It Doesn’t Have To Be Expensive To Produce A Video

The heart and soul of a marketing video are not the typical belts and whistles that see in such a video.
It is not the diagrams, it is not the infographics, it is not the layout, it is not even the very interesting accents of the voice-over actors. It has nothing to do with that. It definitely has nothing to do with how smooth, flawless, or sharp the images are.

Instead, what makes a video truly effective is its content.
I am of course talking about its script. Screw up here and you have just wasted your money on creating a marketing video. That video is not going to do what you think it should do. How can it be? It doesn’t have the tools. It doesn’t have the capacity, it does not have the ability because the script is lackluster.

So, let’s get one thing clear, if your video has a bad script, you have lost the game. That’s right. It does not matter how awesome your video editor is. It does not even matter if you spent a lot of money producing your video. None of that matters.
In fact, that money just went up in smoke. Why? You did not invest in the one element that plays an outsized role in the success of your video. And I am of course talking about your script.

But how do you write a highly effective script, or how do you know what a highly effective script is so you know what to buy? How do you outsource it? How can you tell whether the video script that you have for your marketing video is solid?

5 Hallmarks Of An Effective Marketing Video Script

You know if a marketing video script is solid by having the following five hallmarks. Ideally, you should insist on all five.

1. Plain English – There is a reason why really successful politicians speak at the eighth-grade English level. This is quite puzzling to many untrained observers because a lot of these politicians actually have advanced degrees. Why do they speak like this? This is because eighth-grade English has very few five-dollar words. Most words are short, easy to understand, and very accessible.
   This is why politicians and trained speakers speak at this level. It is the lowest common denominator. If you keep it at that level most people would understand. Highly effective video scripts are written in plain English. They don’t try to dazzle or impress the viewer by blasting them with all sorts of jargon terms and acronyms. You come off as somebody who is trying to hide ignorance when you do that. You end up looking like somebody who is trying too hard to impress the viewer.
   In fact, if you overdo this and you just blast the viewer with so many long, flowery, or even technical words they might even think you are pretentious. You might come off as somebody who is trying to be something he or she is not. Plain English enables you to come off as more sincere, authentic, and real.
2. They Are Short – Let me tell you, most people do not have the time of day to listen to a long speech. There are better things to do. This is the reason why most people don’t even read online articles. They just scan for keywords. If they see the keyword that they are looking for, that is when they slow down and they would read a little bit more of the article. Otherwise, they are just scanning through. It is kind of like going through your Facebook feed on your mobile device. You don’t have the time to thoroughly read every link. That is just not going to happen. You are too busy for that. The same applies to videos. A highly effective marketing video are short and to the point, but they get the job done.
   They tell a very convincing personal story, it communicates a wide range of benefits tied to the solution the video promotes. They do this using many different signals and it operates on many different levels. It operates on an emotional level, logical level as well as conceptual level. You have to understand that the ability to tell a story quickly enables you to communicate clearly in a very short period of time. You donät have to give a long speech for that.
3. Easy To Vocally Emote – Well-written marketing video scripts are very easy to vocally act out. You just need to read a word and read the next word that follows it in the sentence to instantly know that you have to raise your voice a little bit, sound concerned, sound suspicious, sound excited, and a hundred other emotional signals you can send with your voice.
   Great scripts are very clear as to the kind of emotional twists and turns they demand. Bad scrips make you sound like you are just reading off a TelePrompTer or you are just reading a book. It is dull, lifeless, and very generic. You run the risk of sounding like some sort of robot.
4. Effective Scripts Mention Case Studies Or Stories – If you are able to tell a story you will be able to connect with people on a very personal note. I have yet to see a person who is convinced by just raw data. You have to at least present that date in a form people can engage with. This form is called a story. Believe it or not, people use the story form to make sense of the world. You should do the same with your marketing videos. By including a case study or tool in the video, you make it clear to the prospect that you are not just making stuff, but there is some hard science or hard numbers behind the claims of benefits the video is talking about.
5. Emotional Call To Action – Highly effective video scripts tie the benefit the prospect would get from buying a product with the call to action. Effective scripts don’t just say “click the order button” or click “Subscribe Now”. Instead, they talk about the benefit and tie it to that action. For example, the script would say to gain the confidence you felt you have lost by losing the spare tire around your midsection. Take action today. Isn’t that much better than just saying click here or clicking the link in the description below?

Whether you are writing your own video or having it written by somebody else, make sure the five hallmarks listed below are presented in the script. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time and money.

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The Difference Between Marketing Video & Regular Videos

I have got a depressing statistic to share with you.

