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With a weekly digest of lessons from my blog set up in the RSS Broadcast yesterday, I get to return my attention to conversion today. I’m going to do a two-day process of getting my squeeze page enhanced by adding video.

Today, I’m going to…

• Plan the video content

This may seem like a simple step to take, but as you’ll see, a good plan makes all the difference in how the video ultimately comes out. We’re not going to go overboard with it; but there needs to be a certain flow to get the best results.

Let’s get to it….

Why Use Video On The Squeeze Page?

Currently, I have the second version of my squeeze page working decently well. Last week, if you remember, I moved around the layout a bit, lifting the opt-in form higher on the page. I also put in a split test of the web form. Looking at the stats today, I see my four versions have opt-in rates of 17.5, 20.8, 20.9, 14.3% from about 200 displays.

So 3 versions are better than my original, but I definitely want to get that higher. And video is a great way to do it. Before I get into my video planning process, let me make sure you’re on board with adding video to your own page as well.

Video gives you the chance to look your visitors in the eye, and use your voice, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues that make it more likely for them to trust you enough to give you their email address and attention.

Video also sets you apart from your competition. There’s a certain assumption that people that use video are further ahead than the rest of the crowd. They understand some magic (online video) that others are not privy to. As you’ll see in today’s steps, that’s ridiculous because video is so easy now. But we’ll take advantage of that anyway.

Since you’re the person on the screen, you also establish more credibility for your viewers. That credibility needs to built even quicker than the rapport you hope to develop over time.

Finally, I suggest you use video because it takes up less visual space on the screen. It allows your visitors to get all the information from you in a short sitting, without having to scroll down the page, read a bunch of text, etc.

In other words, done right, or even halfway decently, you should see better results with video.

You can often have better impact with a 60-second video than the best written text on a page. But you can also get bad results with video.

The key is to be confident, positive, and concise with your video. Too often I find bad squeeze page videos where the person is talking for 5-10 minutes, and you think to yourself, just get to the point already!  Or they don’t look at the camera, reading from some kind of a script with no real life to them.

Technology wise, all you need is a simple video camera. I have a Flip Ultra HD, which I love. It has a great picture to it, and the sound is quite good. If you have a digital photo camera that has a video mode, you can use that just as well. In fact, many of the first videos of mine you see on my YouTube channel are with my digital camera. I like the Flip because it easily loads up to video sharing sites, and the new Flip software makes it easy to trim the start and ending of videos if you want to.

Outline The Video Sequence

A squeeze page video needs to have certain elements to it, much like any other squeeze page. In fact, I take the general plan for my video to be the same as a text based squeeze page.

A text squeeze has:

• Headline
• Benefit bullets
• Reasons why
• Call to action

In the video, I’ll have an opening, attention-getting statement that acts like the headline. Then I’ll have a quick introduction of who I am in a way that matters to my viewers. Then I’ll outline a few benefits they’ll get from me. I’ll let them know how they’re going to receive what I have, explain the free bonus gift. I’ll then give them the reasons why I’m giving it away free, and why they should get it now. Finally, I’ll direct them to fill in the email address box (call to action) and even point to it in the video.

Of course, to do all this planning, I make a mindmap. And I’ll be using the text currently on my squeeze page to help me with what I’m going to say during my video.

Download Map | Get Freemind

Create A Good Attention Getter To Start

The headline of a squeeze page gets people to read the rest of it; likewise, on a video squeeze page the first thing you say on the video should get them to watch the rest of the video.

Most people make the mistake of saying who they are first. I still do this on some of my videos, but for squeeze pages and sales letters, my videos start with a “you focused” idea. After all, it is all about them, right? If it’s all about me, then it will turn them away.

My opening statement should attract the right audience as well. I don’t mind if people visiting the page don’t subscribe; but I do want to make sure the people who do subscribe are in my ideal audience. That will make the rest of the process after opt-in that much more effective.

Build Credibility

After you get their attention, you then need to let them know – VERY BRIEFLY – who you are and why they should listen to you. If you do a squeeze video in about 60-90 seconds (my recommended time), then you need to establish credibility in about 10-15 seconds. Think of the one or two things that you do for your customers that show you are the authority new visitors should pay attention to. This is not time to boast about specific awards, etc., but slipping in elements of your experience and recognition is okay.

Your credibility really comes from how you present your information during the video. Your confidence, eye contact, and positivity (remember to smile!) will make you credible. In other words, it doesn’t really matter what you say about yourself that matters; it’s how sure of yourself you are in explaining the benefits of opting in that will make you credible.

Does that make sense?

