Thinking about Better VSLs
Monday, July 3rd, 2023
I have been thinking about what is the The 80-20 Life with regards to creating content. I know I may be over indexing on this, and that some people just go forwarding with grinding as a strategy.
And that's honestly not terrible. I think I could benefit from that.
But I'm where I am and for whatever reason, I like the ideal of VSLs, it's just that they do feel like a heavy lift right now.
But sometimes grinding through the heavy lift in search of ways to get awesome and more efficient is the way.
It's sort of like the essay about Schlepping: Schlep Blindness
My take away is that sometimes it could be worth doing the highly inefficient thing with the maniacal focus on how to do it better because that could be the advantage.
I look at how YouTubers just stuck with it, even though their early videos sucked.
For me, it is a bit of a challenge making VSLs, and I am a little bit afraid that it will be soon totally automated and a commodity.
But right now, there are things I could do to the current workflow:
- Writing the script (maybe this can be off the cuff in the future)
- Cutting it on a per screen basis (I could write it this way from the beginning as an idea)
- Recording it (here AI voices, but only the expensive premium ones, can do the work in the future)
- Searching for and adding music (AI should be able to do this better than what I am doing it -- or I can leave it off for now)
- Running the syncing software (there must be a better way to do this....worth looking into)
- Publishing and distributing it
So just writing out the steps helped me think through that there are ways, even before doing much development or spending money, that I can streamline it from the beginning.
The syncing software, for example, already works although the fact it is reliant on Bluemix does suck (but if IBM can do not, plenty of other services must be available, this part cannot possibly be hard).
Distribution has been the pain. I do get some traffic already and it's really meant for that. But is it worth it given the low level of traffic.
I also haven't added music, which is something to consider as well.
So while I don't like it because of the schlep, when I review it, in the end, the hardest part really is the copywriting and I think that's on me to be better at it using ChatGPT or any other copywriting AI service.
This will certainly take time to do, but I think it's worth doing the schlep work.
Why?
First, I do think really effective VSLs support quality copywriting. It's just easy to watch if you are tired and want to think and having both the copy and the voice at the same time increases the focus and attention.
This is the part that does feel hard, and perhaps it's the area that makes it worth schlepping: to write great VSL copy. I don't think this will go away.
Second, if I can make the graphics and thumbnails look good, and I can be consistent, it is a source of discovery potentially. A great VSL should be an evergreen piece of content in and of itself to drive traffic and sales.
It's just a schlep.
But I think doing the schlep work to find hidden efficiencies and to discover earned secrets will be worth it in the end.