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5 Ideas to Create Your Own Website Infomercial--with the Infomercial Toolkit
Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Susan Harrow. All rights reserved.
Though traditional TV infomercials of the past had the taint
of tawdry, they now have the stamp of public approval. They
are no longer just for the Tae-bo, Turbo Cookers or the Bun
and Thigh Rocker, but are currently sanctioned by
respectable authors, celebrity chefs, and speakers--and
people like you. With the advent of Internet geniuses Mike
Koenigs and Rocket Helstrom, a whole new generation of
infomercials, called online direct response video, have come
of age--on websites.
With more than 120 million homes worldwide accessing the
Internet through high speed broadband connections you no
longer have to give away half of your earnings to a big
infomercial production company. You can do it yourself, in
your home or office, and keep all the profits. Here are 5
ways that you can use this state-of-the-art technology as
your new sales letter strategy.
1. Do a talk show demo.
Many TV show producers and bookers want to see you live
before booking you on their show--especially at the level
of Oprah, The View or Good Morning America. You need to be a
proven commodity as producers can't take a chance that
you'll freeze, ramble or bore their audiences. Your demo
should have the camera trained on you, in a professional
looking setting, with a few shots of the interviewer asking
you precise questions. Make sure your answers are about 15
seconds and leave no doubt that people won't reach for the
remote.
2. Do a mini-course.
As an alternative or in addition to your newsletter you can
give a course over a month, a year or anything in-between. A
mini-course is a way to let viewers get to know you
leisurely, to trust you over time. One of my clients decided
to do a series of 3 minute talks that can be downloaded once
a month for a year. Once she's shot them all she can give
her viewers the option to buy the whole course on CD instead
of waiting for the monthly tip. You create an instant
product that puts money in your bottom line. If people want
the information gratis they wait. Their choice.
3. Do an interview.
Want prospective clients to know more about you, your
business, your book, your product or your cause? Do an in-depth interview about all the aspects of what you're selling
that would be of importance to your audience. You can cover
both obvious and hidden objections, tout benefits, inform,
entertain and instruct in a few short minutes. You can do a
live FAQ and speak directly to your viewers. Seeing you eye
to eye gives people confidence. I don't know about you, but
I never trust a website that doesn't have photographs of the people running the company or of the staff. I want to get an
image, an impression of the person I'm dealing with. With
video, you give people a chance to get a gut reaction and
make a decision as to whether they want to do business with
you.
4. Do testimonials.
Having other people use your product or service and expound
its virtues is perhaps the best way to influence your
audience. For Kathan Brown, founder of Crown Point Press,
the world's premier printmaking/etching studio, I
interviewed artists on-camera who had worked in her studio
producing etchings of the finest quality. They
simultaneously discussed their experiences working at Crown
Point Press and how Kathan made a space, both physically and
creatively, where ideas could live and breathe. The artists
each talked about the process of how the art pieces they
produced came into being with the help of Kathan's master
printers. You got both the insider's view from famous
artists and a look at their own inner creative process. We
shot the artists in front of the work they were discussing
so the viewer could have a visceral experience of both. The
result? Very exciting.
5. Do a product demo.
One of my clients is going to set up a demo for his product
so he can show prospective customers every aspect and detail
of how his patented product works. His market is Walgreens
and Walmart as well as direct consumers so he can reach a
range of prospective buyers. In fact, he's already in
negotiation with QVC to do a TV infomercial. So it can work
both ways, especially since the TV buying audience may not
be the same as the Internet buying audience. You can have an
infomercial on your site and have a TV infomercial, too.
Double exposure, double profits.
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Susan Harrow, CEO of
http://prsecrets.com, is
a top media coach, marketing strategist and author of
Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul® (HarperCollins),
The
Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah, and
Get a 6-
Figure Book Advance. Clients include Fortune 500 CEOs, bestselling authors and entrepreneurs who have appeared on
Oprah, 60 Minutes, NPR, and in TIME, USA Today, Parade,
People, O, NY Times, WSJ, and Inc. |
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