I Won't Watch to the End.

I don't have the patience either. If the subject interest me, I just download the video using downloadhelper (firefox plugin), play on my pc and skim away.

I'm with you - I can't stand a sales video even if it is only 5 minutes!

The thing is that if I am going to buy a product, I usually know a bit about it beforehand. So, I don't need all the basics or to know that the guy lived in his grandmothers basement last year and makes over $1 million a day this year.

I actually just disregard most of the hype and promises now anyway so I certainly don't want to sit through all that.

I might have a few questions that I would like answered which I can easily scroll down through a sales letter to find the answer.

Mostly, I usually just want to know the price.

I'm busy and time is money so to sit through a long sales video is not something I am likely to do unless I am extremely interested in the product.

I guess maybe it might work on newer folks who aren't as jaded as I am yet.

Lee

But Virginia, if someone could show you that it doubled your sales, would you use it?

Cheers,

Neil

True - I had just edited my post to put in the bit about "fashionable" marketing tactics!

Cheers,

Neil

To be honest i delete all of my email contains video promotion and offers.
It is the worst emails i get and i never watch them because i get bored.

Hey Josh

I'm not disagreeing with you.

If tests showed me that making my site tartan with a bright yellow headline and white on black text increased sales significantly then I'd consider it. Purely from a marketing viewpoint, I'd be failing in my duty if I put my personal preference against concrete test results.

Maybe the long video thing works for them. Maybe not. We'll never know.

Cheers,

Neil

I am not a part of this target market either. (In fact, I've never purchased anything from a video -- that includes infomercials on TV.) I'm the type who learns best by reading. Plus, I like the skimming aspect.

I love Paul's line from above:

That's perfect.

Another thing about long, rambling videos that talk about everything else but the offer -- it always makes me wonder what the product will look like. Can I expect the same long, rambling chunks of time where the product creator wastes my time?

Fair or not, if I don't know the seller, I often assume that someone who's wasting my time with a video that's straying is probably going to have a product that strays hither and yon too.

Cheers,
Becky "I have no patience for this either" Hagel

I've seen a few a these as well. I never considered it as a new business strategy. Now I'm really glad I didn't bother watching!

On the same theme, but slightly different are the pages that autonatically load audio.

As soon as your voice starts, I close down the page.

Sure put an audio file on there but allow ME to decide to listen to it.

On the videos, it's not so much the length for me, but the lack of controls.

I can only get a wireless connection which at times is slower than dial up. If I can't let the video buffer so I can watch it all in one go, then adios - forever.

It seems that someone decided that both these techniques were a "good idea" (probably the grandchild of the guy who decided that putting your foot in the door is a "great" trick for door to door salespersons), and then the sheep followed.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I think the idea of no controls was first thought of by someone who has been banned from this forum - four times.

Says it all really.

Yep, I dislike this kind of thing as well. I know I have a short attention span, so I'm definitely not in the target market for that kind of thing anyway.

The thing is: If the pitch starts out with some emotional story and goes through the whole rags-to-riches (or fat-to-thin or whatever) thing, it's meant for "virgins" anyway.

That kind of thing is compelling to someone who has not yet been exposed to all the marketing noise in a give niche.

If we're talking about IM products, an experienced IM'er doesn't give a crap about an emotional story, he just wants to know how the systems/tool/technique can help him leverage his marketing efforts.

That's my impression, anyway.

Quitr right. Life is too short to waste on a long sales message. They all lose my interest within 5 secs. Keep the video short or get lost is my motto! Short means 3 minutes max. That's more than enough time to make your case.

I cannot imagine it doing well in most niches.... it's an ADD world. (TV made sure of that). Obviously someone has tested it??, though most don't test their PPC either...

Wow - and I thought I was the only one who skipped the videos........

Brainwashing and cults come to mind.

These have been around for a long time. I was watching or trying to watch one, and they did tell you how long it was, but no controls. We had a spike in our internet and bang it was back to the beginning. Out of there.

I hate these types of videos, and most have no idea how bad they look or sound.

Hype, total hype.

Thanks for that, Josh, I totally agree. Very annoying, that is. I haven't come across videos with on time control, though. I love it when they make there long videos and expect people to listen to them, but but a lot of slides with bullet points in them, so I can get through those videos fast. Big waste of time, watching a lot of those videos, but I think the idea is right, to get people sucked in and listening to your every word. Problem is, not all of these guys are believable or charismatic enough to pull it off.

