I’m in the business of selling ice cubes to people who live in Antarctica. Will video marketing work for my business?

This is one of the most popular questions I get asked and as long as your business offers something people ACTUALLY want or need then YES it will work for you!

Oh and if you own a business that sells ice cubes to people who live in Antarctica it may be time to look for a new product to sell. Sorry to break it to you but you might be in a terrible business.

I was a little surprised by the question because I always try to give examples and proof based on results I’ve gotten. But then I realized something. I was teaching video marketing through … video marketing! Yes, we just entered video marketing inception.

That’s when it began to make sense to me. Of course it was hard for everyone to visualize video marketing working in other niches when I just kept using the video marketing niche as my example (are you still with me?). And one of my goals for 2015 is to incorporate video marketing into niches outside of the video marketing and internet marketing space to show you REAL LIFE results.

The first niche we started playing around with is the cigar niche…no I don’t smoke cigars but I have a buddy who is a cigar Jedi, in fact that is his YouTube channel and brand: Cigar Jedi. More on him in a minute.

The second one is still in the works but I am teaming up with my brother to start a business selling 5k training programs to people just getting into running. We were both NCAA Division 1 runners and specialized in longer distance races so this should be a very fun project. With this business we plan on starting out using ONLY YouTube and video marketing as our marketing strategy. I’ll update you as we get this rolling but for now lets look at the results of Cigar Jedi’s first few videos.

Results From My Video Marketing Strategy In The Cigar Niche

Now, before we dive into the results I should make one thing very clear. With both, Cigar Jedi and the 5k training program business, I am not in there running them or personally doing my video marketing magic. I am just coaching, giving them my video marketing formulas and letting them GO! All the info I am giving them is the exact same info I give you in my blogs, videos, webinars and training programs. I want these results to be real results, from real people just starting out, in niches outside the video marketing space.

Just to give you an idea of good YouTube stats, my best videos will get 40-60% audience retention rate and 30% click thru rates. This means 40-60% of the people who start watching my videos stay to the end and see my call to action. And 30% of the people who see my call to action (CTA) end up following my CTA and clicking on my annotation. I read a stat on Backlinko.com that some estimates say an average clickthru rate for YouTube videos is 0.72%, so I feel pretty good about a 30% clickthru rate. Heck, I’d even feel good getting a 5% clickthru rate!

Alright, let’s take a look at one of Cigar Jedi’s videos. This particular video was on the topic of “How To Store Cigars” and all he did was follow my YouTube video formula (covered below). On one of his very first videos he absolutely crushed it with a staggering 60-70% audience retention rate on the video. That’s more than I get!!! What the heck!?!?!

YouTube Audience Retention Rate

*note – This was for the last 30 day period after uploading the video. It changed between 60-70% based on what day we set the YouTube analytics for.

YouTube Click Thru RateAt the time of me writing this post he has about 600 views on the video which means 360-420 people stayed to the end of the video and saw his CTA. He was also getting a 15% click-thru rate, which is a 2000% improvement above the average YouTube 0.72% click-thru stat estimates that Backlinko.com found.

That means 48-63 people clicked over to get his FREE GUIDE in a 30 day period. Not bad for his first video, especially considering he had ZERO previous experience filming, making videos, or even online marketing knowledge!

Now, I know there are some negative know-it-all hotshots out there who are thinking…big freakin’ deal, 48-63 clicks pfffffff! Well, imagine having 10 videos doing this. That’s 480-630 FREE clicks to an opt-in page on autopilot, every month, without any more work. And that with ONLY 10 videos! Now imagine 20 videos or even 100 videos like what I have. Oh… AND, we haven’t even ranked the video on Google yet either. Now those stats are looking pretty enticing, aren’t they?

I also forgot to mention the fact that these are YouTube optins which (from my experience) are the most responsive leads and optins you will ever get. They are true followers who listen to you, buy from you, and follow you loyally. Since they are opting in AFTER watching you add value in a video they know you, they like you and they obviously trust you (otherwise they wouldn’t optin, right?). You are pretty much a mini celebrity in their eyes.

