What is a VSL?

This title might seem a bit... weird

What is a VSL?

Well, Google's definition for it is literally "A Video Sales Letter (VSL) is a highly persuasive, scripted video designed to convert viewers into customers by presenting a problem and offering a specific, urgent solution. Often used on landing pages, social media, and in emails, it acts as a digital, automated salesperson, combining visual and audio storytelling to drive immediate action."

There you go, blog over?

Well, not exactly.

I'm going to go over the more specific definitions first, and then go a bit deeper into what a VSL is

If you just want my definition, you can scroll straight to the bottom. However, I do want you to read the entire blog

What is a business?

Okay, this might seem dumb, but I need to clarify this first

A business is an entity that makes profit from providing value to their customers. It's an exchange of value between customer and business

A coffee shop is a business, Apple is a business.

A church is not a business. A charity is not a business, even if they take profit.

What is a sales page?

A sales page is a page on a business' website that gives you the information about a certain product

The key is that the page only contains one main product.

The whole page is designed to sell that particular product

So a home page is not a sales page. The page that has all the available products is not a sales page. When you click into a certain product, that's a sales page

What is a VSL?

Okay, we've finally gotten here

A VSL is a video, on a sales page, that persuades the customer to buy from a business primarily through copywriting and storytelling.

The VSL also directly persuades the customer to buy immediately, or schedule a sales call

In some rare scenarios, a VSL can be seen on the home page in a section about their product. That is also a VSL. But replace "sales page" with "sales section"

The difference between VSLs and ads is that ads are seen on social media.

Ads are designed for people who don't know the product entirely to get to know it

VSLs are designed for people who have already shown interest in the product, and needs that final push to sell

That's why another part of it is that you're directly telling them to buy

That might seem funny to emphasise, but for example some people lead you to their website, then theres a pop-up for a newsletter, then there's an email in the newsletter to the sales page, and then there's the VSL

The VSL should be the last, or second to last step before buying

There's also the part where the VSL needs storytelling. Pure visuals don't work. Thats a promotional video.

Think of a VSL as "To Pimp A Butterfly" by Kendrick Lamar. For non-rap fans, it's an album with very deep storytelling, serious topics and demands your attention to be enjoyed

And think of promotional videos or ads as anything Lil Tecca puts out. Again, for non-rap fans, his sound is basically just to sound good. There's no deeper meaning, it's just music that sounds good and the lyrics don't really define the song.

The script defines the VSL. The visuals are there to accompany the VSL, but the script is the main course.

Oh, and one more thing to clarify. If a VSL appears in anywhere else like an email, it's still a VSL as long as the video comes from the sales page

So if I have a VSL on a sales page, and I embed the exact same video into an email, then it's still a VSL. If the video doesn't appear on a sales page, then that's not a VSL. That's just... an informational video

What VSLs usually are

Okay

If you've noticed the shit I've said, there are a lot of theoreticals

Yes, in theory, you could make a VSL for a pack of tissues at a supermarket

Is it worth it? No.

VSLs are typically for high-ticket digital products and services.

High-ticket basically means stuff that costs a good amount, like ~$100USD min. but typically anywhere from 300-5000USD or even higher

The reason why you don't normally see physical products like Louis Vuitton have VSLs is more often then not, they rely on branding to deliver those high prices

And a lot of the benefits of, a car let's say, would probably be from facts

So typically, if something can be proved with facts, you don't need much persuasion. It's either you need a car or you don't need a car

However, with digital products and services, there's a lot of explaining you need to do to persuade the seller. There's a lot of information that needs to be distributed to the customer

Typically when you buy a car, you know it's going to work, you know it's going to be worth it as long as you've decided that it is. But when you hire a marketing agency, you don't know if it's going to be worth it. That's why businesses have VSLs to deliver information to the customer.

Isn't Copywriting just better?

Yes and no. It's better for people who really want the details, but here's something that you should know

People are lazy

When's the last time you went through a website and actually read all of the copywriting

There's a reason why these blogs always have a video form on YouTube. Becuase if people can't even endure the copywriting with visuals and a voice (sometimes face), then how can they just stand bland old words?

Only when people are interested enough in something are they going to want to continue reading about it.

So that's why, you need a VSL on the sales page. It's like feeding the information to the customer like a baby, and that's exactly how they want it

Conclusion

In conclusion, VSLs are a video on the sales page of a business that primarily uses wordplay, copywriting and storytelling to persuade the customer to buy or book a call directly after the video. Visuals accompany the script.

And typically, VSLs are used for high-ticket (high-priced) digital products and services, though in theory they could be used for any product. Even an avocado at a supermarket.

Thanks for reading