2:29pm
East of the Mississippi
This weekend I heard a story from my cousin about an $850 purchase she made.
She watched a 30 minute YouTube ad for a weightloss supplement.
Here’s what happened when she called the number…
My cousin got pitched an upsell of 12 cases for the price of 8…
Paid with a credit card…
And then regretted the pricey purchase once the 12 CASES arrived at her door.
Here’s how many of these products operate, for better or worse:
• The commercial offers you HOPE that this product will do for you what other products –– and your own will-power –– haven’t yet been able to do. Backed by science and testimonials, which legit are regulated by the FDA so they can’t be tooooo shady.
• The product may actually work. But the vendor knows that most people won’t go through with the daily pill routine, and if they don’t go through with it, there will be no results, and therefor no chance of another order.
• So instead, they sell you a huge amount of product right up front. 12 cases of product, in this case.
There are behavioral-science-based ways to improve the full routine, so that a buyer does take all the meds or supplements.
Color coded pills, for instance. Blue the first two weeks, red the next 2 months. Same pills, just a different way to gamify the process.
Or take a blue and a red for the first week, then just red for the second week, and then blue-and-red combo again, then just red again… meanwhile the blue is just a placebo, a sugar pill, meant to support the behavior.
I was surprised to hear my cousin returned the product for a refund. And actually got the refund!
Other people around the table said they, too, had seen “that video.”
No one called it a commercial, or a VSL (video sales letter), tho that’s really what it is.
Long-form video copywriting.
And there’s a good chance they saw different VSLs, because no one mentioned the name of the product they watched.
I myself wrote a VSL for a weight loss supplement.
Did a ton of research on the ingredients.
Found scientific studies to back their claims.
Bounced back and forth with the vendor on what we could and could not write.
And, if the ingredient list was to be believed (and it should be, ’cause again: FDA) I had faith that this supplement could work for people.
Everyone? No.
Everyone who followed the routine? Perhaps, with (ahem) diet and exercise.
Anyhow.
The script was all set to film…
But the maker couldn’t find a doctor willing to go on camera to testify to this revolutionary supplement.
No doc wanted to risk his or her reputation.
The VSL was put on hold.
And I never heard back from that company.
However I did get a number of new client leads from my copy chief, so that was good.
VSLs are used to sell everything from golf clubs to plumbing services.
I even wrote one for an anti-snoring device.
Maybe that’s what your marketing needs, a good one-to-one conversation explaining the benefits to your offer?
Especially if your brand is on the up-and-up.
Love you and Happy Easter,
Jeffrey Thomas
Direct Response Sales Letter Copywriter