A video sales letter is a piece of direct mail which is designed to persuade the reader to purchase a particular product or service in the absence of a salesman. It has been defined as “A form of direct mail in which an advertiser sends a letter to a potential customer.”
It is different from other direct mail techniques as the video sales letter typically sells a single product or product line, and further tends to be mainly textual as opposed to graphics-based, although video video sales letters have become increasingly popular. A video sales letter is usually, but not exclusively, the final stage of the sales process before the customer places an order, and is meant to ensure that the prospect is committed to becoming a customer.

Because of the direct response nature of video sales letters, they can be carefully tested on an ongoing basis to determine which version performs best in customer and sales conversions. video sales letters are usually developed incrementally, with split testing of various elements. This ensures that the marketeer or copywriter confirms which headline, body text or graphic design converts best. On the internet, it is possible to track additional variables, such as the bounce rate, the open rate of emails and clickthrough to the checkout, among others.

The video sales letter has become an integral part of internet marketing since the advent of the internet and typically takes the form of an email or webpage. video sales letters are part of the publicity – cum – advertisement campaign for a product or service. When compared to TV, Cinema, newspaper, magazines, handbills, direct marketing and window displays which are the other forms of publicity and advertisements, video sales letters have the following advantages: