The “How To Write a Great Video Sales Letter Script” Formula

Video sales letters (VSLs) are all the rage now in online marketing. It pretty much doesn’t matter what you need to sell, or have seen sold, video sales letters fit the bill. In tests I’ve done, a good 3–6 minute VSL can outsell an old-style “long” sales letter by as much as 300%.

Why?

Because I think people are sick of having to read 20–50 pages of information to make a decision. They want the facts, they want them fast, and they don’t want a whole lot of beating around the bush.

Another trend I’m seeing with VSLs that’s working well is to have the main sales message in the video itself. Then make all the “stuff” that used to take up a 30-page sales letter optional. Meaning either linking to another page for “About Us,” “FAQ,” “Pricing,” “Testimonials,” etc. This way, people can get to your offer’s bottom line on the main page, then click through for the extras if they want it.

Combine this consumer willingness to buy from just watching a video sales letter and reading a few bullets with the rise of TONS of new software making it easier than ever to actually CREATE good looking videos fast. And you’ve got a recipe for a real revolution in online sales.

That’s the good part.

What’s the bad part?

Simple.

Most people’s video sales letters don’t sell a damn thing. Not because they can’t make video (that’s the easy part), but because they don’t know what to SAY in their videos to actually make a sale!

To help solve that problem, here’s a proven formula you can use right now to massively improve your video sales letter results by coming up with a better script. Some of these sections might only be a sentence, but it’s still important to get these ideas across to make an effective video sales letter.

SIDE NOTE: If you’re a realtor, please don’t get offended by my example. I may be a little extreme in my example, but it’s for illustration purposes only. I spent 10 years as a mortgage broker and realtor, so I’m very aware of the flip side of the argument I’m about to make in the following example.

Part 1 — Open With a Shocking Statement

Start with a shocking statement that is bound to grab your target audience’s attention and snap them out of whatever hypnosis they might find themselves in at the moment.

Ex: Attention Homeowners. Are you going to let a realtor steal 50% or more of your hard-earned home equity?

Part 2 — State the Problem and WHY Its’ a Big Deal

In this section, you tell your target audience what problem they face, and why it’s something they can’t ignore. I’ll often do this with a list of bullets, especially if I’m doing the VSL in PowerPoint.

Ex: Even though realtors only charge 6% commission, that commission could represent a huge chunk of your equity, especially in today’s market. That means:

• You’re paying out a huge chunk of your profit just to have your house listed in the MLS where it may or may not sell
• Most listing agents never sell or even show the houses they list.
• You’re paying to have your houses entered into an online database, and that’s basically it!

Part 3 — Agitate the Problem

Agitate the problem means make it worse. Rub their noses in WHY this is a lot worse than they think. Especially if they either tend to put their head in the sand, or just don’t realize what a big problem this is for them.

Ex: But that’s not the end of the problem… it actually gets worse!

• If you pay all your equity out to the realtor, you won’t be able to make as big a down payment on your next house.
• In fact, with less down payment, you might not qualify for the house you want because your realtor needs to use your equity to make the payment on their Mercedes!

Part 4 — Make It Even Worse For Them (PUSH IT Over The Line)

Hit them — HARD — on an emotional level. You’ve got to make it even worse to the point you almost feel bad about rubbing their noses in it.

Ex: And worst of all, despite all the promises they make about how they’ll market your home, the only real strategy most realtors care about is getting you to lower your price — which takes another great big whack out of your equity. Realtors don’t care if you walk away with a dime of your equity as long as they get their commission. Don’t believe me? Ask a realtor to take a reduced commission to sell your house and see what they say.

Your equity is what’s really at stake here; NOT the sale of your house.

Part 5 — Introduce The Solution

This is where you show them that you have the solution to their problem. You can save the day!

Ex: But luckily for you, there’s now a solution. Introducing “Selling Your Home Alone” where you’ll discover:

• How to sell your house and save the entire commission
• How to get MORE exposure for your house online than any realtor can give you
• Specific strategies to price your house for maximum profit
• How to get free work out of realtors, and only pay them if they actually bring you a buyer
• Etc.