The vast majority of videos on YouTube have very few views. We are talking less than 100. You imagine taking the time and trouble to shoot a video and then uploading it to YouTube only to get less than a hundred views.

I am not talking about somebody shooting footage of their school dance party or something similar. I am talking about videos that are intended by marketers to convert their audience members into buyers. I am talking about intentionally produced, crafted, scripted, and uploaded videos. In fact, a lot of these videos were not cheap. The marketer who uploaded them actually spent money on them. Still, there they are, gathering digital dust, stuck at 100 views or less. One of the main reasons this tragedy happens is that a lot of video marketers are unclear regarding the difference between regular and marketing videos.

A lot of people are thinking that as long as they shoot videos a lot of the benefits of marketing videos will magically happen. They will be able to communicate on a very direct level. They would be able to send all sorts of signals that can convert the viewer. They could be able to present what would otherwise be complicated information in a very direct, personal, and immediate way.

Unfortunately, they produce one video after another and nothing seems to work. It all comes back to this confusion regarding regular videos and marketing videos.

• Regular Videos are Supplemental in Nature – Please understand that if you want to make money with your videos you have to know, what they can and cannot do. When you make a regular video, this is essentially a video that is content. You are either explaining stuff, you have revealing information, or you are just entertaining the reader. Nothing wrong with that. This is supplemental to your efforts at building a brand. These videos get the reader to feel like they know what you are about, and what your brand is focused on. You might even get the reader to like your brand, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they trusted enough to buy from it. This is the difference.
  You have to remember that to sell anything online you have to walk a person through the KLT process. KLT stands for know-like trust. For a person to buy, you must first trust you enough to want to buy from you. For them to trust you, they must first like whatever it is you are offering. Then just like your brand enough to trust you. For them to develop a liking for your brand, they must first feel that they know enough about the problem that your brand solution solves. There are many stages to this. There are at least four stages before you get people to rip out their credit cards and buy stuff through an online form.
  Regular videos only take care of you on the K and L phases. They do a great job getting the prospect to feel like they know enough about their problems and the likely solutions. Supplemental videos can also do a good job of getting the prospect to like a particular approach or particular class of solutions but they don’t go far enough. They don’t take you to the trust stage. This is where marketing videos come in.
• Marketing Videos Build Trust – The great thing about video marketing is that you are able to walk a person through the KLT process within the same video. First, you present the problem. This filters the viewers. If the viewer does not have the problem the video talks about, the viewer is not going to remain a viewer for long. They are going to close the window and watch another video. The video does not speak to their needs.
  The video then presents the general solution or common solution to the problem. It sizes up the advantages and disadvantages of the solution. By this point, the viewer would feel a preference for one solution over the other. Effective videos then go to the next step. They present credible and authoritative information in the form of case studies and stories that get the viewers to trust that the specific solution that they are promoting is the solution they should use. That is how you get people to buy.
  Also, marketing videos are written and produced in such a way that they tightly integrate with your other marketing initiatives. This way you can easily share them on Facebook, you can Tweet/Share them on Twitter/X as well as share them on many other platforms. This is the difference between regular videos and marketing videos. Don’t get your wires crossed.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money making one marketing video after another. Highly effective marketing videos take a lot of time or they cost money. Instead, you can produce cheaper regular videos to walk your prospects through the KLT process and then let your single or a couple of videos convert them. That is how you play the game. That is how you get viewers to trust your solution.

Does Video Marketing Have To Cost A Lot?

Let’s get one thing clear. One of the main reasons why your competitors probably haven’t jumped into video marketing is because of their fear of cost.
Please understand that the reason why they are not cranking out one marketing video after another probably is not due to their inability to appreciate the power of video marketing.

In fact, most people in the marketing field would agree that video marketing brings a lot of value to the table. This is not the argument. This is not where people disagree. Instead, people have all sorts of misconceptions regarding the costs of video marketing. They can see the benefits with no problem. What they are unclear on is whether the cost would justify the benefits.

