How to Write a Persuasive Script for Your Next Video

“Writing a persuasive script is important. You can sway viewers to purchase your product or service.”

How do you go about doing that?

Here are some steps to help you write a persuasive script for your next video:

Be Knowledgeable

In order to write persuasively, you need to be passionate and knowledgeable about the topic. You should come across as an authority in this field. Giving your audience the idea that you know what you are talking about and that you have the ability to answer any question about this topic is crucial to its success.

Have you ever seen a commercial selling legal services and read the disclaimer at the bottom that says they are not attorneys, and this is not considered legal advice? The whole point of the commercial was lost on me because I have no reason to call their 1-800 number if they are not experts on this topic.

It is important to know what you are talking about.

Know Your Audience

Who are you trying to reach with this information? This will help you write a script that is appropriate and appealing to them. You need to be able to empathize with their pain points.

If your audience is working mothers, ages 30-45, your video should not feature fast cars and explosions. Your script should emphasize their pain points about how they don’t have enough time in the day, feel guilty about splitting their time between work and parenting, and how they need help with finances, cleaning, or keeping up with activities like soccer and Girl Scouts.

Connect with the right audience and show them you are helping them in some way.

Know Both Sides of the Argument

This will help you address all counterarguments in the script. Bringing up the objections first gives you more power and deflates any negative comments.

Have you ever watched a good advertisement on social media only to read even better objections in the comments? It makes you second guess the legitimacy of the ad. That is what you want to avoid.

If I create a video telling people how great my content writing services are, I may get comments that bring up the counterargument stating why would they pay for writing when they could do it themselves. If I rewrote the script to include that counterargument I could say, “My wonderful content writing services save you time, hassle, and the frustration of writing it yourself so you can focus on your business.” Now I have provided a solution to that counterargument and therefore less likely to receive a comment that may dissuade people from purchasing my services.

Remember that viewers are watching a video and not all will comment to get clarification. It is important to make sure that you are providing answers to as many possible questions that are in favor of an opposite opinion.

If your product is more expensive, why is it more expensive? Tell them about the quality of the materials you use or the time it takes to create the item.

If your product is cheaper, tell them why? Maybe you buy supplies in bulk, don’t believe in a big markup (think Costco’s business model of never exceeding a 13% markup), or maybe you are so good at what you do it doesn’t take you much time to do it and therefore you can pass those savings onto the customer.

Why should customers choose you? What makes you better than the competition?

Depending on your product/service your questions and counterarguments will be different. Ask yourself what would persuade people NOT to buy your product and then answer those questions in your video script.

Keep Them Interested

You need a hook at the beginning of your script. Give them a reason to start watching. Do or say something that draws them in and makes them want to watch the video. It is commonly some type of rhetorical question. An example is, “Do you want to lose weight quickly and without having to work out?” Anyone who is trying to shed some pounds is going to pay attention to it.

Also, state your purpose and let them know what the video is going to be about. The ones who are interested will stay to listen to your message.

If I were creating a video for my services, my hook could be, “Want to generate more traffic and increase sales without having to do anything extra?”  Now I have piqued their interest.

My next line is going to get to the point right away. “I can write and maintain a blog for you. Blogs are a proven way to increase sales, generate traffic, and improve relationships between customers and brands.”

If you hear this and your company already runs a blog and doesn’t need content writing support then you are most likely going to stop watching. That’s ok because this video is not for people who already have a well-maintained blog.

The people who don’t have a blog, are struggling to consistently maintain a blog, or aren’t happy with the person currently writing their blog are all going to continue to watch my video. This is who I created my video for in the first place.

Get Emotional

You have seen those videos that tug at your heartstrings and spark an emotional response. They are everywhere because they move people to act. For example, seeing an emaciated dog sitting in a shelter opens up peoples’ wallets.

Find an empathic way to connect with your audience.

Give Them a Good Story

When you hear a story about how someone was successful with a product it persuades the viewer to want to get those same results. Weight loss programs are notorious for this. They tell a story about an overweight woman who was really unhealthy, then she tried this program, lost all the weight, has no more health issues, and leads an awesome life. When people hear a story like this, they automatically want to sign up. They want to be that success story as well.

Stories sell people on products and services. Stories also connect the brand with the customer. When I hear that someone started a company to help a pain point that I have because they had the same problem then I feel more connected to that company. This person/brand gets me. They understand my problem and want to help make my life easier.

