As a freelance video producer, I’ve had the opportunity to read thousands and thousands of scripts. I’ve seen some video scripts that are really great — funny, engaging, relevant, and informative. Unfortunately, I also see too many scripts with mistakes that could cost sales.

Here are 5 tips that will help you get the most out of your script and your on-camera talent.

1. Know your limitations

The very first thing you should consider before creating your video script is whether or not you’re qualified to write one. If you’re not 100% comfortable with English, you should outsource this part of the task.

Any decent online video producer will be able to connect you with a qualified writer.

If you are comfortable communicating in English, you should still consider having your script proofread. Grammar mistakes and typos — the kinds we all make — can lead to a stilted performance by your on-camera talent.

The online video production world is a bit different than traditional production. I’ll go into more detail about that in a later blog post. But for now, the most important thing to know is that your online talent wants to be able to get through your script cleanly as quickly as possible. It’s ESSENTIAL to their bottom line.

Having typos or punctation errors in your script will frustrate your talent and could lead to a lower quality performance.

2. Know your demographic

I can not stress enough how important it is to know who you’re making this video for.

Too often, I hear people saying things like:

My demographic is women.

I want to sell to people who like to travel.

Anyone who likes to cook will love my product!

Those do not qualify as a demographic profile, my friends! The above statements are barely a beginning!

If you want to make an effective sales video, you HAVE to know who your talking to. There are a lot of women on this planet. Some of them are rich. Some of them are married. Some of them are just starting college. Some of them have never had a baby and never want to. Some of them stay at home and homeschool their children.

Spend some time — spend a lot of time — really thinking about your ideal customer. Who do you want to reach with this video? Out of all the billions and billions of people in this world, which ONE person do you want to talk to? How do they spend their days? What makes them tick? What do they buy? What are they afraid of missing out on? What are they struggling with? What do they love? What brings meaning to their lives?

If you don’t know that information, you can’t write an effective video sales script. You simply won’t know how to give them what they want if you don’t know who they are.

3. Use the language and communication style of your perfect customer

Lots of people want to lose weight. And you might have a really effective weight loss product that you want to bring to the masses. But if you don’t speak to people authentically, you’re sunk. You’re just going to look like one of the thousands of other internet products out there offering big claims.

New moms often want to lose weight. But so do teenage wrestlers. And new moms and teenage wrestlers talk about different things and they talk differently.

4. Think like a consumer not a business owner

I know it’s tempting to pack your video script with every benefit and feature of your product. You’re excited about those features. You worked hard to develop a great product, and you want people to know everything about it.

But don’t do it.

Unless you’re offering additional content that consumers find valuable — like recipes to go along with your weight loss product — stick to the basics.

Think like a consumer. What do you care about when you’re getting ready to buy a product? What does your target customer really care about?

They might want to know that the packaging is going to look beautiful in their bathroom…or they might not.

So really think about your target demographic and what they value before you waste precious video seconds.

5. Use social media to understand your demographic

You might be getting the idea by now that writing a great video script really comes down to how well you know your perfect customer.

One of the ways to get to know your customers is by haunting their social media groups. If you’re not in Facebook groups with your target customers, you should go join some immediately

Everyone hangs out somewhere online. Do you know their lingo? Do you know their inside jokes? You really, really should.

Remember, this video is not about you. It’s not about what you want people to know about your business. It’s not about how creative or clever you are.

This video is meant to speak to your target.

And to do that, you have to understand them. Social media can help you do that. Even if you already are a member of your target demographic and you developed a product to suit your needs, you’ve undoubtedly made a shift into “business owner” mode.

Keep up with the evolving language of your consumers. Continue to understand them. You might even find yourself caring more and developing even better products.