I've captured some (low-res) video testimonials here .. any tips for

http://www.TradingVideos.com/videotestimonials.htm

a) which of these are strongest, that I should put near the top of my long copy salesletter ..?

and

b) best techniques or questions to use for interviewing future seminar participants so that my questions can elicit more specific responses, and be edited out of the video later?

any other comments would be appreciated as well..

this has been a lot of work the last month, creating a 7-DVD set..

btw I used the great www.wildform.com FlixPro tool to encode those from source avi/mpgs


ken

Hi Ken!

I like the last 2 videos the best... those guys seem to project more enthusiasm than the others, and their responses seem more natural.

I know nothing about the topic, so I'm not sure about the content of their comments. Will visitors to your site be familiar with the terms they use? (What do candles have to do with trading stocks? )

Suggestions for future:

(1) Technical stuff: Find a separate room. There's too much distracting background noise (perhaps it can be edited out?). Better lighting is needed.

(2) Have someone NOT connected with the seminar ask the questions. Most of the responses seemed forced... like they were more interested in pleasing YOU than giving honest opinions. I know that's probably not the reality, but that's the perception I got. Perhaps if they were talking about the seminar to someone they'd never met, someone who approached them with "I'm thinking about signing up for this... do you think it's worth it?" type questions, their responses may be more "real."

Here's another "out of he box" thought... Maybe your interviewer could pretend to be an investigative reporter who's looking into seminars that rip people off. Have you ever noticed how people respond in discussion forums to insults and negative remarks about products they've bought? They become RABID FANS, coming to the RESCUE of someone they admire and respect, and raving about the product they are fully committed to. Those comments are much more emotion and more POWERFUL, usually, than the average testimonial... don't you think? Of course, after the interviews are done you could reveal the subterfuge.

Hi Ken

I definitely liked the last one best. The guy is a plain, regular guy I think most will relate to. He's also very clear about what he says. The second best are the one before him (colored guy), although the background noise is a bit strong there.. but his body language combined with his tone of voice is very strong and clear. He also "bulletizes" the benefits to some extent when he mentions some of the things he's learned.

The other one that's also good is the first... Because the guy is a bit more "laid back" and sober about it, which will appeal to some people who may be less impressed by the powerful messages from the other two and find a more sober testimonial that still praises the product more believable. I think that would be a good mix.

The other video's I don't like as much because I think they're too bland and lack enthusiasm.

Hope these comments were helpful Good luck

Thanks, appreciate it... and see I had it the other way around; I had put my favorite first, on through least-favorite last!

Bonnie, thanks! Agree re answers seem a bit forced.. having the presenter (me) doing interviews introduces response bias into the answers, which is nonverbally telegraphed to the viewer...

maybe next time I'll man the video camera and have the videographer do the interviews instead... it was a bit hectic that day with all the questions from people and trying to squeeze in video interviews during a break as well ...

thanks for the answers, makes sense .. I'll work on improving the "how to get video testimonials" process ...

So far, the very best video testimonials I've seen online have been the ones at Reese's Traffic Secrets site, www.trafficsecrets.com, they're among the best I've seen anywhere, very well done. I'll try and make mine come out more like that, as my goal, for future seminar testimonials.


ken

Ken,

Just one comment.

Everyone should be looking into the camera. They all look a little promted to talk.

Here are a few we have just snapped. Let me say though they are not polished yet just tests.

http://easylink.playstream.com/dynamicvideos/copy3.wvx

True re prompted to look into the camera ... I told each one of them that, several times, but they still looked at me..

So next time, I suppose I'll need to be behind the camera, with the interviewer, instead of to one side..

Also I need to come up w/better questions .. I thought that "what did you like best about..?" would be a good intro, but I can't edit myself out without the answers looking 'prompted' , or off..

any ideas as to what specific questions to ask, to get great candid testimonials? I liked Reese's TS ones, they were enthusiastic, well done and credible.

Ken

Ken,

You should do a quick interview with them before, let them chew it over in their minds for 10 minutes and get them to talk from the heart. Yes ... these things can be a pain I know but well worth it.

If they look stiff and rigid and prmoted it just isnt believable. Wait till you see this one we just did for fun. Me, Brett Mc Fall, Ted Ciuba and Tom Hua stood in front of a rolls royce talking and then all climbing in and driving into the sunset (well actually the freezing cold London weather ) Will let you see it when we get it back.

Do you use http://www.sorenson.com to compress its fabulous?

I have to disagree. I like the fact they DON'T look in the camera. Looks more genuine, "off the cuff." In fact, it looks as if you're interviewing them, asking for their opinions -- which is what you want.

One of the things I wrote in the TS copy is, "here are a few 'off the cuff' testimonials while the camera was wandering about among the crowd." (Which was true, by the way).

If they look at cameras, they look like actors -- thus, losing the credibility in my estimation. Now, granted, I'm only speaking for testimonials. Alan makes a good point when it's content-related ... People should look into the camera.

Example:

One copy I critiqued had a video testimonial that looked pretty slick. In fact, the guy recorded it at home (he was a vid-whiz) and sent it in, unsolicited. My client loved it so much, he added it to his copy... And lo and behold, sales went down.

Just a thought.

Alan's right ... you DON'T want them to look stiff as if they're actors ... "trying" hard to "say the right things." The best testimonials are the ones that look natural, off the cuff, genuine and from the heart.

Hearing the "interviewer" asking general, open-ended questions is best, in my estimation. Open-ended makes it look less prompted.

"What are your feelings about the seminar?"

"What did you like best/least?"

"If you were to talk about this to your friends, what would you say?"

"Let's say this is the second seminar exactly like this, and it's before the seminar, and you knew exactly what was going to be taught. Say you come accross someone in a bar or restaurant, who overheard you talking about this seminar and asked what your feelings are about it because they were thinking about going, what would you say to them?"