• Most Video Marketing Attempts Fail The First Time – What really clouds this whole picture is the fact that when you try anything the first time around and you don’t have some sort of blueprint or plan your chances of failure are quite high. This is not just a video marketing thing mind you. This applies across the board.
  Maybe you are trying to ride a bike. Maybe you are trying to build a house or an addition. Maybe you are trying to do a painting or you are trying to sculpt. I am almost guaranteeing that your first few attempts are not going to be all that good. You probably already know this. Why should video marketing be any different? When people just jump on both feet because they get all excited about the benefits of video marketing, they might end up making rookie mistakes. How come? They did not have proper guidance and that is the good news here.
  With the proper blueprint or coaching or video marketing consulting, you don’t have to commit those beginner mistakes. Your stuff does not have to look amateurish and basic. You can come up with something truly professional the first time around. In fact, it is not uncommon for small businesses to get out of the gate with really high-quality videos that connect powerfully with their target audience members. Their secret, there is no secret at all. They just read the right resources and allow these resources to guide them in producing one hard-hitting quality video after another. If they can do it, you can do it too.
  This really is not an issue of cost but more of information. With the right information, high-quality videos that truly go a long way in building up your brand do not have to cost a lot.
• There Are Many Ways To Solve The Video Marketing Problem – One of the main reasons why a lot of people have this idea that video marketing has to cost a lot of money is the misconception that they have to produce Hollywood or Madison Avenue level videos. Absolutely wrong. In fact, in certain niches, audiences respond favorably to very amateurish or very basic videos. You really just have to know your niche. More specifically, you just have to know how to segment and break up your niche into little sub-markets. Put simply, the better you know your audience the more powerful your video can be, and has nothing to do with how polished or smooth it is. Instead, it has everything to do with your video’s ability to communicate with your target audience members on a very human, personal, and emotional level.
• There Are Many Tools You Can Use – Another piece of good news. You can drastically reduce your video production costs by understanding that there are many different levels of videos. At the top of this hierarchy, of course, are high-quality videos. They are very personal, these are professionally shot, and these really are your meat and potatoes videos. These are the kind of videos that really champion your brand, but the levels beneath this kind of video are not as quality intensive.

You can use the software to crank out a video supplemental marketing. You can use software for video that is intended to supplement or support your text content. Obviously, the relationship with these different video levels goes a long way in reducing your overall cost. Keep the facts above in mind if you are still on the fence regarding video marketing. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to cost a lot.

Software That Can Reduce Your Marketing Costs

A lot of entrepreneurs are under the impression that high-quality professional videos have to be expensive. I really don’t blame them for thinking this way because a lot of the best videos in their niche probably look and sound like they were professionally produced.

They have great background music, their scripts are just nothing short of amazing, and they are edited in a very tight, compact, and emotionally powerful way. What’s not to love? Given that level of quality, it’s very easy to assume that you probably wouldn’t have to spend a pretty penny trying to come up with something similar.

What if I told you that you donät have to spend all your budget on high-quality and high-budget videos? You definitely need to have at least one of those videos. For the rest of your video materials, you can use the software. It all boils down to understanding how your video conversions work. In a way, videos are like articles.

When you go to a typical blog, chances are most of the material there is informative in nature. They may be written with a lot of personalities, they may play up certain facts, or they may even have some sort of interesting or quirky take on certain types of information. But at the end of the day, there are only a few pages on that blog that actually convert the viewer to buy something or sign up for a mailing list. This is called conversion content.

Oftentimes, the typical blog is made up of 95% informative material and 5% conversion content. The same applies to video. You can get away with only one highly polished, well-produced, well-scripted video that converts. This is the video you used to convert your website visitors. However, for the rest of your videos, you can use videoscribe.

Videoscribe is a handy software that you can use to quickly produce a tremendous amount of videos in a short period of time. Videoscribe makes the otherwise painstaking process of creating high-quality animated videos very easy. You just have to walk through the process. You don’t have to spend money on expensive graphics, you don’t have to spend money on expensive voice-over if don’t want to.

Of course, you are going to have to do that for your converted videos For everything else, I am talking, about supplemental videos here that get people familiar with your brand as well as open your viewer’s minds regarding the solutions that you bring to the table, you can use video scribe videos.

If you choose to do that, you stand to reduce your video costs by as much as 90%. That is how you play the game. You don’t stock your website with the very best videos you can produce. That is just going to drive you to the pros. On the other extreme, you are not going to fill your website with middle-of-the-road or even low-quality videos because that is going to destroy your brand.

There has to be a decent level of quality for your informative video content, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to bankrupt it. Obviously how this works, with a little bit of automation you can go a long way in reducing your video creation costs while converting your visitors.

Wrapping Up

It’s very easy to get the impression that all marketing videos are educational in nature. After all, highly effective salespeople first educate their prospects regarding the options available to them. Once the prospect feels that they understand their problem enough, then they are more likely to trust the salesperson because a true sales professional gave them the facts or information they needed to at least make the customer feel competent enough to make a decision regarding the situation. That is how effective sales marketers work.

If you follow these tips, I’m more or less sure that you will create great videos. That your marketing videos will get a lot of engagements and that you in the end will get a lot of sales.

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