Part 6 — Credibility: Why They Should Listen To You

Here’s where you introduce yourself and give them the most important reasons why YOU have the solution they are looking for to solve their problem. This is where you sell yourself, your company, etc. as having what they need.

Ex: But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hi, my name is Jim Edwards. By now, you’re probably asking… Who am I and how can I make these claims?

• I’ve got 23+ years’ experience buying and selling investment properties, my own properties and my clients’ properties
• I spent 10 years as a mortgage broker and realtor, so I know the inside story most people will never tell you
• I know how the system really works and will pull back the curtain to explain why houses do or don’t sell, and how you can sell your house yourself relatively easily

Part 7 — Proof

Here’s where you PROVE what you say is true. You can use testimonials, statistics, screen shots of results, before and after pictures, etc. Whatever you need to show them to prove you are telling the truth.

Ex: Take a look at these testimonials from people just like you who used the “Selling Your Home Alone” system to sell their houses and save the commissions.

This one sold their house in one week. This one saved Over $20,000 in commissions. This one sold after an agent couldn’t do it in 6 months.

Part 8 — Exactly What You Get

Here’s where you list off the most important things they get from your product / service / software. Make sure you include not only features, but benefits as well so they see the real payoff of taking you up on your offer.

Ex: Here’s exactly what you get with “Selling Your Home Alone”

• My entire home study course that shows you step-by-step how to go from where you are now to sticking a SOLD sign in the front yard.
• The exact tools and links you need to list your home for sale on the internet so you can attract qualified buyers as fast as possible.
• The “Killer Classified Ad System” that helps you create great ads in just minutes that can have your phone ringing this weekend with interested buyers
• Etc.

Part 9 — Specific Reasons To Act Now

This is an area where most people fall down not only in Video Sales Letters, but in sales copy in general. People may want your solution, they may know they have the problem, they may even want the solution very badly, but they still procrastinate. One of the easiest ways to get someone off the mark is to offer bonuses.

Yes, there are a LOT of other ways to get them to take action now (like harping on the fact that their life will suck if they don’t get this handled now), but bonuses are the easiest to do for most people.

Ex: Act Now and get these exclusive bonuses:

• BONUS Special Report: HOW I DID IT
  I’ll reveal exactly how I sold both of our houses AND how my buddy sold his house in one day just by changing our ads! I’ll hold nothing back, and I explain everything about each deal in detail.
• BONUS Report — How to get FREE Property Listings Pages!
  I’ll show you more than 11 different FREE places to instantly list your home for sale online … and you don’t pay a dime in advertising!
• BONUS- Sample Forms Pack
  When you purchase my for-sale-by-owner book right now, “Selling Your Home Alone”, you also get instant access to our FREE Contracts and Sample Forms PAK.

Part 10 — The Close

This is where you ask for the order and reinforce the benefits they really want to get as a result of buying your product, service, etc. You don’t beat around the bush here. You tell them what to do, where to do it, and how to do it very succinctly.

Ex: Get Onboard With “Selling Your Home Alone” Now!

If you want to sell your house and save the commission, keep more of your money in your own pocket to put down on your next house, and get your home sold with less hassle and a lot more control over your future than by using an agent, sign up right now to get started.

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So there you have it. A proven formula that has worked across countless different industries and niches to sell just about any kind of product, service, software, coaching or anything else you can think of to sell. Next time you need to make a Video Sales Letter (VSL) that gets results, this is where you start.

AND, if you’d like to press the “Easy Button” when it comes to creating Video Sales Letters and scripts for your videos, check out Instant Sales Video Scripts.

My “Instant Sales Video Scripts” Wizard helps you create scripts for marketing videos & video sales letters with our simple point & click software (PC & MAC) — Click Here to see and EXAMPLE of an awesome Video Sales Letter!