So for me, I’ll simply let them know my name, that I’m recognized internationally as Bob The Teacher, and that I’ve been helping home-based entrepreneurs and professionals in the U.S. and around the world profit from internet marketing since 2006.

What’s In It For Them?

Next, you need to focus your viewers’ attention on what they’ll be getting from you. They are not going to sign up to another list just so they can get more email! So be sure to focus on the results they will see from getting your email.

Try not to exaggerate what they’ll be getting. Promising the moon and stars could get you more opt-ins, but if you can’t really deliver what you’re saying on the squeeze page, you’ll get a reputation of letting people down.

You also know that you’ll be communicating with them for quite some time; but don’t feel like you have to spill the beans on the entire content of your autoresponder series. You don’t need to overwhelm them with stuff on the squeeze video. Stick to the big ideas, and the top 3-4 hot buttons that will invoke the response (i.e., the subscription).

For example, even though I will eventually have 30 monumental metaphor videos, top 10 resource recommendations, 12 free reports, and a bunch of other emails over time, I’m going to stick with the things they’ll be getting in the first month or so. This also helps me avoid the “commitment” problem that some will put up a guard for.

So I’m going to be sending them…

• My #1 productivity tool so they can get more done in less time
• The 3 most cost-effective internet marketing resources I rely on for my
  business
• Up to date profit and promotion strategies delivered every Friday
• Monthly free reports revealing in-depth strategies in specific internet marketing areas
• And a special strategy session on how they can use internet marketing to become the go-to-expert in their field.

I’ll remind them that by becoming an IM Success Insider, they’ll shorten their learning curve while increasing the growth of their business.

Answer The Whys In The Audience

Some of your audience members will want to know, “what’s the catch?” Why are you giving away this stuff for free and not charging for it.

You don’t want to dwell on this too long, but you should drop in a line or two about it because skeptics typically make great customers once you’ve earned their trust.

So answer the questions:

• Why are you giving it away free?
• Why should I do this now?

I am going to take my cue from the Video Professor commercials. Although I think the subscription model that VP uses is a bit deceptive and annoying (they use a forced continuity model that is hard to cancel), the approach of the spokesperson in the commercials is solid.

He says (paraphrasing), “I’m so confident you’ll love your first lesson that you’ll want to come back to Video Professor for all your computer training needs.” I’ll be swiping elements of this in my video as well.

I also want them to know that I understand their skepticism, and that I’m out to prove myself as their best internet marketing teacher.

As for why to do this now, you need to focus on the benefits again. Don’t try to say you’re limiting copies of your free gift to the first 100 people or something like that (especially if you have no intention of actually taking it off the shelf).

Instead, focus on the time they’ll save by acting now and learning from your free gift and newsletter. If they close the window without getting on board, how much time and money will they waste trying to figure it out on their own?

Call To Action

Make it clear in your video what they need to do in order to get what you’re sending them. It’s probably going to seem pretty obvious to you that the email box on the page is what they need to fill out. But it’s going to be even better if you explicitly tell them to fill it in, making sure they’re careful to spell their email address accurately.

You want them to click the button, and then check their inbox for your first email. Tell them to make sure they follow the instructions in that first email or else they may not get the [insert your adjective here] tips you’ve promised them.

I’m going to include the call to action twice in my video. The first will be a quick reference before the benefits (e.g., “Once you enter your email address over there and click the button, I’ll be sharing with you….). The second will be at the end, with a more clarity on the confirmation process, and what to expect next. I may repeat it again just for good measure.

Execute Your Plan

With the plan of your video ready, grab your camera and start filming. It’s not important that you script out your video. In fact, I caution you against writing out a script. Instead, map out the sequence of what you’re going to say, and perhaps come up with a couple of key phrases you want to say. I find that planning with a good map, and then speaking into the camera less formally gets better results. Certainly better than reading from the screen.

But there’s no harm in doing a few takes of the video until you’re comfortable with the one you want.

Here’s my current map for my new squeeze video.

Remember, you want higher conversions, but you also want people who subscribe to stick around. So be you, but be the energetic you who has secrets that you just have to share with the person watching. Smile, and look directly into the camera. And when you talk, remember to speak to one person! Just like your emails, even though your video will be seen by thousands, it will be watched by one person at a time.

Tomorrow we’ll upload the video, and get it on the squeeze page!

Happy shooting!

Bob Jenkins
DiscoverAutoresponders.com

p.s. By the way, if you want more tips on creating great live-action video segments for the web, you’ll learn a lot from Carrie Wilkerson and Perry Lawrence over at Web Video Magnetism. Great teachers those two!

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