Online Rule

The Home Of "No Yuck Marketing"

What’s The Difference Between Santa And Easy Video Suite?

by 44 Comments

Ok, at the risk of making some powerful enemies, I’d say

Santa is real!

Or more specifically:

Of more value to most people.

Easy video suite (EVS) is a new tool brand-new on the market – and it’s supposed to help you create highly converting videos very quickly.

EVS is the successor of easy video player (EVP).

EVP is a great tool because it takes all the ‘techy’ bits out of putting videos online.

So, in EVS their aim was to take the ‘techy’ bits out of the video production.

Meaning: you can put videos that make you money online very quickly, rather than having to fiddle with lots of different programs.
Unfortunately, the end-result is a beast that – from an evolutionary standpoint – resides somewhere between fish and fowl: (note, these comments are based on what I can see here: http://easyvideosuite.com/partners/the-product/, I haven’t bought EVS myself!)

  • it has a screen-capture functionality which in theory should do away with the need for Camtasia (very cool idea, please someone make that happen), but it’s so basic that it competes just about with camstudio.

    The only real advantage is that obviously it interfaces directly with the EVS ‘storage’ thingy, so you can upload your screen-captures directly.Doing it the Camtasia-manual-upload way would take at least 5 mouse-clicks more.

    The fish remains Camtasia for a little while longer.

  • I haven’t seen their ‘live video capture’, but I can tell you from experience:if you want to make compelling ‘live’ videos, you’ll need a little more than the ability to cut out bits of video.

    If all you do is cut out bits, you’re left with super-amateurish looking videos.

    The fowl remains any proper video-capturing and processing app like e.g. Sony Vegas which you can get very cheaply.

  • UPDATE: This was a bit of a gripe about the lack of proper split-testing functionality, but Paul Clifford has just informed me that it’s almost all there.

    So, if you look here (thanks Paul for the screenshot):

    http://www.screencast.com/t/10ICwnFTY

    it is possible to do split-tests, even for different types of goals, which is great.

    The only thing that’s missing (IMO) is the ability to split-test ‘small sections’ (like just the call to action) without having to re-render the whole video.

    Then again, for smaller videos that’s probably not a big issue, but only really applies to longer presentations (like webinars) or longer video-sales-letters.

    So, all in all: the split-testing appears to be there and do it’s job, so thumbs up for that!

 

But, even if these weren’t any issues for you, here’s why I continue to put my money on Santa:

The real secret to making highly converting (and hence monetizable) videos is this:

You need to have a compelling message that resonates with (and provides value for) your target audience.

And “compelling message” usually involves proper market research, and a fair amount of copy writing.

In practice even more than e.g. writing a ‘normal’ sales-letter.

See, a ‘normal’ sales-letter can be (and is in practice) read in many different ways:

some people read it word by word, other look at just the bullet points (and then may decide to read it all once they’re ‘hooked’), others yet jump to the bottom and then read upwards (once they’ve seen the price;-)

With a video sales-letter on the other hand, you have only one way of consuming it … and that’s linear.

Meaning: your message has to be so compelling that you keep all those different ‘reader types’ engaged all the way through.

And that’s much harder to do, and requires a lot more effort than composing a ‘normal’ sales-letter.

Meaning:

The bulk of the work creating videos that sell is NOT in the few clicks for screen-capturing and uploading, but instead in, well, you guessed it: the boring, tedious fundamental work that no one wants to tell you about, because you’d be so turned off that you’d never buy their push-button, time-saving Easy-everything.

Well, I say: let the masses create ‘mass produced’ videos that’ll continue to create no sales, whilst we focus on what matters … even if it takes a few more clicks of the mouse.

Veit

PS: obviously, the above comments don’t apply if all you’re doing is create lots of little screen-capture style tutorials that don’t need any further processing. In that case EVS may well save you some time. My comments are based on the assumption that you’d like to sell stuff.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gosh you know how to capture something for us to focus on… now I better go to bed since I’ve got no short, pithy shots to show or take!!

