Videos Instead of Sales Letters?

[Bonnie]

What's your opinion on using videos INSTEAD of sales letters?

I know most marketers are doing videos for squeeze pages now; and many have a video at the top of their sales letter... but I haven't seen too many yet that have NO sales letter at all and JUST a video.

Here's an example: AffiliateLaunchBlueprint (disclosure: that's an affiliate link).

That video by Michael Rasmussen is 33 minutes long. There's no text information about his product on that page -- to find out what he's selling, you HAVE to watch the video. (There's no way to fast-forward.) There is no BUY button on that page, either... the link to that is at the end of the video.

I honestly found it annoying. Not the video itself, but the fact that I had to wait 33 minutes to (1) find out the price, and (2) be able to order his product.

Plus, I have to admit (don't tell my boss), I was doing this while at work. During slow times, I check my personal email account, saw an interesting message from Jimmy D. Brown (one of my many online heroes, in addition to Lynn ) talking about his number-one affiliate. He mentioned Michael's name, and that made me follow his link (Michael was my first copywriting client many years ago).

So anyway, I get to Michael's page and its a video. I can't turn the sound on, cuz I'm working in a cubicle cluster and coworkers hear everything. (I'm guessing other internet marketers who have jobs do this sort of thing at work, too.)

Fortunately, it's not a "talking head" video... it's basically a slide show and I could follow it by reading the text in the video.

The video convinced me to buy (especially when I FINALLY saw the price), but if there had been a sales letter on that page, I would've read through it within 5 minutes (vs. 33 minutes for the video) and bought much sooner.

As it was, I barely had time to place my order before shutting down my computer at work and heading home!

Personally, I do like videos on sales pages... but in addition to sales letters, not in place of them.

But I'm not a top-selling marketer like Michael, and I'm assuming he's tested it. It just boggles my mind that making prospects wait until the end of a long video (even an interesting one) to click the buy button is apparently converting well.

I was tempted to quit waiting and just click off. I'm glad I didn't, because his product is just what I need right now, but I suspect many prospects will not be as patient.

Sorry for the long post. But I would like to hear your opinions: Are sales letters being replaced by videos? And is that a good thing or a bad thing?

*** UPDATE ***
Just found out... if you go to the above link and decide you'd like to try to product without sitting through all 33 minutes of the video, you can add /go at the end of the URL to jump to the order page.

[David Jackson]

What's your opinion on using videos INSTEAD of sales letters? Are sales letters being replaced by videos?

Bonnie, while video presentations definitely have their place, they will never replace sales letters. Here's why: Just like you found a 33 minute video annoying, so do many other people. For example, I would never sit through a 33 minute sales presentation. That would just be a huge turn-off to me. In my opinion, nothing is more powerful than the written word. In addition, many people just have a comfort level with text.

Does that mean a pure video presentation can't work? Not at all. We've already seen evidence that they do work, in certain instances. I just don't see them altogether replacing sales letters. Personally, I think the best sales presentations are a combination of both video and text.

One last thing, Bonnie. The top selling marketers have blindly loyal followers, who will buy virtually anything they put on the market, regardless of the format. Having a recognized name is extremely powerful, and definitely influences buying decisions. Just something to keep in mind.

David Jackson

[Lynn Terry]

This has really been a trend lately, though that's the longest video I've personally seen with this sales letter format. I was just looking at it yesterday and didnt make it even a few minutes into the presentation.

That said, it makes for a GREAT opportunity for affiliates to offer a content-based review of the video, of the points shared, and of the product itself.

[cindybidar]

I find them really annoying. I clicked through to the page, discovered there was no way to fast forward the video and no other information there, and immediately hit the back button. Not only did he lose that potential sale, but he also made me less likely to pay attention to any other marketing materials he sends me.

[David Jackson]

I find them really annoying.

It will be interesting to see what the consensus is, regarding this topic.

David Jackson

[cindybidar]

It will be interesting to see what the consensus is, regarding this topic.

David Jackson

Well, to be fair, under certain circumstances I find all web video annoying. At work (because the connection is so darn slow), on my iPhone (because it doesn't do Flash), and if it automatically starts talking to me the second I open the page (because my husband leaves the speakers turned up too loud).

So I'm not sure I'm a good judge.

[David Jackson]

Well, to be fair, under certain circumstances I find all web video annoying.

Cindy, thanks for that caveat! However, contrary to what you might think, you really are not the exception, when it comes to video presentations. I'd be willing to bet that there are millions of individuals who feel exactly like you do. Conversely, there are also millions of people who don't mind video presentations.

Same thing with pop-ups. Everyone I know hates them, but pages that use them still continue to convert at an impressive enough ratio to justify their continued use.

David Jackson

[wendywood]

I personally don't care for videos and tend to click away from pages that only have them as an option.

I think having both as an option would be a good way to go - best of both worlds.

[Bonnie]

I think having both as an option would be a good way to go - best of both worlds.

I agree... not only for sales letters, but for the products themselves.

I love watching video tutorials (which is what Michael's product is), but for detail-oriented training, I like to study and highlight written materials.

I like MP3 audios, too, BTW, but the same goes -- I always like it when the creator includes a transcript, as well.

Multimedia seems to be the way to go... that way, everyone's preference is covered.

[Kayla Fay]

I should be ashamed to admit this, but I was going to multi-task and listen to this, but the second task ended up being taking a nap.