Easiest money I've ever made online... too easy.

57 replies
I'm serious.

This is very similar to selling a pre-designed website and then customizing it for a specific business... except simpler, faster, and easier.

I wanted to have some fun and try something new so I paid a company to make one of those animated explanation videos. I realized most SEO companies would love to have a video that explains SEO to people who have no idea what it is.

So I had them create a video that explains SEO. Next I went to the website of a company that sells SEO to businesses. I grabbed their logo and contact information, attached it to the beginning and end of the video, and emailed them a link to the video.

They called me right away. Here is what the guy said on the phone: "I'll get right to the point. I like the video. How much is it?"

He caught me by surprise. I just said, "Ummm $200".... and it was sold just like that. Too easy. I could have sold it for more but I didn't want to get greedy. Now he wants more videos but I don't have anymore... lol.

These videos sell for $2,000+ (and I told him that) so it was an easy sell for $200. Anyone here could easily sell 10 videos a week to SEO companies and make $2,000 a week. Once people see the video, and see that it is already customized for them, it is hard for them to say no. Especially at only $200.

The only problem is I wasted my money paying for the video because I don't have time to go sell more. Currently building a multi-million dollar agency serving corporations. I suck at making money online but boy was that easy.

I posted this in the Offline Section because you could probably sell videos like this much easier by cold calling companies and saying, "I made a video for you. Want to see it?" But email worked for me, so you could just use email. And since these are SEO companies, they probably prefer email anyway.

Warriors, jump on this fast before someone else does, especially if you have some capital to get a video created. I'm serious. This is too easy. The opportunity is wide open for this. You can probably make a video about PPC management too, but there are a million SEO companies, so I would go after them.

Oh yeah, here is the video I paid to get created: <link removed by author>

Here it is on the guy's website: <link removed by author>

Cheers,
Brandon

P.S. Warning: these videos aren't cheap. There are tons of companies that make them, but I don't know anywhere you can get a high quality video like this for cheap.
#easiest #easy #made #money #online
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

      Great video and great idea Brandon - thanks much for the share!

      Steve
      No problem Steve.
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  • Profile picture of the author kebertt
    Great method!

    How much did you pay for the video?
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by kebertt View Post

      Great method!

      How much did you pay for the video?
      The company I used charges about $2,000 but I talked them down some. Costs much more if I wanted characters drawn, sound effects, etc.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author shakti2u
    Boy, this puts many different things into play. You could do it for almost any company that helps people with their websites and all kinds of topics. Thanks for the share.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by shakti2u View Post

      Boy, this puts many different things into play. You could do it for almost any company that helps people with their websites and all kinds of topics. Thanks for the share.
      Yep. The guy wanted a video about mobile websites, videos about SEO specifically for lawyers, etc.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author shakti2u
    Do you think a powerpoint video would work as well? I just emailed you at the email you gave with the video.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by shakti2u View Post

      Do you think a powerpoint video would work as well? I just emailed you at the email you gave with the video.
      Responded to your email. Powerpoint can't produce videos like this. The company in the original post actually had a Powerpoint video and replaced it with my video.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    $2000 seems like quite alot for this. I would think that someone on odesk could do the video itself, then you could find someone on Fiverr to do the voiceover and music cheaply but professionally. Its a great video though, no question about that!
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  • Profile picture of the author hobgoblin
    I've been making videos for companies off and on for a while but now I might go full out on it with this marketing twist... dig it man.... dig it.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by hobgoblin View Post

      I've been making videos for companies off and on for a while but now I might go full out on it with this marketing twist... dig it man.... dig it.
      Go for it man.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author 300SMG
    You paid close to $2,000 and charged $200? Or am I misreading something.
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    • Profile picture of the author PeacefulCalamity
      Originally Posted by 300SMG View Post

      You paid close to $2,000 and charged $200? Or am I misreading something.
      He's tweaking the videos a bit for each business and selling a slightly tweaked version to each business. So, he would make back the money eventually.

      Or at least that seems to be the idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by 300SMG View Post

      You paid close to $2,000 and charged $200? Or am I misreading something.
      The idea was to sell the video to lots of companies for $200 each. I didn't sell exclusive rights to the video. Sell the video to 100 companies and make $20,000. Then I realized I don't have time to contact all these companies. I was too excited about the idea and didn't think about that. Besides, I always kind of wanted to go through the process of making one of these things. Been keeping up with the video stuff for a while.

      I will not be back to this thread until Wednesday evening - going to bed and have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Later.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author jtchaschowy
    I would give these businesses the videos for free. It costs you very little to make.

    Instead of a one time amount of $200, set-up some sort of referral system with them or let them offer your services to their existing customers.
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    • Profile picture of the author iamrichard
      i have been doing something similar for a while. It works very well. It does not take us $2000 to generate a video like that. You can find good talents on odesk to make the video and find voiceover on fiverr. Put them together and it will cost you far less than $1000. But you have write down the script youself though which is not too hard.
      Plus, do not have to limit yourself to IM world. You can think of legal, finance, fitness...the sky is limit.

      Originally Posted by jtchaschowy View Post

      I would give these businesses the videos for free. It costs you very little to make.

      Instead of a one time amount of $200, set-up some sort of referral system with them or let them offer your services to their existing customers.
      Love your referral idea. I will try that in our next move.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
    Whats the price for warriors?
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    • Profile picture of the author Vladcanada
      Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

      Whats the price for warriors?
      +1 i'd grab it too maybe. Pm Me with the pricing plz !
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      • Profile picture of the author Scottish
        This is a fantastic idea. As soon as I seen it I also thought oDesk + Fiverr.

        Looking at oDesk though....I'm trying to figure out what to search for in order to find those who can deliver this specific type of animation. Does it come under animation or presentation or whatever?

        My existing clients would love this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scottish
    What are these actually called?

    'Business description animation for websites' doesn't really roll off the tongue.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by Scottish View Post

      What are these actually called?

      'Business description animation for websites' doesn't really roll off the tongue.
      Most companies call them explainer videos, explanation videos, demo videos, or product videos. When I sold it, I just told the company I made them a video. No special jargon.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author ProAffiliate01
    This sounds like an excellent opportunity. Thank you for letting me know.
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  • Profile picture of the author betterwtveter
    Wow I am impressed, but it still shocks me that people are willing to pay 2k for a video.
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by betterwtveter View Post

      Wow I am impressed, but it still shocks me that people are willing to pay 2k for a video.
      That's because video creators are selling these videos to REAL companies, not Internet marketers still trying to figure out how to make money online. Real companies don't expect the videos to be cheap, nor do they want cheap a video. And $2K is on the lower end. Most companies are paying $5K - $10K.

      Most of these videos take a lot of time to put together, so it's not like they are charging high prices just for the sake of it. Lastly, it's all about increasing sales. If a video helps a company increase sales by $100K a year, it's worth a measly $2K. I know of a fellow who produced a "normal" video for a company and it increased sales by millions. He was upset and said he should have charged a percentage of the increase in sales.

      Check out this conversation where someone asked about prices for these videos. Prices varied from $2K to $50K.

      Demo Videos: How much does a product video cost? - Quora

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author LivingCali758
    Excellent post, thanks for your contribution.. Question, how did you insert the company logo / make it personalized in the beginning of the video and end? Did you use your own software, if so what kind of software does this?
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by LivingCali758 View Post

      Excellent post, thanks for your contribution.. Question, how did you insert the company logo / make it personalized in the beginning of the video and end? Did you use your own software, if so what kind of software does this?
      Yes I used my own software. First I designed the beginning and ending slide in a graphics program like Photoshop (I used GIMP). Then I attached it to the video using a program calling Cyberlink Powerdirector.

