Video, audio, PDF....oh my!
This is my 800th post and I wanted to make it more than just a “Hey, great product” or “I highly recommend this WSO” kind of post. I want to comment on the format of WSO’s and my thoughts and experiences with the different presentation styles and what I’ve found that might help others when creating their WSO’s.
When it comes to WSO’s I think the vast majority are probably PDFs. It could be a PDF file by itself, or it could be accompanied by other media like videos or audio. It could be part of a membership site instead of something directly delivered or downloaded. But without a doubt the vast majority of the hundreds of WSO’s that I’ve bought over the years are definitely PDFs and mostly direct downloads. And this is fine.
In fact, there are significant advantages to PDF files. First, they are more portable. Because of the small file size, I can send it to and view it on my smart phone (Android of course, never iPhone!). It’s easy to upload to my cloud files so I can view it on any PC at any time. I can view it on my Kindle Fire if I want a larger screen. And then there’s the fact that since it’s a document, I can go through it at my own pace. I can skim over the fluff at the beginning. I can re-read the parts that don’t make sense. I can skip to the parts where I want to read instantly. And this is probably why PDFs are so damn popular. Also, they are easy and quick to download, so your customers get the info they want quickly.
So what are the downsides to a PDF file? Well, as a WSO creator, it takes a lot longer to produce (in general) than video or audio. PDFs are also easily shared. I guarantee you than any WSO in pure PDF format has probably been shared and downloaded umpteen times by people that have not paid for it. Whether it’s careless people that want to share it among their IM friends, or a full blown black hat site that shares files regularly, people have your product that have not paid for it. Sure, you can use special software to protect a PDF file or add a password, but those can be hacked and/or it will cost you a lot more to produce it. And I see people ALL THE TIME complaining when I buy a video WSO that they “need a PDF transcript”. I see the value in that sometimes, even if just as a reference to the videos. But you get what you get – don’t throw a fit.
OK, so next I want to talk about audio. There are not a lot of WSO’s that are strictly audio. I know of one prominent marketer on the WF that does almost ALL audio. I’ve got a couple of his products, and there are good and bad things associated with audio. First of all, audio is easy to produce. Go download Audacity (or whatever the Mac equivalent is) and start talking. Save it as an mp3 and distribute. This is nice for me as a buyer as I can load it on my mp3 player (not an iPod, as iTunes sucks and since the beginning of eternity iPods have always been inferior to “regular” mp3 players) and listen to it at work, in the car, etc. As a buyer, though, audio has to be my least favorite media. Ok, so a great tip was given at 5 minutes 36 seconds on track 4. Will I remember that? No. Especially if I’m driving or listening where I can’t note the time. Usually this means either taking good notes as I listen, or listening over and over to find the nuggets. Would I suggest creating a WSO with just audio? Never. At least I wouldn’t. As a supplement to PDFs and/or video? Definitely. In fact, if I ever bought an audio-only WSO, I probably wouldn’t ever buy from that seller again.
Wow - harsh, huh? Maybe, but I don’t care. That’s my opinion. And it’s my money. And to me, audio-only sucks. Big time. So that brings us to video. Video WSO’s have been a LOT more popular, especially in the last few years and more so in the last six months, at least from the ones that I’ve bought. I used to hate video WSOs. Why? Just read my third paragraph above. PDFs rule! At least they used to (for me). Videos for me are now becoming the media of choice for WSO’s, both as a creator and a buyer.
As a buyer, I think videos are superior to PDFs in a lot of ways. First of all, it’s a little easier to watch a video than to read a PDF. Call me lazy, but reading takes more concentrated effort. It’s much easier to sit back and watch a video. Plus I can zoom to any part of the video that I want if I need more clarification or need to watch something again to take notes or whatever. Sure I like to have other options, such as a PDF that goes with the videos, but it’s much easier for me to watch and learn than to read and learn. I think other people will agree, even though many do love their PDFs.
For sellers, I think there are a lot of advantages to video. Think of your typical PDF WSO. Look at one on your hard drive. Then take that info and start recording a video of it – read and record. Now when I get to the screenshot in my PDF, I can actually show the website or software and show how I got TO that screenshot. So it’s more complete. And the viewer gets more info for basically the same effort. To produce that screenshot I had to (for example) go to the website, navigate to the page where I want to show something, start my screen capture program, capture the image, and copy/paste it into my document. With the video, I just go there and show them as I do it. No screen capture software needed. So video is just quicker and easier in many cases.
