Sales Letter vs VSL

VSL in my opinion. Having been in the weight loss niche for a while most of your direct competitors also favour this kind of approach.

Why?

Because it's the quickest way to capture someone's attention especially in weight loss. Give them, an overweight individual battling with ADD and a hunger to find a 'quick fix' to their weight loss problems, a chance to see a video of someone who's done it before, been where they have been and can give them them a solution to their problems and you'll be through the door much quicker than the time it took you to lose that weight.

They'll listen to you. It helps them see if you're relatable and those other hidden non-verbal cues that would determine whether you're indeed someone they can trust.

And if worse comes to worst who doesn't love infotainment anyway. They might end up loving you for it.

Thank You


I'd also like to say, when I say it's NOT some silly book blah blah. I don't mean to offend those in the niche. This is just a very different personal account. I do have a great deal of passion since it happened to me. I was the study subject so to speak.

Not treading on toes here.

James

This might not be what you want to hear but I think you'll have a tough time selling just an e-book in this niche. I know quite a few who have tried and given up.

Even the products in the $27 to $37 price range are offering books, training videos, audio interviews, spreadsheets for diet and training etc. This is pretty much what the market expects as standard these days.

You're going to need a really amazing hook and unique way to position yourself if you're just offering the book. PPC is unlikely to yield much of a profit unless you've got a sales funnel in place.

But a personal account along the lines of how you lost 80 lbs in X months could work well as a lead magnet.

James,

You know it's a hyper, hyper (x a zillion) competitive niche.

But one thing in your favour is authenticity.

Rather than the interweb with all of its shenanigans.

Have you considered kindling the book?

It might be quicker and produce the money (and it can be big money) faster.

And then you have Volume 2 "How To Keep The Weight Off"


Steve

It is what I want to hear NOW instead of in a month when I can't sell it. So thank you Sir.

James

Hey James,

I would be careful when describing your product. People don't want "an honest approach to how I lost weight". You sell on emotion and that just sounds boring. That's why most weight loss products have names like "Ab Crusher" or "Shred in 30".

You won't find an infomercial selling a product called "An honest approach to how I lost weight.

As far as a vsl vs long form, you can try both. They will both work, and you can show before and after photos in each. Just depends on what route you want to go.

Steve,

Yay and nay.

I am already a Kindle author but in the fiction section. Never really thought of this as a Kindle book. And those that I know who DO publish this type of book are just publishers. They haven't lost weight they just publish on anything from weight loss to corn snake care.

Are you suggesting the REALISM of my case could turn this into a sole weight loss book? I really don't want to hunt for more crappery (is that a word) to keep the gravy train going.

James

Oh I wasn't going to use THAT as a headline. This is strictly as a Q and A thing.

I'm slow but not THAT slow :/

James

lol... you're asking people to become psychics.

none of the people who replied can read the future and tell you whats going to work best.

you gotta try both ways and test it.

I'm not telling you anything new... this is direct response marketing... and in DM, you test your offers.

Yeah I know. But I had to ask since personally I have ZERO VSL experience. It was simply just to get a rounded opinion.

James

It's the realism that becomes your USP.

Of course most of the weight loss mob do the "I was fat now I'm thin" stuff on the web.

And (even if it is true) doesn't always seem authentic.

You can write it so it is.

But the niche is saturated beyond belief - to break into it will require a lot of effort.

And normally can only be profitable with a ton of add on products.

Which you can develop.


Steve

Thank you Steve

I see what you mean about the authentic approach. And keeping weight off is so much harder IMHO.

I read somewhere that weight loss as a term is getting ditched for weight management. After various studies showed that 95% of weight loss peeps put it back on. Of course this is not new to us who have struggled for years.

It's like telling a drunk "Hey man you know it's really hard giving up the booze."

Yeah no shit Sherlock.

:/

James

You know what? I can't sell this.

I have realized today that NOBODY wants to go through what I went through.

5am runs? 7 days per week, 1200 cal limits for a 280lb man?

Nobody wants to hear that. And I won't sell it under a false umbrella.

I am sorry for floating this out there but I will leave it be in case others get anything from it.

As for me. I don't think people want to hear what I went through. It was torture.

James

>As for me. I don't think people want to hear what I went through. It was torture.

Offer your book as free lead-gen, while positioning yourself as an honest, in-the-trenches, cool-eyed critic (i.e., affiliate) of other people's hype-y programs and funnels.

You've done the Hard Painful Way That Works, so it's natural for you now to want to shed (informed, thoughtful, experience-grounded) light on the shiny, glitzy programs that abound.

Your book is not the product; your credibility is.

Your decision must take into account the specific market you're going after as well as the traffic source, if you're driving cold traffic.

And the award for the best idea goes to Marcia.

In a shot to hell market with a gazillion sites.

You have to have a new "mechanism". Or enlarge on a "mechanism"

(the thing that makes the damn thing work)

Something unique that the mobs aren't doing (or are not doing well).

And the "new" mechanism is (as Marcia said) the "something that kept you going"

I would use this and get moving on it before someone else does.

Seriously.


Steve

The mechanism was easy. It's something no diet books or workout books mention really not that I can see. And it's the reason I've maintained the weight a full year after i reached my goal. Since I was a stay at home dad too, the mechanism was VERY important. I suppose I could market to stay at home dads piling on the pounds.

James

But the more I think of it the more it seems Kindle is the better option. I want the book itself to be the important part not extras. I didn't have charts or gimmicks during the process. So how can I supply those authentically? Maybe a video or two of my story though. Happy being on camera.

James

This question was addressed in another post and I answered it with the following quote:

Should you use video or text? As you probably already know, some people prefer reading the presentation, while others would rather watch it. I personally enjoy the written format. However, I realize that sales could be lost for not including a video. So, what do we do?

Agora publishing addresses that question by presenting the viewer with a video that has an optional "view transcript" button imbedded into the video! Smart marketing!

Now, both the purveyor of the written word, AND the video enthusiast can be marketed to simultaneously. Agora has stated that this dual format has indeed increased the conversions.

I'm currently working on a way to create a video presentation that is not like a slideshow (which is how Agora does theirs...kinda boring.) I'd like to be able to do a presentation using a person that can portray an emotionally charged and engaging discussion with the audience (I don't think it could be me 'cause my looks would break the camera!!)

Good luck in your endeavors,
Eddie

James,

I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this.

But…

One way or another you'll HAVE to do it.

Because if any of the weight loss nichers happen to read these threads.

They are very likely to (and who could blame them) leg it with the ideas.

And make a shedful of loot.

Which really should be yours.


Steve

I will be releasing it on kindle at the end of the month. At the very least if it helps one fat dad lose some skin I will have done my bit.

Thank You all

James

I'm willing to bet most people who fail in this niche just give up. Mike Geary (the guy who wrote the Truth About 6 Pack Abs) said he didn't sell ebooks for the first two years.

As for VSL or not - I think it depends. I promote this (not an affiliate link) and it's converting like gangbusters:

5 Simple Steps To Looking 10 Years Younger!

Check that out - no video sale letter, no optin, nothing - it converts on cold traffic.

Question is are you going to give up?

You've already written the book, hand it over to an editor and publish it to Amazon. Promote it on Amazon (you can give it away for free - so you'll see downloads right away).

Do people review it? Are the reviews positive?

If so, turn it into a product. Charge more, and sell through affiliates. You can delist from Amazon with one click once you know there's a demand.

And take a look at the copy on OSNB - it's not "lose 50lbs in 50mins" - it's more like "It's hard, but it's easier with this guide".