Fully agree. For me it's two issues: 1) lack of controls to speed through to the key points because I haven't got time to watch long vids, and 2) bandwidth - I'm on ADSL and wireless so video chews up my internet dollars. Be interesting to know the sales conversion rates of these techniques.

Maybe they did test and maybe they didn't.

If they did and it showed higher conversions then it means it works for that marketer in that niche. Then it's up to each of us to decide if it's a tool that we'd test out for our marketing arsenal or not, knowing that we could be leaving money on the table.

If they didn't test, well, it's all nonsense anyway and it's back to the "love it, hate it" bun fight

Cheers,

Neil

28 posts and all one liners. Not only that, but a couple of them are asking for review copies of WSOs.

Hope you had fun while it lasted.

Agreed on all points. A couple other quick observations:

1) These types of sales tactics often backfire on your best potential customers (as this thread shows) because the real "players" don't have time for the shenanigans.

If you're selling legitimate products based on value and not hype, the people you're turning off probably have a higher lifetime residual value than the rest.

2) Even if someone split-tested this concept and it worked for them, whether it works for someone else is a crap shoot. I gave my full thoughts on that here yesterday.

3) I recently turned a full long-page sales letter into a very tightly scripted 3-minute video overview that beat the control. It can be done right, but it takes work.

Final thought: I would love nothing more than for every single one of my competitors to do nothing but create meandering, long-winded videos that make it hard to order from. (heh, heh...)

But Lance, he is doing this to prove his ultimate article writing service.

This is new? Seems like every sales video I've ever seen, which is why I typically ignore them.

I made the mistake of watching one a long time ago. It was 20-30 minutes long and a complete waste of my time. I've not repeated that mistake.

I'm just spit-ballin' here but maybe the tactic used is a qualifier to those who are willing to spend the time on what's being sold.

Seriously, if you don't have the time to watch a 30 minute video, do you have the time to deep dive into a time-intensive course/program then commit 100X the time implementing it too?

My feeling is that "some" people get pissed that they are not presented with the option to skip forward the video, huh? Well, read on....

I have no idea what program/courses Josh was referring to however, I have a feeling that the product will require a commitment of time beyond a "typical" ADD sufferers attention span.

In the same vein, would you read a 45 page sales letter in its entirety or would you prefer to skip instantly to the Buy button to make your purchase without knowing what you're buying? (rest assured of the Guarantee for refund).

Controls or no controls, you have to ask yourself whether you are willing to spend the time to study the offer regardless of the medium used to get the message through because there is and always will be a time cost associated with any method of sales message delivery to the "qualified" prospect regardless of the mechanism used.

Something else to consider.... maybe the speaker was boring at a certain point in the video and that's what turned you off 'cause after all, you were engaged enough to watch a portion of the video so is it the lack of controls that put you off or was it the speaker/product pitcher?

Or, maybe the video was speaking to particular segment of their market demographic which turned you off thus, proving my point of using the video to properly qualify the "right" prospect for the product offering(?) a.k.a. you are not the market they are targeting.

I rarely watch lengthy video to the very end 'cause my engagement in the content delivered is lost due to the speaker talking themselves out of a sale (biggest problem with most salespeople IMO) regardless of whether there are controls on the video or not.

When I am engaged in the content, time doesn't matter to me.. akin to watching your favorite 3+ hour Hollywood movie at the theater or even, getting sucked into a late night infomercial (neither have controls to fast-forward when viewed in real time).

My guess is that there is some psychology (NLP) at play which speaks directly to the product owner's "intended target market" which, most likely has an astronomical CR when the order page is displayed to those who were FULLY ENGAGED & QUALIFIED for the product.

(This is my guess.. not fact yet something else to consider for the topic at hand beyond the "I don't like it" typical responses in this thread and in others that have spoken about the same so-called annoyance).

To be fair, we really should hear from those consumers who have viewed the no-controls video(s) in its entirety then made the decision to purchase the product for a well-rounded discussion about the effectiveness of lack of controls on a a sales video from a committed buyer.

