Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday Fresh!

Have you ever wondered how some businesses sell courses for £2000 or more, and moreover – they do this at scale?

Welcome the Video Sales Letter (or VSL as it’s commonly known)!

VSLs are a remarkably effective way to sell your training courses, coaching, or online services by guiding your audience step-by-step through a simple process that gives them all of the reasons to buy from you.

Even if you’ve never made a video or built a sales funnel before, this guide will help you understand the basics of a VSL and how you can use it to grow your training business.

What Exactly is a VSL?

A Video Sales Letter is like a traditional sales letter—but instead of reading through a lot of text, your potential customers watch a video. It’s a short video where you explain why your training course is valuable, how it helps solve a problem, and what they need to do to sign up. But a VSL is not just about the video! It’s actually part of a bigger system made up of several elements.

Let’s review them step by step:

1. The Email

The first step is to invite people to watch your VSL.

NOTE: This can be done via email (as the title here suggests), but can also be done via paid advertising, or even an organic social media post with a link to a landing page (next section) if you’re feeling brave.

If you have an email list (a.k.a. people who receive emails from you), you send an email with a short, catchy message that gets their attention and encourages them to click on a link to your video. Tools like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign are great for sending these emails.

• Tip: Keep it simple—use an engaging subject line and make it clear why they should watch your video (e.g., “Discover How to Boost Your Career with This Simple Training”).

2. The Landing Page

Once they click the link in your email, they’re taken to your landing page. This is where they’ll watch your VSL. The landing page should have one goal: get them to watch the video and take action. No distractions—just your video and a button.

• Tools: You can use ClickFunnels, Leadpages, or Kartra to create easy landing pages.
• Tip: Make sure your landing page has a strong headline that matches the video and keeps them interested.

3. The VSL Itself

Now comes the star of the show—the video! In your VSL, you explain the value of your course. Here’s a simple structure for your video:

• Hook: Start with something that grabs their attention—like a problem they’re facing.
• Problem: Talk about the problem in more detail, so they know you understand their needs.
• Solution: Introduce your training course as the solution.
• Offer: Explain what they’ll get, the benefits, and the price.
• Call to Action: Finish by telling them exactly what to do next—like “Sign up now!” or “Get started today.”
• Tip: You don’t need fancy equipment. You can create your video using Zoom or Loom, which let you record your screen and camera at the same time.

4. The One-Time Offer (OTO)

Right after the video, there’s usually an offer. This is the moment when you encourage people to sign up, but here’s the catch: you add something extra—a bonus or a discount—if they act quickly.

This is called a One-Time Offer (OTO). It gives your potential customers a reason to act right away, instead of waiting.

• Tip: You can offer something like a discount on the course, a free bonus lesson, or exclusive access to a private session.

5. The Downsells (Optional)

Not everyone will buy immediately. If someone doesn’t take the main offer, you can present a downsell—a lower-priced option, like a simpler version of your course or a payment plan. This keeps them engaged, even if they weren’t ready for the full offer.

• Tip: Downsells are optional, but they can help convert more people who are still on the fence.

6. The Thank You Page

Once they purchase (or even if they don’t), they’re sent to a Thank You Page. This is where you confirm their order and let them know what happens next. It’s also a great opportunity to keep them excited by offering more value—like additional content, downloadable resources, or a preview of what’s coming next.

• Tip: Use this page to build a relationship and encourage them to stay connected.

Final Thoughts

The magic of a VSL system is that once you set it up, it can run on autopilot.

You don’t need to manually send emails or handle each sale yourself. Tools like ActiveCampaign, Kartra, and ClickFunnels help automate everything from the email sequences to landing pages and thank you pages.

Here’s what you can automate:

• Emails: Automatically send the invite, follow-up emails, and reminders to people who didn’t watch the video.
• Sales Process: Automate the One Time Offer and downsell offers based on user behavior.
• Payment & Confirmation: Automatically process payments and send confirmation messages.

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