    Thanks for giving me the certainty I need to SELL my idea, not show my amateur status making short sh**y videos… now I’ve got money to spend on Veit!!

    Nite all

    Reply

  3. Thank you for the realistic review.
    My inbox has been filling with hype-filled endorsements, so it’s nice to learn that I can safely ignore them:)

    Reply

  4. HO HO HO Veit…really appreciate your insight here in more ways than one. I guess I’m still a SEO guy and really have no time to play with a new toy. After all…what is ones aim regarding focus on what you already have. Getting tired of all the WSO’s in my inbox that promise should you miss purchasing this tool you will never succeed.
    I now only have 3 individuals that I follow or have purchased from and the rest of stuff that comes into my inbox at the end of my day I delete without even opening.
    As for making my own videos…. I don’t have the time to play…so I take a trip to Fivver and have had great work done by them while I concentrate on what I do best.
    Thanks again…. I guess you may have worked out that your one of the three… all for all and one for all. Would love to see the evolutionary result of a fish and fowl.
    Cheers
    Jason

    Reply

  5. Very helpful!! Thanks!
    I own EVP2 and was wondering about EVS.
    You observations and the link to those videos helped me make my decision.
    Danke schön 🙂

    Reply

  6. There are a billion tools out there. The video player market has been a very active one recently – and some AWESOME tools.
    The EVS (by the sounds of it) offers something a little different in that you have the capture element. BUT – the reality is this folks…
    You can put video on a site in Seconds with Youtube and nothing else.
    The only way that videos make money is is somebody watches them (traffic) and that your message is compelling.
    Finding ways to get EYES on your videos – Super.

    Using Powerpoint (or the MAC equivalent) to make good presentation videos – is still a SUPER cool way to go.

    Be sure it isn’t TOO bright… and TOO shiny… Make sure you focus on traffic.

    Cheers.
    Walt

    Reply

  7. Great review of the most hyped product for this new year.
    Getting lots of of emails promoting EVS. I was already sceptic about EVS, now you helped me make my decision not to join this hyped thingy. Thank you for that.

    Reply

  8. What fun.

    Honesty and humor – how refreshing. I discovered what you said about ‘copywriting and the message’ trying to use a format/course about creating video sales letters.

    I realized that the copy has to be excellent or the video sucks. Creating the ’emotional’ response takes a lot of writing skill.

    But you connected the dots for me.

    If I had know how critical copywriting was to the video sales letter creation process, I probably would have bought a copywriting course instead of a video sales letter course.

    And…

    of course the seller knew this and accomplished the sale of his ‘video sales letter course’ through superior copywriting.

    Silly me…

    Thanks for the insight and your authenticity.

    Michael

    Reply

  10. Well said Veit – I find it interesting how few business owners want to know the truth (maybe another application for the 80/20 rule here?) and instead are content to go from idea to idea and tool to tool.

    When the new ‘thingy’ doesn’t produce life-changing results, they still have someone to blame their results on as they go in search of the ‘real’ Santa, the Tooth Fairy (or honest WSO marketer)…

    Thanks for speaking the truth!

    Reply

  12. You are not STILL bitter about your computer crashing near the end of your webinar so that you hadn’t even got the option of saving it to video no matter what tool is available are you Veit?

    I heard all the noise about EVP2 when that came out but I didn’t buy it. You what? I’ve not missed not having it either.

    So I figured that having managed to ignore it once, and I’m still in business, then I can probably manage to ignore it again. So I have.

    I couldn’t tell you what anyone’s bonus is as I’ve not opened any of the dozens of emails where someone has listed their bonus.

    I’m with you Veit in the assumption that if it takes flashy tricks and special tools like this just to get your message seen then there must be something wrong with your message. Fortunately, I was on that webinar with you live Veit, (except for a short gap near the end) so I did get your message.

    Avaniceday

    Tony

    Reply

  13. Thank you for the antidote to the next “shiny object” impulse buy that would likely have occurred without an experienced, realistic assessment.

    Reply

  14. What’s really going on with these super-hyped launches is that there’s great JV prizes, big affiliate commissions, and recurring commissions. Glad to have voices where the truth is told. Thanks Veit!

