If you’re wondering where this article on video marketing is coming from, it goes back to a forum post where a member was complaining about an aspect of some videos that I happen to agree with. It has always been my opinion that you want to make it as easy as possible for your prospects to make their buying decisions. This particular video tactic does anything but. This article explains.

Okay, so what’s the tactic I’m talking about? It’s creating these incredibly long videos (anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes or more) with no way for the viewer of the video to either pause it or fast forward ahead. In other words, they have to sit through the whole video from start to finish. The controls are purposely taken away to achieve this.

Not only did this one person at the forum complain about this, but so did many other members as well, including myself. I’m not going to sit through a 60 minute video, especially if 10 minutes into it, I decide that I actually want the product and just want to be given the URL so I can buy it. By taking the control out of my hands, I can’t do that. Ultimately, I will shut the page down, which is the only way to stop the video.

Having said this, I’m now going to tell you something that is going to totally shock you. Are you ready?

Test this for yourself. If you find that making videos with no controls increases conversions for YOUR target market, then do them. Ultimately, that’s the bottom line.

See, the “gurus” who use these tactics certainly have been doing this long enough to test these things themselves and wouldn’t use them if they didn’t work…for THEM. That doesn’t mean that the same tactic is going to work for YOU…and that is where people make their mistakes.

Every market is going to react differently to this tactic. Plus, the video itself is going to have a lot to do with whether or not somebody is going to want to sit through the whole thing. A video of somebody sitting behind a desk and talking for 30 minutes straight is likely to bore the heck out of most people, whereas a video of some demonstration of a cool new product will probably keep most people glued.

So you need to know your market, your product and understand that certain videos are more conducive to a long sit through than others.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to find out how to create killer videos like my friend Kevin Riley and rake in a 6 figure income like he and I do? Check out my review of his dynamite product at my blog at http://stevenwagenheim.blogspot.com/2008/06/kevin-rileys-recipe-for-success.html