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vsl-method.md

# FNC VSL method

## Source and status

Reference recorded on 2026-09-22 from the user's research of Jeremy Haynes' own agent-readable markdown mirror. The mirror is https://jeremyhaynes.com/okf/. The specific source documents and video URLs were checked against the local corpus metadata on 2026-09-22; the videos were not independently watched in this update. These are Haynes' claims from hundreds of high-ticket call funnels at $3,000 and above, not measured FNC results or established guarantees. Attribution includes his performance and FTC-compliance claims; this document is not a legal determination.

## Specific source documents

- https://jeremyhaynes.com/create-video-sales-letter-high-play-rates-engagement/
  Local corpus: `~/.claude/corpus/jeremy-haynes/posts/create-video-sales-letter-high-play-rates-engagement.md`
  Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL1FIHwg8PE
- https://jeremyhaynes.com/how-to-build-a-video-sales-letter-that-actually-converts-high-ticket-buyers/
  Local corpus: `~/.claude/corpus/jeremy-haynes/posts/how-to-build-a-video-sales-letter-that-actually-converts-high-ticket-buyers.md`
  Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8RV1aQqewk

## Audience and presentation

FNC is always in the affluent segment: US citizens with assets considering a $3,500 written strategy. Haynes gives affluent VSLs a range of 2 to 15 minutes, says 2 to 5 minutes performs well, and favours shorter, more direct communication as wealth increases. His general norm across audiences is 10 to 20 minutes; that is not FNC's target.

Use white with black text or black with white text. Minimal imagery, no corner logo, no flashy production. He reports repeatedly testing overdesigned presentations against bare bones and finding bare bones wins with affluent buyers because flashy presentation reads as trying too hard. Tone: direct, no filler, authentic authority. Proof: genuine background and track record. His words: "Nobody responds to a list of media logos or vanity credentials in a real conversation."

State price up front for both affluent and general audiences to qualify the pipeline. Never use a value stack. Haynes says inflated stacks are not FTC compliant and serious buyers see through them instantly. Do not fabricate savings, bonus valuations, testimonials, statistics or credentials.

## Seven steps, in order

1. Hook: exactly what you help the viewer with. No story or setup. A steep initial retention drop points to a hook problem.
2. Credibility: immediately after the hook, answering the viewer's next question. An unresolved credibility gap can stop them listening to the rest.
3. Buying motives: actual reasons people buy, cascading from common to niche. Usually the largest section.
4. Offer and price: what it is, what is included, what it costs.
5. Objections: those the sales team actually hears, not invented objections.
6. Qualification: who it is and is not for.
7. Call to action: clear and direct.

Mandatory opening: compress everything covered in the video into the first 60 to 90 seconds, then expand the points. Haynes' reasoning is that people conserve energy and want to decide quickly whether the video is for them. For FNC, the opening is one compact seven-step pass, explicitly ending at 90 seconds; the remainder expands it in the same order. Early pricing belongs in that first pass.

## Format and character

Haynes says classic talking head, slides or screen recording with voiceover and no face, and a deck on the left with talking head on the right work about equally well. None dominates. Slides and voiceover is a legitimate first choice. Talking head must meet the buyer's character expectations: neutral professional setting, clean wardrobe, nothing overdone.

## Page mechanics and retention

A VSL call-funnel page contains headline, video and application, nothing else. Extra sections invite scrolling and self-qualification without watching. A few seconds of autoplay preview beats a static thumbnail in his experience. Never add a "press play" graphic. Show the play bar, allow scrubbing and add chapters; he says this raises retention. Only withhold the apply button if the sales team requires pre-education and the business can absorb a higher cost per call. FNC has no supplied evidence justifying that exception, so keep the action visible immediately.

Host on Wistia or Vidalytics for retention analytics. Haynes avoids YouTube and Vimeo for this use. Diagnose a steep initial drop as a hook issue, a gradual decline as healthy self-qualification, and a sharp mid-video drop as an unanswered question at that point. Treat these as investigative heuristics, not proof of causation or FNC benchmarks.

## Explicit page conflict

The "nothing below the video" rule means no extra persuasion sections beyond the application on a VSL call-funnel page. It applies to `/blueprint` and future ad landing pages. It does NOT apply to `/booked`, a post-booking preparation page whose content below the video is the entire point. Preserve that preparation content. Its 90-second video is not a VSL.

## FNC editorial constraints

Use `_source/brief_v2.md` as the factual source, including its confirmed identity addendum. All prices USD. No promised rate, approval, timeline or outcome. A jurisdiction's tax rate must never be presented as the viewer's rate. The brief's 48-hour report specification is a stated delivery target, not a guarantee. Sentence case, no em dashes. No value stack, media logos or unsupported proof. The supplied six sales objections are the required objection set; no frequency data has been supplied.