Why I HATE Video Sales Letters...

15 replies
Yes, I know VSLs convert well (if you write
them following best practice).

But I HATE being FORCED to sit and listen
to them...

So much FASTER to skim through a sales letter.

What about you?

Do you also resent having to watch the screen
for 20 minutes, when you can skim a sales letter
in 5?
#hate #letters #sales #video
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Originally Posted by Copydog View Post

    Yes, I know VSLs convert well (if you write
    them following best practice).

    But I HATE being FORCED to sit and listen
    to them...

    So much FASTER to skim through a sales letter.

    What about you?

    Do you also resent having to watch the screen
    for 20 minutes, when you can skim a sales letter
    in 5?
    Hate? Resent? Nah.

    Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    I always find it interesting that a sales letter with a 15% conversion also
    means that 85% of the people didn't buy or, let's say for argument sake,
    didn't like the sales letter. I'm sure a lot of people hate VSLs but the
    "lovers" are who count.

    -Ray Edwards
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  • Profile picture of the author Copydog
    Anyone have any stats for how well VSLs
    convert compared to sales letters?
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  • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
    Those that put a block of text under videos with, say 6, blocks of highlights of the video
    get a higher watch and conversion rate.

    If the video is hosted on Youtube, then you can click on the Youtube icon at the bottom right
    so you go to Youtube where you can control the fastforward button.

    Best,
    Ewen
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    • Profile picture of the author Copydog
      And including at least around 300 words of
      SEO'd text below the video also helps push
      the video up in the search engine results pages?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
      Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

      Those that put a block of text under videos with, say 6, blocks of highlights of the video
      get a higher watch and conversion rate.

      If the video is hosted on Youtube, then you can click on the Youtube icon at the bottom right
      so you go to Youtube where you can control the fastforward button.
      It's against YouTube's TOS to post a sales video... so I don't recommend it.

      Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    But I HATE being FORCED to sit and listen
    to them...
    Actually, no one forces you to sit through a VSL. You choose to do so. You can choose not to.

    I choose not to. If all there is is a sales video, I'm out of there.

    Marcia Yudkin
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    Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlanCarr
    They certainly can work very well, for the right product or service to the right audience.

    Preventing the user from fast-forwarding is a feature, not a bug

    Someone may be too lazy to read a long sales letter but that same person may be too lazy to NOT watch the video already playing in front of them.

    Watching TV actually numbs the brain. You literally go into a somewhat vegetative state, a whisker away from open-mouth drooling. Couple that with ever-shrinking attention spans and our need for movement, novelty and so on, and videos certainly have their place.

    Are they better than text? Not yet, because like webinars, most of them are crap. A GOOD video sales letter can be devastating though, IF the script writer or sales speaker knows how to sell.

    The vast majority don't.

    As most VSLs are snoozefests of hype and with a predictable "personality", I too tend to avoid them.

    As a general rule I guide most clients away from video, as the cock-up potential is extremely high, out of all proportion to any potential gains. Of course some products or services are crying out for video, and it would be a disservice not to recommend one.

    I honestly can't think of a single video production that went entirely smoothly and according to plan, without at least a few screw-ups, misunderstandings or otherwise poor performance in some way.

    Bottom line, they are hard to do well, usually are NOT done well, and even if YOU know exactly what you're doing you'll find the client doesn't, nor do the production people... but they'll certainly have their opinions!
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  • Profile picture of the author dmarc
    9 times out of 10, if it is just a video, you have lost me immediately. If there's at least enough text to let me know WHY I should be interested in the video, maybe I'll watch it. Maybe. If it's just a video...see ya!
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Ignore VSLs at your own peril fellow copywriters... many are crushing it.

    Of course a poorly written VSL isn't worth the electrons it's written on. Same thing with any other sales piece.

    But the good ones... they're well worth the time to watch. And study.

    Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
    Originally Posted by Copydog View Post

    Yes, I know VSLs convert well (if you write
    them following best practice).

    But I HATE being FORCED to sit and listen
    to them...

    So much FASTER to skim through a sales letter.

    What about you?

    Do you also resent having to watch the screen
    for 20 minutes, when you can skim a sales letter
    in 5?
    Here, at THE COPYWRITING sub forum, we get bombarded with people who want to get more work, or even any work.

    As an Independent Marketing Appraiser, my first client contact is evaluation or assessment, I must first evaluate what they are currently doing and what they want to do.

    Many would-have-been clients WANT a VSL, but, their product/service or market/niche may not need it and/or they (the market), also, might hate them.

    So, working in the client's best interest, I may reject the proposal.

    Also, as a marketer, I take instructions from market results.

    If a full page newspaper ad still works, then, just because I hate to read newspapers these days, doesn't mean I'm going to reject the option, IF IT SERVES MY CLIENT.

    My opinion of a vehicle or marketing channel doesn't fit in, unless I can offer up some proof or good reasons for them NOT to use a given medium.

    If you hate VSL's, don't write them, take them off your services offered.

    But like Alex Cohen has pointed out, for the copywriter who learns how to write them, they can produce a substantial portion of one's income. And they probably have all the copy business they can handle.

    As for watching them, who cares what you or I do? What does the market do? Results are the guide to use.

    gjabiz
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  • Profile picture of the author 1Bryan
    Why I love video sales letters:

    If you've sold successfully in person, no need for an explanation. If you've only sold as a writer, then nothing I say will make you "get" it.

    I'll be blunt: If you can't sell in person, VSL's probably were terrifying when they were a "new" thing 10 years ago. If you are just discovering them now?

    :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Sean DeSilva
    I've thought about this myself. Sure feels tempting to project my own biases onto the prospect. But then how many times have I been sucked into infomercials that had the appearance of cooking or home improvement shows?

    The prospect does not have the level of familiarity as we do with autoplay video sales letters.

    I've sent client traffic to the most pitchy video sales letters you can imagine. They listened, they bought. If there is an interest, there's enough desire to stick around.
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