      Brandon
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      • Profile picture of the author LivingCali758
        Thanks, this isn't a bad idea.. something to definitely look into.
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  • Profile picture of the author anwar001
    This is a very good idea. Just reading this, another idea came up in my mind. Why not modify this a little bit and approach other businesses outside of SEO industry. We can get videos created which explains something about their industry which would take a long time for them to explain to customers. Then customize that video with their company logo and sell it off to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmLesterDavids
    Looks like something I could do.

    And this would probably be applicable to other industries besides IM.

    Think doctors, plumbers, photographers etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
      Hmm... It's like; go look at websites, there's no video, make video, sell it to them, easy enough IF you have the ability to create the video. Otherwise, outsource it.

      Trying it on your own using Photostory or Windows Movie Maker (google it, all free by Microsoft) might get you decent enough of a video, find voice over at fiverr and you are all set to go.

      What blows my mind though, is the balls you got to have in order to charge top dollars, something I am currently not possessing, lol.

      Eva
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      • Profile picture of the author internetPro
        Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+ View Post

        Hmm... It's like; go look at websites, there's no video, make video, sell it to them, easy enough IF you have the ability to create the video. Otherwise, outsource it.

        Trying it on your own using Photostory or Windows Movie Maker (google it, all free by Microsoft) might get you decent enough of a video, find voice over at fiverr and you are all set to go.

        What blows my mind though, is the balls you got to have in order to charge top dollars, something I am currently not possessing, lol.

        Eva


        you can buy a set of balls that hang on the back of your vehicle,,,,,
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  • Profile picture of the author brik2500
    Good job Brandon, keep up the good work!
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  • Profile picture of the author Nino
    Brandon, 2k is a bit much...

    I've been playing with this idea for almost a year now, and recently i've learned how to actually do these videos (done a lot videos before but not like these) and I also found someone who can help me with this kind of videos.

    I am thinking of doing this in 2 ways and I will soon post a thread in the wso section:

    1. I can make a custom video with a slightly lower quality for around $200/min, even cheaper but it depends on the order!

    2. I can develop awesome, and I mean awesome videos (including other types) for a few of you guys who do offline marketing and want these kind of videos but don't want to unload 1-2k$ /video.

    I will have a short sample soon, so if anyone is interested in one of these can PM me, but the availability will depend on how many people i get ...
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  • Profile picture of the author stranger11
    Amazing! How do you show them the video without sending it to them? If you show it on youtube or some other video sharing site, they can just download it, and if you send it to them, they already have it, how do they see it, then pay for it, then receive the file?
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by stranger11 View Post

      Amazing! How do you show them the video without sending it to them? If you show it on youtube or some other video sharing site, they can just download it, and if you send it to them, they already have it, how do they see it, then pay for it, then receive the file?
      I sent them to my website to watch the video, not a video sharing site. But it doesn't matter. I'm not worried about them stealing the video for two reasons:

      1) If they did, it would be obvious because I would see it on their website. If I caught them and they will not pay, I know of plenty of lawyers who would send them a nice little letter that would ensure a quick payment.

      2) Most people are honest. Most companies will not risk getting into legal trouble over $200. Worrying about someone stealing it is a waste of energy.

      Brandon
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    Brandon, what application was used to make your video?
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

      Brandon, what application was used to make your video?
      I believe they used several programs, the main program being After Effects.
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  • Profile picture of the author rushindo
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author midasman09
      Banned
      A few yrs ago I made some "Videos On Spec" for some restaurants. Put them on my website and told the restaurant owners to "Go Take A Look at the VIDEO I created for you"!

      "Curiosity" got the best of them.

      Restaurants spend LOTS of money AND time...designing their INTERIORS
      .... but....the only time potential diners see the INTERIOR is when they are already INSIDE!

      I make the restauranteurs AWARE of this....and they buy.

