Guys:

After spending a ton of money, I now have a platform presentation that is very, very effective at selling a $997 home study course (30% average close rate and in some cases close to 50%).

I also just paid a Kennedy-trained copywriter to write a very good sales letter for the same product.

My question is this: instead of publishing the sales letter (which at best will have a 3-5% conversion rate), should I just create a squeeze page and then show the video (or audio), which has proven to have a much better conversion than even the best sales letter?

I know the standard answer is test, test, test.

HOWEVER, I wanted to see if anybody has any initial response to this before I start my testing campaign.

Regards,

- Alex -
How to make $20,000 in 90 days or less...without dealing with tenants, repairs and holding costs
http://www.cashnowsystem.com

Of course you already know to test, and you should do that.

But with a higher-ticket item, I would test offering a front-end product first, then sell them for the $1k item on the back-end. Or...a squeeze page is a good idea for a free mini-course. They are popular nowadays. Then sell them over a sequence of messages instead of trying to sell them all at once.

I've got a high-ticket product coming out this summer. And I intend to test all three (and then some). But I'll also do a great deal of testing offline. I suspect I'll make more money there, but we'll see.

John

I wouldn't even consider selling a high-ticket item without adding a video infomercial to it anymore.

In fact I'm in the process of going back and creating video infomercials to augment the long copy for my current bestselling lower price point (100-$500) products as well, like my courses..

for ideas, see asseenontvnetwork.com (esp. carleton sheets and other higher end products), also get the bowflex.com free dvd, and watch infomercials all weekend, every weekend, for a few weeks, and record them on dvd.

ken

Guys:

My thinking is this: the video/audio platform presentation is a VERY effective sales letter already.

So my question is this: if the video/audio platform presentation is already converting at a high rate (again, at our last 3 outings, over 30%), why would I want to potentially reduce its effectiveness by marrying it to a printed sales letter, which normally has a 3-5% rate at best?

Thanks,

- Alex -

I don't see any reason this should be an either/or question.

You take them to an opt in page, you show them the video after they optin and if they haven't bought you send them to the sales page.

You've got their email address after all.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

FREE Copywriting Course Online

and of course, just test each alternative, by promoting two similar-sounding domains, and track orders from each site, to see which pulls the best.

ken

As a consumer/prospective viewer, I *hate* audio and video pitches. They commandeer my time, and I resent that.

If you must play with the new toys (audio/video) on your site, be sure to prominently offer a written transcript, so people like me won't have a reason to leave your site just to show you they're unhappy.

Bailey

Ken,

How much extra response would you say you can expect from a professionally done video pitch?

My gut says do both, like Bailey says. Supplement it with sales text, but make the video the main focus. You could do this by using frames, and using a top frame of about 250 pixels to show the video in, so that when they scroll, they don't lose sight of the video pitch.

Video pitches might convert at 30% offline, but online, people are too hasty. They wanna see the bottom line now or they'll move on... so definitely test the text/video combination.

I have a similar dilemma to overcome...

I have an hour long video that starts with an informative stance then transitions to a business opportunity pitch. I'm having trouble deciding where and how to place it... some how so that when the prospect does get to the video they'll sit through it.

Suggestions?