Also, there is a lot less chance of videos being “stolen” and shared, for one thing just because of the file size. And many video WSO’s are part of a membership format, so you have to login to see the videos, which is much safer than using downloadable videos. I guess the downside to the buyer is that if they lose their internet connection, they have no access to the videos unless they are on their hard drive. That won’t usually happen with a PDF. But as a seller, I feel much more secure knowing that there will be less theft of my product. And then there’s the updates. I guess in general with a membership format, everything is in the membership area, so if any updates are needed, the latest and greatest can be downloaded from there. That way I just make an update to a PDF or video (or audio) and tell everyone that the updated version is there. Or with video, I just update/change a particular video then upload that one and I don’t even have to send out an email that it’s been changed. It’s just there and everyone gets it instantly.
But one of the biggest advantages that I see to video is the connection that you (can) make with your audience. Let me give you an example of what I mean. I buy a great Facebook WSO from Marty McShabby. It’s a PDF that is 40 pages long, has a lot of screenshots and explanations – perfect for a PDFer. But the writing isn’t personal and I don’t really feel connected at all with Marty. Then some FB policies change and unless Marty updates his PDF and sends it out or tells me where to download a newer version, my copy is worthless, or at least less effective. Plus, since I never really “got to know” Marty by just reading his (possibly outsourced, and likely boring) PDF WSO, he means nothing to me. I have no allegiance to him or his products. Of course, if it was a good product and helped me make money, I will probably want to see what else he puts out, but in my experience, the vast majority of sellers I’ve bought from do NOT fall into that category.
Now take for example the video WSOer. I’ll go ahead and name JonnyAndrews and his Kindle WSO that I got in on (early, too, before the price went up – but is still a great value even at $40 or higher – thanks, Jonny!). I like his format for a lot of reasons. His is not a membership video site, but his PDF links directly to his videos online. True, I can’t download (or maybe I can, I just don’t know how) the videos, but he adds an “intro” PDF that talks about the system, and a few other additional documents basically outlining his system very concisely. It’s a great package. But the best part about Jonny’s WSO is that I feel like I got to know him. He’s funny. He’s sipping coffee while recording. He is entertaining and informative. And I will easily buy from him again! Why? Because he made a connection with me. And I feel that he overdelivered. And he didn’t give me 90% of the system and left the last 10% for the OTO. And now he can put out another $40 WSO and I will be the first one to buy it. Marty? Nah….I don’t care if I ever see/hear/buy from him again.
So that’s my two cents. I think video is the way to go. Whether you agree or not doesn’t matter. I think that the WSO creators who want to truly give their buyers a “special offer” will start using video more often.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Happy 800 to me.
When it comes to WSO’s I think the vast majority are probably PDFs. It could be a PDF file by itself, or it could be accompanied by other media like videos or audio. It could be part of a membership site instead of something directly delivered or downloaded. But without a doubt the vast majority of the hundreds of WSO’s that I’ve bought over the years are definitely PDFs and mostly direct downloads. And this is fine.
In fact, there are significant advantages to PDF files. First, they are more portable. Because of the small file size, I can send it to and view it on my smart phone (Android of course, never iPhone!). It’s easy to upload to my cloud files so I can view it on any PC at any time. I can view it on my Kindle Fire if I want a larger screen. And then there’s the fact that since it’s a document, I can go through it at my own pace. I can skim over the fluff at the beginning. I can re-read the parts that don’t make sense. I can skip to the parts where I want to read instantly. And this is probably why PDFs are so damn popular. Also, they are easy and quick to download, so your customers get the info they want quickly.
So what are the downsides to a PDF file? Well, as a WSO creator, it takes a lot longer to produce (in general) than video or audio. PDFs are also easily shared. I guarantee you than any WSO in pure PDF format has probably been shared and downloaded umpteen times by people that have not paid for it. Whether it’s careless people that want to share it among their IM friends, or a full blown black hat site that shares files regularly, people have your product that have not paid for it. Sure, you can use special software to protect a PDF file or add a password, but those can be hacked and/or it will cost you a lot more to produce it. And I see people ALL THE TIME complaining when I buy a video WSO that they “need a PDF transcript”. I see the value in that sometimes, even if just as a reference to the videos. But you get what you get – don’t throw a fit.
OK, so next I want to talk about audio. There are not a lot of WSO’s that are strictly audio. I know of one prominent marketer on the WF that does almost ALL audio. I’ve got a couple of his products, and there are good and bad things associated with audio. First of all, audio is easy to produce. Go download Audacity (or whatever the Mac equivalent is) and start talking. Save it as an mp3 and distribute. This is nice for me as a buyer as I can load it on my mp3 player (not an iPod, as iTunes sucks and since the beginning of eternity iPods have always been inferior to “regular” mp3 players) and listen to it at work, in the car, etc. As a buyer, though, audio has to be my least favorite media. Ok, so a great tip was given at 5 minutes 36 seconds on track 4. Will I remember that? No. Especially if I’m driving or listening where I can’t note the time. Usually this means either taking good notes as I listen, or listening over and over to find the nuggets. Would I suggest creating a WSO with just audio? Never. At least I wouldn’t. As a supplement to PDFs and/or video? Definitely. In fact, if I ever bought an audio-only WSO, I probably wouldn’t ever buy from that seller again.