What Makes You Unique

Is there anything that your company is doing that is different than the competition? What is your unique selling proposition (USP)? Are you offering a free trial? Are you donating a portion of sales to a good cause? Are you the first in the industry to use this material or offer this service? Tell us! We want to know.

Build Up Your Points

Ease the audience into seeing your point-of-view by starting with simple points everyone can agree on and then working up to more complex ones.

If I’m selling dog food, I would start with small statements like dogs are awesome, your dog is your best friend, dogs are cute and furry. Then I would work up to “you want them to live a long life, right?”

So far you have agreed with everything that I have said if you are a dog owner. Next, I would say, “Tracy’s Dog Food is the healthiest food you can buy for your dog.” Not everyone will agree with that statement, so I need to make sure I have facts and research to support my healthiest food claim.

But you get the idea that I started with small statements that the audience felt was true and then made a statement that you may not have agreed with, but you may believe it since you believe everything else I said prior to that statement. You started to trust what I was saying.

Exaggerate

If you’re going to use any hyperboles and make exaggerated claims definitely make sure you have the research, facts, and statistics to back it up. It is ok to brag and say things that are true. If you have the best-selling product in your niche and you can prove it with data, then go ahead and shout it from the rooftops. But if not then I would be careful about making such big claims.

Just make sure that whatever you say is true and that you can prove it.

Use Social Proof

Influencer marketing has become an integral part of marketing strategies in recent years. According to Mediakik’s 2019 Influencer Marketing Survey, 80% of marketers say it is effective. You will need to do your research to find influencers who will make a good fit for your brand.

Using customer testimonials can also be effective. I want to hear from normal people like me that have used the product and can tell me that it is worth buying. Today’s market is so saturated with similar products at various price points. Hearing from someone who has used a product can help me decipher if it is worth the investment or if the cheaper product works just as well. This is what will persuade people to buy!

Let’s not forget about social sharing. I see my friend’s sharing services or products that they use, and I am more likely to buy that, too. Make sure your business uses social media.  This makes it easy for people to share and recommend you.

Be Friendly

Always be nice! A big turn-off for me is those rude call-to-actions (CTAs). I’m sure you have seen them before. You’re on a website, a pop-up to join their mailing list flashes before you and it says, “Join our mailing list to get great writing tips delivered to your inbox.” Then below that is two buttons. One says, “Yes, I’d like to join” and the other says, “No, I want my writing to keep sucking.” Right off the bat, they have implied that my writing sucks. I haven’t even finished reading a page on the website and they have already insulted me. For the majority of businesses, I would warn against this. Very few brands can pull this off.

Keep it Simple and Detailed

If your company sells a complex product, keep the explanation simple. If you get too detailed, then people will get lost in trying to understand what it is your product or service offers. I would have a simple explanation. Then as I get further into discussing the product I would throw in some technical jargon for those that want to know that. It will also help establish you as an authority in your field. People will realize that this person knows what they are talking about.

Let me give you an example. I recently purchased a new computer monitor. All I needed to know was the size to make sure it fits on my desk. My husband needed to know the response time, resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, and how many HDMI ports were provided. This is why it is good to have a simple explanation for consumers like me who just want a 24” monitor, but also have more details for consumers like my husband who needs to know more specifics before they make a purchase.

Show Your Personality

I love reading blogs and watching videos where people have injected their personality into it. I don’t want to watch some guy drone on about how amazing his product is. I want it to be fun yet informative. I want to see his personality. I want to like him. If I like him then I will be more willing to buy what he is selling. Yes, being in front of a camera can make you nervous but try to be creative and show us your personality.

Don’t think about trying to make sales. Just talk like a regular person, show us how great your product or service is, and have fun with it.

Say it Again with Captions

Repeat yourself so that people catch on to what you are trying to persuade them to do. We are so inundated with content these days that we might miss the point of your video if you only state the purpose in the first few seconds.

You have to realize that a lot of people are consuming content while at work, in the car, on the train, sitting in front of the tv, at their child’s sporting event, or wherever so make sure you have your video captioned so that anyone who can’t turn on the sound can read what you are saying. This will also help reinforce what you are trying to persuade your viewers to do.

Bottom Line:

Be real, truthful, empathetic, and personable with a clear purpose. When people see that you are a regular person trying to help them with a problem or pain point that they have and that you have experienced the same problem or know others who have (testimonials), then people will connect with that and be more willing to purchase what you are offering.

Hope these tips help you create an awesome persuasive video that gets the results you are looking for. Check out my blog for other articles about video marketing that may be helpful to you. Don’t forget to follow me on social media.