Don’t believe me? That’s probably because you haven’t used YouTube or used it correctly yet. I’ve literally had people emailing me saying I’ve changed their lives. I’ve responded to emails with people writing back saying they knew it wasn’t me who responded back and it was just my personal assistant (I don’t even have a personal assistant…but I need one…I should get one…). I’ve had people buy me lunch just to spend time with me and talk YouTube. I’ve had people wanting to take pictures with me. I’ve had people tell me they need help and only want to work with me (even though they are tons of other video marketing companies out there) and these are people I have never even met. I’ve met people in person and had them tell me they can’t believe they are actually meeting me and they’ve watched all my videos.

Now, I am not telling you this to brag or come off as some cocky slick willy although I totally understand it may sound like that. In fact, I’m just some goofy kid who likes to makes videos and I’m stunned that I have impacted so many people. But, I am telling you this to SHOW you the power of optins and followers from YouTube. They are LOYAL and when you are ready to let them buy, they RESPOND and they RESPOND fast.

Alright, are you ready for the YouTube formula now? I call it my Video Results Formula (clever, I know)

The YouTube Video Formula For High Clickthrus and Audience Retention (Video Results Formula)

As we go through this formula please remember to take action and use it! I promise if you follow what we cover in this formula you will see results. In order to make it super easy for you to do without making any mistakes I created a free cheat sheet that walks you the process, along with an example. You can download it right here by hitting the share buttons:

Like or Tweet this page to reveal the content.


Step 1 – Start The Video With Your Hook

In about 10-20 seconds tell them what they are going to learn in the video….that’s it. This gets them hooked as you set the expectations of the video. Now they know what’s coming and they want it!

Step 2 – Deliver The Content Quickly

Now, that they know what’s coming it’s time to give it to them. It’s YOUR job to give it to them without rambling, without getting off topic,and without taking fooorrreeevvvveerrrr.

Just give them exactly what they want. You can be entertaining, use jump cuts, and other video effects to help keep their attention, but all you really need to do is just give them the info they came to get. Add value!

Step 3 – Offer More Info On The Same Topic Outside The Video

Now they are at the end of your video and it is your opportunity to snag them! Never just end the video. Please please PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE never just end your video. If you just end your video without trying to get them to do anything you’re just wasting your time.

Sure, you can kid yourself by thinking “I’m just trying to build my brand through youtube. I don’t need them to leave my video, optin, visit my website or anything”…

funny serious

Really? Are you serious? You must like building a brand that doesn’t make money. Do you realize you can be building your brand and your list at the same time?!?!

Ok. Rant over!

In order to get them to optin, visit your website or do whatever you want them to do, you need to offer them more info on the same topic you covered in the video. And, of course, tell them how to get it. This could be a training video, a pdf download, a blog post….or anything. Just give them more valuable info on the same topic you covered in your video.

Step 4 – Get The Video Seen

Obviously you need to get your video seen and this can be the hardest step for most people but has become easier and easier for me over the years. The most obvious is to just share it with your social media following and email list, if you have one. But, the long term strategy is getting it found every day in the search results of YouTube, Google, Yahoo and Bing.

When your video gets found in the search results you get automated leads, traffic and sales…at long as you created your video correctly. I’ve done this with my videos, my students do it with their videos and Cigar Jedi and the 5k training program example will be doing it with theirs.

That really is the key for this entire thing to work. You need to get your videos seen. I’ve had over 400 students, including some of the top YouTube and Video marketers, go through my training program and have achieved hundreds of page 1 rankings. It just works and gets you daily results. But right now, enrollment to my video ranking training and community is closing in a few days. So if you need help easily ranking your videos you can still join before we close it and raise the price.

Remember To Download the FREE Cheat Sheet:

Like or Tweet this page to reveal the content.

And…. thats it! That is the simple YouTube formula you can take, use and get results. Over 2015 I will update you on the progress with both businesses and show you how they are using video to drive leads and sales. So… stay tuned!