    Reply

    • important lesson though: give people what they want.

      most affiliates don’t give a **** about their list, all they want is $$$.

      And that’s what’s available in these big launches!

      Veit

      Reply

    • Hey Brian,

      thanks for the heads-up, didn’t know about that one.
      The one I use for when I don’t mind the branding is jing.

      Cheers

      Veit

      Reply

  16. Veit,

    Thanks for another great review!

    I would like to add to what another commentor said…

    What is the BEST use of your time?

    For me, the answer is simple; rarely do I do ANY task that I can delegate to a vw or fiverr…

    Reply

  17. You mean we won’t see the Apocalypse if we don’t buy as soon as the doors open? I have EVP and that works fine for now for my horrible videos. EVS would be like putting lipstick on a pig in my case.

    Reply

  18. I appreciate the review and still think EVS has value.

    EVS won’t make your message or videos better but it can help you save time and make outsourcing some pieces of your business even easier. I love Easy Video Player and can’t imagine doing business without it. It’s reliable, easy and Josh and his team have done a great job of keeping it updated.

    While I agree that the “camtasia-alternative” version of the software isn’t very valuable for sales videos, it is probably great for someone who doesn’t yet have or want to go the expense of Camtasia and they can still use a traditional editor to beef up the end product. For over-the-shoulder or PowerPoint vids, it should be a great tool. I’ll continue to use Camtasia. I do like the social integration, various overlay options, calls to action, simplified tracking and the- video gateways, etc.

    Since I’m already a EVP2 customer, I’m saving $100 so the decision is a bit different for me plus with the money-back guarantee, I can really run it through its paces before making the final decision.

    Thanks for the review.

    Reply

    • Hey Steve,

      absolutely, EVP is great – especially when you were fiddling around with S3 (although these days I just use Youtube…)

      and of course you’re right: simply try it out, then if you find it’s not a good fit, get a refund. I think it’s Clickbank, so you should have 60 days to try it out

      Cheers

      Veit

      Reply

  19. Hey Veit,

    Off-the-charts truth, my friend – thank you.

    Your email and post made for easily the best reading I’ve had today, and is tied with a few other great posts as the most right-on thing I’ve read in the past few weeks.

    Love the other contributions, too. @Walt: yes. @Norma: YES!

    Cheers from a very chilly Edinburgh,

    Matthew

    Reply

      • 1. Thanks for the post which showed that a lot of thought went into the content.
        2. For a long while, I intentionally stayed on many email lists so that I could assess the new IM products that seem to come out daily. I always used the following formula: V=(1/GE)(1/CME) , where V represents the value I am likely to get from purchasing the product, GE represents the total number of product tout emails from the “gurus”, and CME represents the count of the number of emails from whichever “guru” has sent the most. Now I’m thinking that I can’t be bothered anymore and will drop virtually all of the pimps.
        3. Yes, a bit of snow has fallen, but it’s been very mild up to now – not at all like the deep freeze of last year.
        4. Come on down for museumnacht.

        Reply

        • lol, now all you need to do is encode that formula in a Google-mail plugin, and you’ll only ever see emails worth seeing

          Veit

          Reply

  20. Thnaks Veit I was watching one of the pre sale videos about the EVS when I saw our email. And I tend to agree with what you say. Video is useful especially in training or product info but when it comes to actual selling I really believe a well written sales letter will win hands down any day. EVS has some good features but is it worth the money? to me no.

    Reply

  21. HI Veit just an update have just seen the price of EVS and I can do all that it has to offer with a selection of of the shelf products (not WSO)and some help from ffiver and ahve over $100 change.

    Reply

    • Les, absolutely, you can probably do it for even cheaper.

      I reckon the main appeal of EVS is that it’s all in one box – and personally I would’ve preferred a slightly fancier box (so I can do away with the other boxes I have) or full-on integration with other boxes.

