If you’ve done any studying or learning about video sales letters (VSL), at some point you… no doubt… heard mention of something called a Pattern Interrupt.
A Pattern Interrupt… from the world of Neuro-Linguistic Programming… is something that is used to change a person’s mental state.
In the case of video sales letters, a Pattern Interrupt is something unexpected you do at the start of the video to wake prospects up from the typical mindset they have going into yet another video.
Frankly, anything that is different from the norm and not what the prospect expects can act as a Pattern Interrupt.
If you’ve seen a video sales letter start with someone playing the guitar, driving in their car, or even showing a weird, seemingly unrelated graphic… you’ve seen a Pattern Interrupt at play.
And, when done correctly, a Pattern Interrupt is a very effective tactic for grabbing attention and creating engagement.
HOWEVER…
Once a specific type of Pattern Interrupt becomes widely used and common at the start of videos, it no longer acts as a Pattern Interrupt.
It goes from being a Pattern Interrupt to simply being another expected and anticipated tactic.
And, of course, it then loses it’s power and effectiveness.
This is exactly happened with Doodle Videos. You know… those “hand-drawn” videos with voiceover.
At one point, when they were first used, they were different and unique. And were a real Pattern Interrupt since viewers hadn’t seem them before.
Now, they’ve become common-place. And so, they are no longer a Pattern Interrupt.
Just remember when creating your video sales letters…
If you want to wake prospects up out of the normal funk and skepticism they usually have going into watching another video, do something different from what everyone else is doing.
It’s like my buddy Rich Schefren has said:
“It’s better to be different than to be better.”
P.S. Have you ever heard of an Educational Video Sales Letter?
It’s something I first learned from Michael Masterson of Agora.
Check it out.