      Nowadays...if I want some "quick cash"... I take my Portable DVD Player (with sample Videos on a DVD)...into a restaurant....show the owner what my Videos look like....ask if I can take some photos with my Digital at "NO obligation"....take 10 to 12 shots...make up a video with PhotoStory 3...burn it to a DVD....go back to the restaurant...pop the disk into my Portable DVD player and....collect a check.

      Here's one I started with;

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kTOIMJkAK8

      I call this..."VIDEOS ON SPEC"!

      A way to make some "Quick Cash" same as "5KbyXmas" in my sig.

      Don Alm...maketing guy
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  • Profile picture of the author stranger11
    I am not too tech savvy and mostly deal with the management and dealing with clients. When you send them to your website to watch the video, do you make it as a quicktime video, or realplayer? Basically, how do you embed the video for them to watch it?
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    • Profile picture of the author rushindo
      Originally Posted by stranger11 View Post

      I am not too tech savvy and mostly deal with the management and dealing with clients. When you send them to your website to watch the video, do you make it as a quicktime video, or realplayer? Basically, how do you embed the video for them to watch it?
      At first I used something called Flowplayer, which is a free video player for playing videos on your website. But if you are not tech savvy, you can just upload it to youtube and then embed it.
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      • Profile picture of the author LivingCali758
        Originally Posted by rushindo View Post

        At first I used something called Flowplayer, which is a free video player for playing videos on your website. But if you are not tech savvy, you can just upload it to youtube and then embed it.
        But what if they just take it and download it off youtube. I would prefer something more protective from them downloading the source.
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        • Profile picture of the author iamrichard
          i think OP has answered this question here:

          Originally Posted by rushindo View Post

          I sent them to my website to watch the video, not a video sharing site. But it doesn't matter. I'm not worried about them stealing the video for two reasons:

          1) If they did, it would be obvious because I would see it on their website. If I caught them and they will not pay, I know of plenty of lawyers who would send them a nice little letter that would ensure a quick payment.

          2) Most people are honest. Most companies will not risk getting into legal trouble over $200. Worrying about something stealing it is a waste of energy.

          Brandon
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        • Profile picture of the author algprince
          Originally Posted by LivingCali758 View Post

          But what if they just take it and download it off youtube. I would prefer something more protective from them downloading the source.
          just a newbie idea,,,,covert it to swf file and past it on an html page of yours to show it :d
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        • Profile picture of the author bizzexchange
          Originally Posted by LivingCali758 View Post

          But what if they just take it and download it off youtube. I would prefer something more protective from them downloading the source.
          The "easy youtube access" is what I'll be concerned about otherwise this video idea is brilliant!
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          • Profile picture of the author rushindo
            Originally Posted by bizzexchange View Post

            The "easy youtube access" is what I'll be concerned about otherwise this video idea is brilliant!
            Then watermark it.
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          • Profile picture of the author RAGolko
            Why not try a mass mailing to a business opt-in list to market your video(s)? The cost per business is amazingly low. If you use a 3 or 4 sequence email to the same list, the response rate can double. You have to include a "don't email to me again" link and keep track of those but most will not use it as long as your emails are providing valuable content. In your case, you can just send them as you did to a private YouTube video and say you'll customize it for them with their logo and message at the end. For the kind of money you're talking about, this would be the best cost-to-earnings approach to reach the largest number of businesses in the shortest amount of time. Just a suggestion.
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  • Profile picture of the author DFTskillz
    Its fantastic, and im quite jealous actually
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    $2000! If people are really charging that much for exclusive rights to these videos, then I'm going into business making these videos.

    I can make 2 a day, charge $1500 each.. and gzus thats a lot of money. It would be so easy to automate/scale too.

    I've been thinking about doing something like this for a while but I had no idea there was that much money in it.

    -Red
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
      I bought Peter Beattie's Video Marketing wso and the OTO "Promo Video Pro", the first one giving you the basics which was kind of neccesary for me. However, in PVP, he really gets into details unknown to me, using Powerpoint 2010. I am still watching it and now I am mad my version of PP is a 2003 and not as capable.