      Cheers

      Veit

      Reply

  22. Veit,
    This is why I continue to follow you. Very few have the guts to tell the truth in this industry. They are to involved in scratching each others back and promoting the next big thing so they can win the aff prize. Thanks so much for honesty. Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  23. I have mixed feelings. I appreciate the honesty of your review, of course, but I noticed you didn’t even mention what looks to me like one of the more interesting features of EVS and that is the built-in statistics.

    I would, of course, have to play around with it for a while, but as of now, just based on their promo, it looks pretty decent to me.

    Reply

    • Hey Richard,

      that’s what I’m referring to in point #3 above: thumbs up for the split-testing (which includes the stats)

      Cheers

      Veit

      Reply

  24. THANK YOU for pointing out the Emperor is naked!
    Thanks for having the courage to tell people they DON’T need the latest WSO/One Time Offer!

    I received so many emails about how this is the greatest thing since sliced bread and I admit I was nearly swayed. But I kept asking myself, “Do I REALLY need this? Is it really that hard to use free or cheap tools to create videos and upload them to youtube? And don’t you even get a bit of an SEO boost by connecting your site with Google’s Youtube? And is it really worth $300 to do it with EasyVideoSuite -PLUS $10 a month hosting on amazon S3! – when I can host on youtube and merely use a free tool to convert my videos to the best format?

    So thank you for reinforcing my initial reaction which was that I DON’T REALLY NEED THIS!

    You have just convinced me that your email list is one I will stay on because you are honest enough and brave enough to say “you DON’T need this!” even though you could have no doubt made some good $$ by endorsing it like all the other greedy mf’ers.

    Thanks again, Veit!

    Reply

  25. Hi Veit,

    Just want to say that I really appreciate your review. In fact, these days I’m unsubscribing from most Newsletters. Of course I’ll remain on your’s.

    All the best,
    Diego

    Reply

  26. Hi Veit,

    thanks for the fresh view on EVS. I just bought it yesterday and at the moment the only cool things I can see is:
    1. easy storage on Amazon S3
    2. easy importing from Youtube or any other video platform

    BUT – and that’s the downside for me – you can’t use it with Youtube Videos on your site. For me Youtube is THE main online marketing and SEO tool at the moment. I use it extensively for SEO and reputation marketing and it works like a charm.

    But if you can’t use the youtube video INSIDE the player on the website (and the connection to Youtube through the embed code and all it connected benefits) then it is of no use for me.

    But I give it a try for 59 days and use it for my customers who need it for videos inside of memberships (then I don’t use Youtube but Amazon S3) – therefor it would be great.

    And (yes, no “but” anymore 😉 I just check out VooPlayer (a hint from Jovana Sumar from Instant QR Codes) and it can do most of the things EVS can do – for a fraction of the price (67 $)

    Best wishes from Germany
    Uwe

    Reply

    • Servus Uwe,

      yup, Youtube is what I use most as well these days.
      thanks for the heads-up on VooPlayer, I’ll definitely look into it.

      Veit

      Reply

  27. Whow!

    What a conversation – and all just about a TOOL!

    Veit is right – research WAHT content to give to WHOM matters more than how you produce your end result.

    Walt then pointed out, that your content also needs EYES who view (and hopefully like and spread) it.

    I’m lucky enought to have unsubscribed from so many lists that I didn’t get even one promotion for this 🙂

    Cheers gals and guys, Alex

    Reply

  28. You (and Santa) just saved me 400 bucks! Before buying EVS I was watching Ryan (Last name withheld)’s vdieo, which took me to ANOTHER video, which took me to a THIRD VIDEO before I could click it, and I thought:

    “Look at the reviews online.” After getting past the Google top ten (fake reviews that were just product ads that had great SEO) I saw the word Santa and you got me. WTF does Santa have to do with EVS? Okay, I am now signed up for your email.

    Thanks (400 times)

    Reply

    • lol Bob,

      brilliant insight! all those reviews that shout “I’m serious” and are therefore probably fake.

      and there’s my lil’ Santa;-)

      welcome to the club!

      and like it says in my emails: any questions, just hit reply and let me know what’s on your mind!

      Veit

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.