Just TELL us: Why you should quit using video

Don't bother clicking.

YouTube is now the second most popular search engine.  We know videos on a website help move you up in Google.  People love videos.  All the latest info and research, and all the social media gurus, tell us that everything we do should be done on video.

Here’s a little secret: IT’S ALL CRAP.  WE HATE HAVING TO WATCH YOUR VIDEOS JUST TO GET “MORE INFORMATION!”

Because of the radio show, I get a lot of pitches every week from publicists, experts, and authors.  And because there have been times I have wanted to read an article, or get more information about something, I have often been forced into signing up for an email “newsletter.” (see David Meerman Scott’s belief about giving info away for free and not forcing the sign up).

So I get a lot of email from people who want me to look at their stuff.  The new trend is to send a couple of provocative lines, with a link to a video to “explain more.”

“I’ve just found the secret to curing cancer.  It’s easier than you think and you have the ingredients in your pantry.  Click here for my video explaining how to stop this monster!”

"I can help you fill your workshop with thousands of people, every time! Click on the link and I’ll share my magnetizing secret in the video.”

 “Dr BlahBlah is the #1 bestselling Amazon author in the category of Feel-Good for the first 10 minutes of the first Tuesday in odd months!  You’ll want him on your show because it will change your listeners’ lives! Click on the video to find out why.”

 I got another one today, and it just made me shout....

 STOP IT.

Your video isn’t really that good.  In fact, it’s rather self-indulgent.  You have bad lighting, you say the same thing over and over again, you’re trying to sell me, and you have now taken 8 minutes of my life that I can never get back.

You are insulting us by assuming we can’t read, (or perhaps, can’t be persuaded by your copywriting skills) and you are using up our valuable time.

And it all feels rather sleazy...like you have something to hide.  Because you can’t write it down, you have to tell us on video, I have to wonder if the FTC is after you.

Instead: Give us the bullet points of your program or your pitch, and offer us a video if we want to know more. 

And stop making videos until you can make compelling ones...  ones that really offer us GOOD content and that are concise.

Otherwise, it all feels rather Prince-of-Nigeria-Million-Dollar-Scheme-ish to me.

Just one woman’s opinion….

Do you prefer to get your basic information in written form, or in a video?