      I know the OP said Adobe After Effects was used and a couple of others but looking at some videos on Youtube to see what PP 2010 can actually do, I believe
      PP can create some fantastic results.

      Video is def the way to go in the future and I am all over this.

      Eva

      P.s. Didn't realize it but Peter's user name on this forum is "Skorpion" in case you want to look him up.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    /\ I would imagine you can do a lot with power point. One of my professors in college was a powerpoint MANIAC. The guy would get excited everyday about all the special effects he put in his powerpoint presentations. Like "you guys are gonna love what I put together last night!" It was really funny. Because his presentations were actually really good. And I had no idea that powerpoint was that powerful.

    With that said, most my experience is in photoshop and I already know the basics of after effects... so thats what I'll use for this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robimx
    Really cool idea!
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    Great idea, its WYSIWYG. They can decide on the spot if they like it and buy it right then. Mass customization that is efficient to produce so it is scalable, you aren't trading your limited production time for $$.

    I'd think this would be a great leading product. I'm sure many clients would ask you to do a total custom video specifically for them at some point as well, for more $$ of course. and/or lead into other IM services.

    Secondly, instead of creating the video yourself in the first place, I'm sure there are tens of thousands of high quality videos that companies would sell you or license to you, as long as you market out of their geography etc.. Or manufacturers of products who have already produced high quality industry videos would give you the video to edit/distribute in hopes of selling more of their product. Free video to sell.

    an example would be a new hair removal laser by manufacturer doing more of a generic video to new potential customers on the process. It would be a soft sell w/ their laser as a product placement in the video. You could sell this to spas on educating their clients on laser hair removal while doing the custom front/back end for that spa.

    there is tons of quality content out there that could be had for free or purchased/leased cheaply, edited to take out too specific content, and remarketed that could be leveraged. Think of companies who have produced these that are still relevant to the industry but may be an old product line etc...

    Perhaps there is an idea for an online video content exchange site??? Where video content is put up for sale?

    There was a company years ago who had an entrepreneur TV show on sat/sun mornings featuring Fran Tarkenton that sold corp video of the show for $10-15,000.

    Also, more and more car dealers are putting videos online of their cars. I'd think someone could offer quite a bit of value there with a good spokesperson, maybe a hot female car show host (they are hired for tradeshows and know a lot about cars). An efficient process could get production costs down to do several videos in one day at a dealer lot. or even videos be leveraged to be re-used for new cars. I.E. doing one black 2012 avalanche LTZ video, could be sold to multiple dealerships and just customizing front/back end.
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  • Profile picture of the author FreeMeal
    Did you have a voice over on your video Rushindo?

    And how did you make sure the guy didn't just download you video and not pay for it when you show it to them?
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  • Profile picture of the author wiredtolive
    Originally Posted by STaylor View Post

    Went looking. Found this. Definitely worth looking into.

    Make a Video. Amazing Animated Video Maker - GoAnimate.

    That's cool. Thanks for the input. Been looking for ways to increase my video sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author wwsilversprings
    I don't see anywhere in Brandon's post where he stated that he paid $2000 or that he charged $2000. He stated that he sold his video for $200 and told the prospect that they sell for as much as $2000? Guys, think for a moment? Find a niche, cut a deal with someone who creates world class videos, cut a deal to have a video created (generic ie for let's say a auto repair shop) then cut a deal with the video creator to brand and re-brand the same video for a few bucks each for the name of the auto repair shop (add their logo or name) or a house painter or SEO shop video for XYZ Internet Marketing Company and resell the same video over and over and over to the next shop and again and again. So, if a really good professional video cost you $2000 or just $500 (there out there), we have had WSO where they were making excellent video for $27 a pop that you could resell for whatever and they were great. Think, look around and then offer your private PLR video to every auto repair or attorney or plumber, etc. in the nation? There are scrappers out there that will provide more leads than you can handle... Merry Christmas~
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    I feel a WSO coming on.....
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