How to Create a Video Sales Letter That Converts

If you’re looking to promote your product or service, why not try video sales letters? Video sales letters are exactly what they sound like: sales letters in video format. Instead of using the written word to reach your potential customers, you can talk to them directly. Video sales letters are great because they give your promotional efforts a more personal touch.

If you want your video marketing to be effective, you’ll need to be creative and think outside the box. You will need to follow a structure, too, to get your viewers to watch until the end of the video. Because when they do, they are likely to take your desired action (such as making a purchase).

We’ll discuss the steps you should follow to create a sales video letter that converts shortly. But first, let’s discuss the other benefits of using this marketing vehicle.

Why a Video Sales Letter?

“A picture paints a thousand words”, as the saying goes. Well, videos are another form of visual content and they are hugely impactful. In other words, video sales letters are a great way to get your message across.

Videos bring together two things that get people’s attention: movement and sound. When people are engaged, they easily understand the message. The result? A 95% typical retention rate of video messages, according to Slice.

But that’s not all. Video sales letters can prompt viewers to take action, too. That’s because, in videos, the audience can see real-life communication cues. Gestures, body language, and facial expressions all work together to deliver emotions the audience can connect with. And when people feel an emotional connection, they are more likely to take action. For you, that translates to a conversion.

5 Ways to Create a Video Sales Letter that Converts

Now that you’re convinced video sales letters are the way to go, let’s discuss how you can create one that generates conversions.

Although brands come up with different video concepts to catch their audience’s attention, the most successful all follow this same basic process.

1. Hook the Viewer With a Strong Opening

The basic rules of good copywriting also apply in video sales letters. After all, you still want to capture the audience’s attention so you can get them to act. As with effective copy, your video will need a strong opening to hook your prospects and draw them in. You can achieve this in many ways.

For example, you might share intriguing information related to the product or service you’re promoting. If you’re selling email finder tools, for example, the staggering number of emails that don’t reach the right person’s inbox would be a good hook. If you’re selling veterinary services, the number of preventable pet deaths due to non-vaccination is an emotive hook.

Nate Rio, a business coach, hooks his audience by hitting them with the figures they could potentially earn per month:

You can also use humor to get people to keep watching, and compelling visuals to hook prospects in. The key is to choose strong images that appeal to emotions.

If you can’t decide which introduction to use, conduct some market research and ask members of your target audience what would make them want to watch. According to Entrepreneur, you should capture your prospects’ attention in the first 10 to 30 seconds of your video. If you don’t do that, they’re gone forever.

2. Focus on Their Problems

Let’s say you nailed the introduction. Now is the time to explain why the video sales letter is relevant to the target audience. You can do that by focusing on your audience members’ problems.

The problems you choose to include in your video should be realistic and concrete. This is where customer research can help you. You have to know your audience so you can identify their pain points. You can refer to your buyer persona for this. The pain points you choose to highlight should also be the problems your product or service aims to address.

Once you’ve determined the customer pain points that are relevant to your product or service, amplify them. Make the audience see why these are problems they can’t ignore. Explain to them the consequences if they don’t address those pain points. At this point, it’s good to show images or cite statistics that support your claims.

3. Connect on a Personal Level

You must connect with your audience on a personal level in your video sales letter so that they will relate to what you’re saying and then take your desired action. You want them to see that you’re just like them. You’re not just out to make a sale - you really care.

Vegan food brand Bosh (above) creates stellar sales videos that rely on building a connection with the audience through humor and relatability.

The key is to humanize yourself. For instance, you can briefly share a passion, interest, or quirk that relates to what you’re saying. For example, if you’re selling sportswear, you might talk about how you love running before work.

You can then go on to explain that you had the same problems your target audience member is now experiencing. But when you applied your solution - your product or service - you found yourself in a much better place.

In the above example from Bosh, the presenter focuses on a specific problem - people wanting healthy, vegan meals but being pressed for time - and positions the Speedy Bosh book as a solution. The brand goes further by providing five examples of meals within the video, giving customers a taste of what they’ll get if they buy the book.

Be careful not to talk too much about yourself, though. Break down barriers but don’t sound self-centered. If your viewer gets bored, they won’t even finish watching your video sales letter and you can say goodbye to that conversion.

4. Provide Proof of Credibility

Once you’ve presented your product or service as a solution, you can’t expect them to take your word for it. You have to give them a reason to trust you. And how better to get someone to trust you than to provide them with proof?

At this stage, you can cite figures on the number of people you have helped with your solution. Show the faces behind those numbers. Include in your video quotes from satisfied customers. If you had positive reviews published in reputable media organizations, show those, too. You can even flash before and after images, if applicable, so your audience can see for themselves what your product can do for them.

Trust seals can also provide the social proof you need. With trust seals, you can give your audience the assurance that your business is legitimate and trustworthy:

The key is to provide proof of credibility. Show, don’t just tell.

5. End with a Strong Call to Action

Don’t end your video without a call to action. Your CTA is your final instruction to your audience. If they don’t know the next step, they won’t be able to convert to becoming a paying customer even if they wanted to.

Make sure your final instruction is clear and strong. You can even try things out by creating the same videos with different CTAs to see which one gives you the highest conversions.

Don’t make it difficult for your audience to take action. If you give them a vague instruction like “visit my website for more information”, you’ll end up losing potential conversions.

Get straight to the point and be specific instead. “Buy now”, for example, is a strong CTA as long as it is accompanied by a link to the page where they can do so. You can create a landing page and link that to your CTA. Include your trust seals again on the sales page to give your audience the assurance that when they transact through your website, their personal details are secure.

You can offer incentives if they purchase now or generate a sense of scarcity to encourage a sale. A limited-time offer, for example, can give your audience that final push to buy your product or service.

Bottom line

Video marketing is a hugely effective way to generate conversions. Video sales letters can work well because they engage your audience, entertain them, provide valuable information, and increase information retention.

But there is a right and a wrong way to create video sales letters that generate conversions. The key is to follow a process. You need to understand your audience inside out and create content that will appeal to them.

If you do all these things, think outside the box, and use your creativity, your brand will stand out from the crown in all the right ways and your video sales letters will generate those conversions you’re after.

Let us know how you get on with your first video sales letter!