Last year, I was part of a really successful product launch and the opt-in video for the pre-launch was 4 minutes long! So we completely broke the much talked about web video rule of “keeping it under 3 minutes”.

The reason it worked so well was a combination of the very unique content, the way it was shot and how it was “pre-framed”.

“Pre-framing” in web video is another fancy way or saying, “Make a short cool intro, but a little longer than the usual 15 second intro” so viewers become informed just enough to see what’s after the intro, which then leads to the pitch of your product or service.

Because I helped them make a lot of money with their launch, I asked them if I could use everything I did for them over a period of time for a variety of case studies and they were cool with it, including the promo video below that was done around November 2009 for another product release they had.

Take a look below to see the overall way it works. Keep in mind, it’s not just a fad, but a way I’ve combined short promo videos with talking head videos for quite a few years.

You’ll notice that the video above isn’t just a promo video with voice over and visuals, neither is it just a talking head video, but a combination of both!

This way it captures the (targeted) viewers and subscribers who are into the promo trailer style and those who want to see who’s behind the offer.

The theoretical concept behind it is that once targeted viewers get to the person behind the product, they’ve already been told the context of the video from the short promo, so they’re cool with listening to the pitch to see the offer. This way, you can have a video that appeals to a wider audience.

If you are looking to add something more to your talking head videos, then hopefully this will give you some ideas for adding the context of what your message is about by using a short promo intro BEFORE you present your offer.