Is there anybody out there? (Pink Floyd)

Last thing to consider... what if the product's price-point is a $500, $1000, $2500 per month continuity program or stand alone product at the same pricepoints with multiple high-dollar back-end offerings...

Do you really want tire-kickers in your program or would you want a qualified, committed prospect who is willing to commit beyond the first month's dues and/or purchase future offerings thus, improving the retention of the program/product with the "right" customer?

How many sales would you need then for you and your business to be a resounding success financially now and in future?

Believe it or not but successful product owners "profile" their intended customer then use very specific psychological triggers to drive consumer actions (make a purchase). Call it brain-washing or conditioning if you will yet everyone is subjected to the same tactic every day of your life even if you are not fully conscious of what's happening around you.

This tactic of forced view video isn't intended to sell a one-size fits all product to the masses... so, it does its job very well as a gatekeeper (filter) for the most qualified prospects who are already pre-conditioned to make a purchase from the use of such tactics in future... and those are usually high-value/high-dollar customers... the best you can get.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here yet about video...

I have a slight hearing problem. I'm not deaf, I just can't catch some voice pitches clearly. I have yet to find a video that I can comfortably understand without having to resort to my headphones.

Most are far too quiet, even at full volume, the voice pitch is low and, for me, that is an instant turn off. Ok, so I can wear a headset, sure, but that means I have to sit in front of a rambling video until it finishes. I usually don't.

If you DO use video, please remember that not everyone has 20/20 hearing (is there such a thing???) and pitch the volume loud enough so that it is clear.

yep unless the topic or first few minutes doesnt get me i dont bother watching till the end. Give me controls or else on your bike!

Today I received an email from Russell Brunson with a link to a video like mentioned here.

I immediately stopped viewing and send a reply saying that I don't watch video's that I cannot pause when I feel like pausing.

I am curious if I will get a reaction and what that reaction will be...

If it catches my attention immediately I'm good for about 2 minutes. After that I'm gone. Apparently I have a short attention span.

I'm glad someone else out there is thinking the same as I do.

My daughter says I'm more like a dude when it comes to social matters. I hate folks that take a million years to get to the point. I usually cut her off when she rambles and my statement is, "and your point is?"

I'd rather have some long copy so I could just scroll to the bottom and make a decision, not be held hostage for 20 to 30 minutes. Not cool. Hit unsubscribe button.

It might... in certain limited scenarios... like where a relationship of trust has been built with the author, the recipients are expecting the presentation because they have been presold, and where the content is compelling enough to cause a person to not only sit through the entire video but also be patient enough to wait for the offer to appear since it will count down and disappear.

Its a tool in the tool box...

But there is a risk that if it is overused or misused it can produce diminishing returns.

For example if one prospect watches three videos from three different publishers following this format and strategy...

And those three videos ended up being longer than they expected, and they missed the offer on a couple of them because they got up to take a pee...

How do you think that prospect will react when a fourth publisher uses the same technique and the prospect lands on their site seeing its the same technique?

How would that same prospect have acted if they were not reminded of their previous time wasting experiences?

Imagine you went to see a sales presentation on a subject you were interested in and then had to pee at some point during the presentation... no one told you how long the presentation was going to be and it was not obvious from the presentation itself when they would get to the pitch...

While you were in the bathroom they made the pitch... you walked back in and sat down and asked what the offer was and they told you...

"I am sorry you will have to come back and watch/listen to the entire presentation, from the beginning, all 45 minutes of it, all over again to find out what the pitch is..."

You ask:

"but can't I just skip to the part where I left to take a pee?"

The robot answers:

"No we don't offer that option."

You ask:

"Can anyone tell me what the offer is?"

The robot answers:

"No one can tell you. You will have to watch the presentation from the beginning and not move a muscle to find out."

---

As a consumer I've made my mind up about this strategy because of my first bad experience with the person who wasted my time with it.

That first experience spoiled it for me. Now whenever I see another person doing the same thing using the same technology I remember the first experience.

The message no longer matters.

Anik Singal just had one of these with no video control.

Anik I love you and all your stuff. I watched for a while and never even made it long enough to tell what you were promoting. Please consider re-doing the vid, or publishing a sales letter.

Take care my friend

Yes, True I also don't have that much patience to watch videos for long time. If a video looks interesting i will try to download it using orbit downloader and watch it part by part..