Wow - harsh, huh? Maybe, but I don’t care. That’s my opinion. And it’s my money. And to me, audio-only sucks. Big time. So that brings us to video. Video WSO’s have been a LOT more popular, especially in the last few years and more so in the last six months, at least from the ones that I’ve bought. I used to hate video WSOs. Why? Just read my third paragraph above. PDFs rule! At least they used to (for me). Videos for me are now becoming the media of choice for WSO’s, both as a creator and a buyer.
As a buyer, I think videos are superior to PDFs in a lot of ways. First of all, it’s a little easier to watch a video than to read a PDF. Call me lazy, but reading takes more concentrated effort. It’s much easier to sit back and watch a video. Plus I can zoom to any part of the video that I want if I need more clarification or need to watch something again to take notes or whatever. Sure I like to have other options, such as a PDF that goes with the videos, but it’s much easier for me to watch and learn than to read and learn. I think other people will agree, even though many do love their PDFs.
For sellers, I think there are a lot of advantages to video. Think of your typical PDF WSO. Look at one on your hard drive. Then take that info and start recording a video of it – read and record. Now when I get to the screenshot in my PDF, I can actually show the website or software and show how I got TO that screenshot. So it’s more complete. And the viewer gets more info for basically the same effort. To produce that screenshot I had to (for example) go to the website, navigate to the page where I want to show something, start my screen capture program, capture the image, and copy/paste it into my document. With the video, I just go there and show them as I do it. No screen capture software needed. So video is just quicker and easier in many cases.
Also, there is a lot less chance of videos being “stolen” and shared, for one thing just because of the file size. And many video WSO’s are part of a membership format, so you have to login to see the videos, which is much safer than using downloadable videos. I guess the downside to the buyer is that if they lose their internet connection, they have no access to the videos unless they are on their hard drive. That won’t usually happen with a PDF. But as a seller, I feel much more secure knowing that there will be less theft of my product. And then there’s the updates. I guess in general with a membership format, everything is in the membership area, so if any updates are needed, the latest and greatest can be downloaded from there. That way I just make an update to a PDF or video (or audio) and tell everyone that the updated version is there. Or with video, I just update/change a particular video then upload that one and I don’t even have to send out an email that it’s been changed. It’s just there and everyone gets it instantly.
But one of the biggest advantages that I see to video is the connection that you (can) make with your audience. Let me give you an example of what I mean. I buy a great Facebook WSO from Marty McShabby. It’s a PDF that is 40 pages long, has a lot of screenshots and explanations – perfect for a PDFer. But the writing isn’t personal and I don’t really feel connected at all with Marty. Then some FB policies change and unless Marty updates his PDF and sends it out or tells me where to download a newer version, my copy is worthless, or at least less effective. Plus, since I never really “got to know” Marty by just reading his (possibly outsourced, and likely boring) PDF WSO, he means nothing to me. I have no allegiance to him or his products. Of course, if it was a good product and helped me make money, I will probably want to see what else he puts out, but in my experience, the vast majority of sellers I’ve bought from do NOT fall into that category.
Now take for example the video WSOer. I’ll go ahead and name JonnyAndrews and his Kindle WSO that I got in on (early, too, before the price went up – but is still a great value even at $40 or higher – thanks, Jonny!). I like his format for a lot of reasons. His is not a membership video site, but his PDF links directly to his videos online. True, I can’t download (or maybe I can, I just don’t know how) the videos, but he adds an “intro” PDF that talks about the system, and a few other additional documents basically outlining his system very concisely. It’s a great package. But the best part about Jonny’s WSO is that I feel like I got to know him. He’s funny. He’s sipping coffee while recording. He is entertaining and informative. And I will easily buy from him again! Why? Because he made a connection with me. And I feel that he overdelivered. And he didn’t give me 90% of the system and left the last 10% for the OTO. And now he can put out another $40 WSO and I will be the first one to buy it. Marty? Nah….I don’t care if I ever see/hear/buy from him again.
So that’s my two cents. I think video is the way to go. Whether you agree or not doesn’t matter. I think that the WSO creators who want to truly give their buyers a “special offer” will start using video more often.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Happy 800 to me.
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