According to an interview with Brendon Sinclair he experienced a 300-400% increase in conversion using a video review versus a text review…and this was for a book.

I’ll be honest before this week I really wrestled with whether or not product videos are actually worth the investment because lets be real, if you’re going to spend the money and do it right, it’s quite expensive.

Video on Amazon.com

Ok, so I’m in love with my Nintendo Wii and today I was shopping for the new Wii Fit on Amazon. My wife wasn’t really sure about the whole thing, yeah she saw the picture of the balance board and some game-play screenshots, but she wasn’t sold yet. Now, I really want this thing, so I needed to go for that hard sell…I gotta let her know how hot it is. I scroll down and play the 2:45 minute video for her and half way through she’s like “This is amazing, we have got to get this.” That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know this product is pretty unique and it’s a perfect specimen for a video. There are some selling points that can only be advertised properly with video. There are also some instances where a video may not help you at all.

Should I Use Video?

Here are four essential questions you can use to determine whether or not a video will work for your product and give you a return.

1. Are you getting enough traffic?

You could make an amazing video and have a 30% conversion rate on that product page but if you’re only driving a few people there per day, you probably wasted your money.

2. Are there some unique characteristics about your product that can only be shown through video?

Now, this would definitely add to your success, it is not however, a requirement. Even if you’re selling floss, you may be able to do a video with a dentists interview about how great floss is while you’re showing some b-roll of someone using it. It won’t convert as high as someone snowboarding while texting his boy using that new verizon phone, but it still might convert.

3. Do you have the budget to do it right?

If you shoot your video in your office using your brothers old school analog camcorder, your customers are going to know, and probably not attach much value to it (it may even have a negative effect).

4. Is everything else in order?

How are your product descriptions? What about your photos? Is your call to action clear? Make sure you’re not just spending money to do something new, your conversion rate might be down because your pages aren’t optimized.

There You Have It

Hopefully that’s enough to get you thinking about whether or not to invest in a video for your product or site. Have any feedback? Let me know if you have any questions below.

Join online forums where people are talking about what you sell. They’re easy to find and almost all of them are completely free to join. Find the discussions and categories related to what you sell and make relevant posts. Answer questions, offer free advice and make suggestions. Just be sure to include a link to your site in the post and in your signature, which will show up under your name each time you post something.

Here’s an example of how to find a relevant forum and why they’re absolute gold mines:

I google “scuba equipment forum” and go to the first organic result. It takes me to Scubaboard.com, an online forum where people talk all about scuba diving and scuba diving equipment.

I go to a post where a user asks “What is the best regulator to buy for diving upside down?” See the post here.

Now, if you own an eCommerce site specializing in diving equipment – what will you tell him/her?

I think you get the point – the rest is self explanatory!

In summary, remember:

If someone wants to know where to buy a widget, show them.
If someone wants advice on a widget, give it to them.
If someone wants to know the specifications of a widget, tell them.

This technique does take time and it’s success is in direct relation to the amount of time you spend in the forums and how many questions you answer. If you’re persistent, this forum sales technique will pay for itself in the form of increased sales, a good customer service reputation and satisfied customers in general.

Now start posting and get more sales!