A short sales page— no more than a couple pages of copy— with the goal of getting someone to put in an email address or possibly a small fee… in return for a ‘lead magnet’, like a free ebook or special report or infographic.

It’s called a “landing page” because advertising traffic or affiliate links from other sources— like Facebook or Youtube or an email newsletter— “lands” on this page.

(Note: some advertising platforms require you to send traffic to free web content, rather than the landing page directly. See: “advertorials/ 2-step sales letters”.)

Once you collect email addresses from the landing page opt-in, you can follow up with email sequences that drive traffic towards your core sales messages (where the real profits are made— lead magnets are “loss leaders” in many cases).

This is also known as “permission marketing”. When they respond to your landing page, they’re giving you permission to make further contact.

So a landing page needs to make every word count. Because you’re not just giving away the lead magnet. You’re welcoming newcomers into your ‘tribe’.

Every future sale you make after that first point of contact depends on the landing page doing its job properly.

The success of almost any info-product, coaching program, or live event starts and ends with a great sales letter.

The term “sales letter”, by the way, comes from Direct Mail marketing.

Marketers would send out physical letters… making a complete sales presentation… starting with a headline/lead and envelope that grabs attention… body copy that amplifies desire and answers objections… a “close” that rouses the reader to action… and an order form that people could mail back in the post, filled in.

An online sales letter follows the same persuasive structure. It has a compelling headline to grab attention… a lead that builds on the headline and “leads” into the rest of the copy.

Then you have the main body copy… lots of proof… describing the product… lots of bullet points… benefits… features, etc. The body copy is the “meat” of your sales message. It’s where the magic happens once you got the reader’s attention hooked.

Then you lead readers towards the “close”. You make your offer, state pricing terms… if you have different versions of your product available, now’s the time to offer each version side-by-side. You deal with any price objections… and then you ask for the sale.

These online sales letters are usually hosted on a separate space from your main website— although some take place within the native website space, minus the navbar and any other distractions from the sales message itself.

An online sales letter can be a loyal worker who never stops selling on your behalf. If you only ever hire a copywriter to do one thing, it should be this.

A long-form, video-based sales presentation. The “granddaddy” of all video sales messages— as powerful today as ever, if done properly.

May be shot as “piece-to-camera” (ie: the product expert speaking straight into the camera lens— as if having a “one on one” conversation with prospect). This is becoming more popular in 2018/ 2019, where “personality-based marketing” is more prevalent than ever, and HD video streaming can put the expert’s face right there in people’s living rooms.

Or it may have voiceover of the product expert… along with a visual “powerpoint-style” presentation (perhaps less common today than it was 5-10 years ago… and it loses some of the presenter’s “charm” as conveyed through body language, appearance, etc… but it’s still a powerful selling format when used for the right market, right offer, right timing, etc… especially when the visual aids compliment the spoken message in creative ways).

The “Hannah Montana” of direct response sales copy: it gets the best of both worlds!

It combines the “scannability” and “non-committal” benefits of a full written sales letter…

… with the “emotional potency” and “viewer investment” of a VSL.

If you’re intimidated by the idea of putting 100% of the selling job on the shoulders of a single video… then a video-assisted sales letter can give you reassurance. If some people don’t watch the video, they may still scan through the copy and order device. And vice versa.

It gives you a wider margin for error, and therefore may give more bang for your buck when you don’t have the resources required to run sophisticated split tests, conversion optimisations, etc.

There’s really no reason not to get a video-assisted VSL for your info-product, live event, or coaching program.

Some video-assisted sales letters use more “content-focused” videos to explain key points related to the product benefits, while leaving the “core sales pitch” to the written copy.

Others use the videos as more of a “TL;DR” quick-fire sales pitch, then use the written copy to defuse objections, provide testimonials, etc.

Some just start with a full-length VSL, then have a similar full-length sales letter, and just let readers decide which to engage with.

There’s no hard-and-fast rule, and every video-assisted sales letter may have something unique in its structure compared to others.

So if your audience are particularly video-inclined, you may want to double down on the video-only sales pitch.

But many audiences will appreciate the ability to “pick and choose” which pathway they take through your sales message.

The video-assisted sales letter, therefore, gives the most versatility, and is what I would recommend to info-marketers delving into Sales Videos for the first time.

The video-only sales letter has less margin for error, but for the right type of customer, it can be hard to beat on pure revenue-boosting potential.

Similar to its “Online” brethren, the DM sales letter is what started it all. And it’s seeing a major resurgence in 2019 and beyond.

Online marketing channels are over-saturated in many markets. And yet, hardly anyone’s getting direct response mail promotions through their letterbox. This means it’s “open season” for any marketers bold enough to go ‘hunting’ for buyers the old-fashioned way.

Typically comes with ‘mail-only’ elements, either to boost response or by virtue of the medium itself: buck slips, brochures, stickers, deck copy, envelope teasers, order forms, physical gifts for “lumpy mail” packages, coupons, postcards, and just about whatever else you can cram into an letterbox-compliant mailing package designed to separate prospects from wallets. Creative marketers can have a lot of fun toying around with different mailing elements!

Not recommended for marketers who don’t know what they’re doing in terms of Direct Mail— it’s a harsh discipline to learn, but the rewards can be more than worthwhile for the opportunistic.