The Right Way to Produce a Pitch Video: A Step By Step Guide

When it comes to pitching an idea or concept to investors, you’ve got to understand that they’ve probably heard it all before. Investors listen to or manually review pitches quite frequently, and usually have 3 minutes or less to spare as they examine a cold pitch when it reaches their desk. So when we tell you there’s a right way and a wrong way to produce a pitch video, believe us! Investors have openly stated that they are more likely to support an entrepreneur that pitches with video over a cold deck, but not just any video will do!

The right way to produce a pitch video that instantly grabs the attention of your investor and leaves them not only feeling fully knowledgeable about your idea, but also compelled to support it is certainly an art. However, with the right approach, you can create a video pitch that will help you reach your goals. It’s all in how you approach the process.

Step 1:  Write a Catchy Script

If you’ve never written a video script before, and you think you can just write as if you were writing your in-person pitch, you’re wrong! While you could approach your pitch similarly to the way you would approach your pitch deck, you have so much more opportunity when you produce a pitch video, taking a slide one, slide two, slide three sort of approach to your pitch could leave your investor or other audience members yearning for something more.  

This is your opportunity to write a story that will connect emotionally with your audience.  Instead of a slide by slide approach to writing your script, consider using a storytelling perspective that brings your idea to life!  Instead of pitching a deck, present a story that your investor will not only feel connected to, but that they can resonate with and that they can instantly understand how their support benefits others. 

Keep in mind the following:

• Your script should be about 3 pages, which represents 1 minute of narration per page for a total of about a 3 minute pitch video.
• Use a conversational approach.
• Your script should be about 120 words per minute.
• Don’t forget to include an introduction and a call to action.

There are entire posts about scriptwriting, so for additional information talk with your producer or consult one of our scriptwriting posts.

Step 2:  Get the Timing Right

Once you’ve prepared your story, and you’ve got your script ready, it’s time to focus a bit on timing and on revisions. Read your script, several times over, to make sure that it sounds right and that it includes the most important information for your pitch. Don’t expect to have the timing just right with the first draft. It’s actually quite common for a script to go through several revisions before it’s ready for the next steps of the production process. 

Read your script to others, including people that are part of your industry and those that are not, to determine whether your script has the details necessary for someone that might not be fully invested in your industry to understand. Again, make revisions based on any input, feedback, or support provided by those who read your script with you.

Step 3:  Focus on the Ask

What is it that you’re asking for support with? Whatever you’re pitching, the ask is vital. Not only do you need to focus on this early on in the pre-production process when you produce a pitch video, but you also need to have a very firm plan in place to ensure that the video consistently is focused on the end goal.

Whether you’re asking for support for a product or service idea, a new business startup, funding for something, or something entirely different, every word and minute of your script and pitch should be focused on the end goal that you have in mind. If you’re veering off topic, you’re making a huge mistake! You’ve got an average of 3 minutes or less to pitch your idea, this isn’t a time to fall of topic!

Step 4:  Get Personal

Don’t even think about trying to create a generic video that appeases everyone. In the process of trying to please a crowd, you’ll probably not please anyone! You need to intimately know and understand your audience so that you can produce a video pitch that directly targets them. If you intend to pitch to multiple groups of people with different interests and overall ideas, you’ll want to create more than one pitch video. Do not attempt to create a one-size-fits-all version of your pitch and expect it to be successful, it just won’t be!

The more you can personalize the pitch, the better you can expect it to do. You want to reach your goals, right? You need to personally know your audience, you need to pitch to them in a way that will emotionally connect with them, and you need to get hyper-focused on creating a personal connection that’s right for them. You can repeat this process with another group, by creating another video, if that’s your plan!

Step 5:  Hire a Professional

The reality is, learning how to produce a pitch video is really a lot of work, especially if you’ve never produced a video before! Hiring a professional to assist you with the process can save you a lot of time and will ensure your pitch utilizes video technology to deliver a pitch that immediately grabs audience attention and compels them to support you and your brand. In fact, Beverly Boy Productions specializes in creating corporate videos including short pitch videos that can be used in a variety of cases to your advantage. Give us a call to learn more!