People Don’t Buy Stuff From Videos. They Buy You.

05. Apr, 2010 Categories: Making Videos by Elizabeth Potts Weinstein View Comments

I cringe when I see the marketing for “how to make video” programs come through my twitter feed.

We’re promised that we’ll learned how to make “videos that sell” or “videos that convert leads to paying customers” or “videos that will make you money” etc.

And magical fairies will throw money at us from the sky. Freaking awesome.

Sigh.

Yes, videos are powerful.

Yes, videos are the most intimate way to connect with your audience outside of meeting each of them in person, one-on-one.

Yes, you can use videos to sell products, to make money, to convert leads to paying customers.

But people don’t buy stuff from the video.

For that matter, people don’t buy stuff. They don’t buy products. They don’t buy solutions. And they are less and less likely to buy magical pills.

People buy you.

And that is what you are selling in your videos. Not your program. Not your expertise. Not your upsell or opt-in or telesummit.

You are selling you.

There are tons of other solutions your prospects could buy that would solve their problem. Some of them are cheaper, faster, even better than yours.

But you are unique. Your energy. Your weirdness and habits and body language and accent and the clothes you wear and the wrinkles on your face.

Your presence. Your passion. Your truth.

That is what people are buying from your videos. Whether your call to action is subscribe above or comment below or give me money or buy my stuff.

The only thing you need them to buy, is you.

So don’t worry about being perfect. Glossy, technical hollywood productions are just a bullsh*t artifice of your truth. And we all have learned how to see through that crap.

It’s about letting your true self, your real self, shine through the video.

Remember that children’s book, the Velveteen Rabbit? Real is not about shiny and gears and fancy technology.

As the Skin Horse said, “Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to be fancy or professional or flawless. Those things don’t matter to the people who are in your tribe. To the people who understand you.

All you have to do to sell yourself in your videos, is be Real.

What’s holding you back from making videos? What’s stopping you from posting, from promoting the videos you already made? Why are you holding yourself back from just being Real?

To learn how to make your own videos, check out my newest video program 3 Days to Video live virtual workshop or get the free Quickstart to just learn the basics!

Related posts:

  1. The Big Question: “Do I Have to Edit My Videos?”
  2. Make Your Videos More Awesomer: The Advanced Video Series Coming Soon
  3. Yet More Evidence That People Are Awesome.
  4. #SXSWi pt 2: People Are Human
  5. The *Real* Reason Video is Hard.

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  • I think a place where a lot of entrepreneurs get hung up is thinking they have to BE a certain way to succeed. In other words, they have to be like someone they like. So they try to copy the way that person writes and what their blog looks like and their ezine style and on and on. But, doing this is always going to make a person be smaller in the world. The way to be big and to attract a loyal following is to develop a personality-based brand that lets the authentic, bold YOU shine through in all its glorious quirks! Do you know how many people you can reach on the Internet? Believe me - there is an audience for you whether you're weird, queer, straight, nerdy, snarky, conservative, drama-filled, glam, punk, techy, dry, hippie, or any other sub-culture or adjective you might pick to describe yourself.
  • Yeah! The first message I ever gave was in grade school from your very text via The Velveteen Rabbit. Real - and yes, I brush my teeth, check for parsley, usually change out of the same t-shirt I wear every day -AND don a bit of makeup when I make a video. But then, I do those things any time I go in public, unless of course I'm meeting someone very important and I find out about the parsley hours later! #justmyluck
  • You are right on.

    You've got to sell yourself because no one's better at being you than you.
    But there will always be someone better looking, younger, smarter, older, wiser, more creative, etc. etc.

    It's what every artist strives for. Having an original voice.
  • I love this, it's so true. One of the things I let go off straight away on my videos was caring how I looked. That said, I wouldn't shoot a video if I really needed a shower! I also don't edit a huge amount, I do take several takes and then pick the best one though.
  • EXACTLY Elizabeth! That's why it's so important for people like you and I to build our personal brands alongside our products/services. And blogs and social media allow you to do that very well.
  • Gotta say, I'm bummed about the fairies. I've been waiting for them. or I was, for nearly five long years. but nobody, nohow knew how to make those fairies make me money til I was ready to be me.

    But still...I'd like a few now and again...maybe just like those little elves that repaired the shoes in the middle of the night? Please?!

    Of course, I'm joshing >sigh<.

    Catherine - I wear makeup most of the time, but I don't always when I'm making a video. so far the favorite video I made was when I was squatting down in a snowdrift and had to keep digging snow out from under my keester and make snow balls because that crap was cold. That was real. I didn't reshoot it because, well, like Elizabeth says here -- it was ME.
  • Peggie, where's that video? It sounds great!
  • now here's where I'm a goofball. I just make videos and then, well, not so good at sharing them.. lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU3gLawxMLw I THINK this will get you the video, but my youtube channel is pegkd
  • What a lovely video! Tweeted.
  • you're sweet Catherine! Thanks. was thinking "real" would have been taping my day in the ER yesterday -- but no one really needed to see that much of me!
  • I'm ready to learn how "magical fairies will throw money at us from the sky." *snort*
  • How do you cope with the slippery-slope questions about real?

    I always brush my teeth before I shoot a video. Am I still my real self if I do so? Yes.
    And if I brush my hair, too? Still me.
    Change my t-shirt to one that matches my statement? Still me.
    If I decided to add makeup? Suddenly not me.

    I suppose you have to go with your gut, there.

    I won't even ask what you do if the real you has Issues. :)
  • Catherine,

    I imagine that brushing your teeth and hair are things you do even it your not recording a video. ;)

    I think Elizabeth is talking more about being yourself. Not trying to be someone you're not just for a video.

  • Absolutely. But who we are is a compilation of 10,000 tiny decisions. We need to be careful to not make just a few little changes, and then just a few more, until we're not authentic any more. Does that make sense?
  • Catherine,

    I hear what you're saying, but to me, if I'm putting a lot of extra thought into all of those 10,000 tiny decisions, then I'm no longer being ME. Whatever I end up looking like and doing on auto pilot - that's the authentic ME.
  • What a lovely way to think about it!

    Ooh, you're one of those sensible people I've heard about, aren't you? My mum told me to beware of people like you. :)
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