Lumen5, invideo had a similar interface, where you drop your script into the workspace and the system creates slides from your script.
Invideo.io can be a valuable tool for video marketing, helping to create engaging content efficiently.
The experience was a little easier for me than lumen5 for this particular project. And I was seriously considering using it. But then I remembered.
Adobe Express
I pay for Adobe Express and believe me it’s worth every penny. But don’t worry, there is a free version as well. All I can say is – there is so much to love.
Adobe Express has this fool-proof feature that creates gorgeous professional designs with no effort on your part.
I used their easy video creator for this project.
Adobe Express example with stock videos.
I simply broke up the copy to fit into the slide. I selected different formats from the left had menu and went from one slide to the next until I was done with the script.
Adobe had an amazing bank of free images to choose from – so that was easy.
And, I was also able to use my brand colors and fonts. Adobe Express helps maintain brand consistency by allowing you to customize your projects with your brand’s unique colors and fonts.
One more thing. Adobe also has the ability to add music and a voiceover.
< iframe src=”https://express.adobe.com/video/nvQ3asrjR3lil/embed” width=”960″ height=”540″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>< /iframe>
There are other tools out there, but these are the ones I used and why I ended up going with Adobe Express in the end.
What I’m going to do next – Testing
My next step in this video sales letters process is to actually create a face-to-camera video where I go through this script in front of a camera. I intend to do captions as well just in case there are other people out there who don’t like having videos play out loud.
A/B testing is crucial in optimizing video sales letters as it helps determine which version resonates more with the audience.
Then, I’m going to do an AB test with these two versions of the video on a landing page to see which one performs better.
But that is the EASY part.
The hard part was getting to this point.
Best VSL Examples
Here is my final video sales letter
Next, I want to show you some sales videos by marketing experts who use their own video sales letter formula to create a great video sales letter. Case studies can provide valuable insights into effective video sales letters.
Here are the Best video sales letter examples:
Frank Kern
Granted, Kern didn’t “invent” video sales letters, but since he’s an amazing copywriter, and someone who understands what motivates and persuades his audience, his video sales letters are extremely effective.
Frank Kern’s expertise in copywriting has made him a renowned figure in the marketing world.
I’ve been following Kern for years and I think he is the master of sales video. In fact, I’ve purchased several products from him based on a sales video and have found the content wasn’t for me – but the sales video — perfection.
This is one of his early video sales letters where he’s literally taken a written sales letter and transferred it to video and BOOM!
Jeff Walker
I can’t say enough about Jeff Walker. While Frank Kern is more of a traditional salesman, you’ll notice that Jeff Walker’s video sales letter example is more educational. Jeff Walker’s video sales letters focus on educational content, providing valuable information to the audience. Walker has a “steady” communication style that makes me think that he’s more of an introvert.
In fact, his Product Launch Formula (that he’s describing here) is ideal for content marketers. In this case, he’s not using a video script, rather, he’s educating his target market. He grabs the viewer’s attention with this educational live action format. A compelling video title is essential to capture the viewer’s attention right from the start.
Video Sales Letter Funnels
After creating an effective video sales letter, setting up your email list and having a well-thought-out campaign plan in place, the next step is to build a VSL Funnel. A VSL Funnel consists of 4 pages:
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The VSL + Order Page – This is the first page where customers will watch the video and then an order form will be displayed to them. By filling out the form, they can move on to the OTO page. This page contains all necessary information and encourages customers to act quickly on their decision.
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The OTO or One Time Offer page – It incentivizes customers to gain access to extra services or purchase additional products based on their original purchase decision. Also, it enables a time period which gives customers an urgency feeling and increases chances of conversion rate significantly.
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Downsell page – It targets buyers who are not interested in purchasing anymore and offers them other options like digital copies of physical books, etc.
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Offer Wall Page – This is the last page which acts as a thank you page for buyers containing details about their orders with links to other subscription services related to their primary purchase decisions.
Video sales letter funnels can significantly enhance lead generation by capturing the interest of potential customers and guiding them through a structured sales process.
FAQ: Video Sales Letters (VSL)
Who Invented the Video Sales Letter
Jon Benson is credited with inventing the video sales letter more than 15 years ago. What started out as a simple sales letter with nothing more than words in a PowerPoint has evolved into a powerful tool that generates more sales. Today, he helps small business owners and entrepreneurs how to create ethically persuasive content.
How long should my video sales letter be?
A good video sales letter should be as long as it needs to be to layout relevant pain points. It can be as short as a minute or as long as an hour. The going philosophy is that the more expensive the offer, the longer the video sales letter needs to be.
What is a video sales letter (VSL) funnel?
A video sales letter funnel is a marketing tactic that’s part of your sales process and uses a video sales letter to pitch a product or service to potential customers. The video is usually the first step in the funnel, and it is used to capture the attention of potential customers. If they are interested in the product or service, they will then be directed to a landing page where they can learn more about the product or service and purchase it. A VSL funnel can get very intricate by tagging people based on their actions or inactions and then sending them a series of emails.
A video sales letter fits into a larger sales funnel by acting as an initial touchpoint that captures interest and guides potential customers through the subsequent stages of the funnel.
Where can I host a video sales letter?
You can host your video sales letter on YouTube, Amazon S3, Vimeo, or even your email marketing software. If you created your video sales letter on a VSL software, you can also host it there.
Now it’s your turn
So, now it’s your turn. If you’ve been avoiding video sales letters like I have because you don’t like yourself on camera — then do this simple text video.
Having a solid video marketing strategy is crucial for engaging your audience and driving conversions.
If you’ve been avoiding doing a video sales letter because writing the script is hard or expensive – don’t. Use the Jasper.ai tool I recommended.
And, if you’ve been avoiding video sales letters because you can’t make pretty videos — check out the video software tools that do it for you.
Overall, there’s no excuse!