Use voice notes and personal videos without wasting a prospect's time

A personal video is expensive outreach if you record it for somebody who never wanted it. A voice note can save that work, provided it gives the recipient enough context to decide whether the video is worth their time.

That is the useful part of Harry Long's voice-note and video sequence: establish relevance, make a small request, and put the production effort behind an actual expression of interest. His separate video DM walkthrough adds a practical recording structure: them, you, proof, offer.

Neither format makes an irrelevant pitch welcome. The person still needs a reason to hear it, a way to understand it without playing anything, and an easy exit.

Decide whether audio adds anything

Voice is useful when tone carries part of the message. A short explanation can sound less stiff than a paragraph of carefully polished sales copy. A recipient can hear how you speak, and a screen recording can show a specific problem or opportunity more clearly than a description.

There are costs on the other side. Someone reading between meetings may be unable to listen. They may be using assistive technology, dealing with a hearing impairment, or simply prefer searchable text. A stranger's video link can also look like a security problem.

Choose the format around the information you need to communicate:

• Use text for a simple question, a factual clarification, or an opening that can be understood in a few sentences.
• Use a voice note when a brief, natural explanation adds useful tone and the recipient has a practical way to listen.
• Use a screen recording when showing the page, workflow, example or proposed change makes the idea easier to assess.

A change of medium alone is a weak reason to contact someone. “Voice notes get attention” does not explain why this particular person should care about this particular message.

If the relationship is new, add a useful written summary. The recipient should be able to understand who you are, why you contacted them and what you are asking without opening a link.

Put a real observation before the request

Harry's example begins with a person hiring for a marketing role. That is an observable event that can justify a question. It does not establish that the company wants an agency, has a budget for your service, or has made the wrong hiring decision.

Keep the distinction visible in your wording. This illustrative opening gives the recipient something specific to assess:

I saw your team is hiring its first content marketer. I work on the production side of founder content, and there may be a useful way to handle editing while that hire is underway. Would a short example help?

The opening names the source of relevance, states the commercial connection and leaves room for the hypothesis to be wrong. It avoids announcing that an agency would be “better” than the hire before you understand the company's plans.

You can build the same kind of opening around a public product launch, a useful comment the person made, a stated operational problem, or a new responsibility. Use the buyer research process to distinguish a verified observation from an inference.

Skip the contact when the only available connection is their job title and your desire to sell. A video with a prospect's name on the opening slide does not repair that gap.

Make the voice note short enough to earn a decision

In the short version of his advice, Harry recommends a casual introduction, a relevant idea and permission to send a video. The useful constraint is a single next step.

A concise note can contain four things: your name, the observation, the connection to your work and the question. Record it in your own voice. You do not need a rehearsed radio presentation, background music, or an explanation of your entire service catalogue.

Roughly 15 to 30 seconds is a sensible production target for a simple opening. Treat that as a way to control your own verbosity, not a response-rate formula. If the subject requires a long explanation before the question makes sense, start with a written note or wait for a real conversation.

Read your draft once before recording. Remove the sentence that describes your company in vague terms. Replace “we help businesses grow through innovative solutions” with the actual work. If a listener cannot tell whether you sell editing, recruitment, software or consulting, the note is unfinished.

Don't borrow a casual excuse from somebody else's script. If you are sitting at your desk, there is no reason to say you are recording because you are on the move. Small invented details make the entire message less trustworthy.

The written companion can be simple:

Short note about your content-marketing hire: I have an example of how the editing work could be covered during the transition. Happy to send it here, or explain in text if that is easier.

That also gives the person a choice of format.

Ask before doing the expensive part

Harry estimates that a properly tailored video can take five to ten minutes to prepare, sometimes more. That includes reviewing the company, choosing a useful observation, gathering legitimate proof and getting the recording right. It is separate from the finished video's running time.

Permission changes the economics. Instead of recording for every new connection, you prepare the deeper explanation for people who have shown some interest and fit the service. Their answer also tells you which part they care about.

“Send it over” is permission for the promised explanation. It is not a purchase signal strong enough to skip qualification. Nor is it permission to add the person to a newsletter, call their private number or contact their colleagues.

When they ask for text, send text. When they say they have the issue covered, close the conversation politely. If they do not answer, don't record the video anyway and treat the time you spent as a debt they owe you.

A limited, relevant follow-up can be appropriate where the relationship supports it. Repeatedly changing from text to audio to video after silence usually adds work for the recipient without answering the original relevance question. The DM opener guide covers the reply and stop branches in more detail.

Record around them, you, proof and offer

Harry's four-part structure is useful because it makes the recording progress from the recipient's situation toward a decision. It also prevents the common mistake of spending most of the video introducing the seller.

Start on the thing you are discussing

Open the actual public page, workflow or profile that explains why you made the video. A clear opening screen helps the recipient recognize its relevance in a preview.

For an illustrative editing proposal, that might be the company's public video library. Point to the specific observation: the team is publishing long interviews, but the shorter clips discussed in its launch announcement are not yet visible. State the limit: there may be work in progress that you cannot see.

Do not infer that the company is failing, losing money or neglecting marketing from a quiet public profile. Public content is only part of a business's activity.

A truthful preview shows what the video contains. Avoid thumbnails that pretend the recording reveals a crisis or includes an audit you have not performed.

Introduce your work in that context

Explain the relevant service in a sentence or two. For example, an editor might say that their team turns approved long interviews into shorter, captioned clips for the channels a client already uses.

That is enough context to understand the proposal. The history of the agency and a tour of every service can wait. Keep the commercial intent clear; a sales explanation should not masquerade as neutral research.

Show evidence that matches the promise

Use a real demonstration, a comparable piece of work, or a permitted case study. An editor could show how one approved interview excerpt becomes a readable clip, explain the editorial choices and identify what still needs the client's approval.

If you have a relevant result, explain what was measured, over what period and under what conditions. A polished clip is evidence of editing ability. It is not evidence of revenue or qualified leads unless you have the records to support that claim.

If you are new and have no client results, show a clearly labeled sample made with material you are entitled to use. Don't invent a customer, imply that a speculative redesign was commissioned, or turn Harry's results into your own proof.

End with the next useful decision

Ask for one proportionate step. That could be choosing whether the idea is relevant, confirming a requirement, or agreeing to discuss a defined scope. A booking link can be appropriate once the person has asked for that conversation.

A sample offer needs boundaries. State what you will produce, what material or access you need, how it may be used, how approval works and whether any paid work follows. “One example clip from a video you approve” is easier to evaluate than “a free week of everything.”

Aim for a recording the person can finish quickly, often around a minute or two for one focused idea. Cut the introduction before cutting the useful demonstration. The correct length is the shortest one that lets them understand the point and the proposed action.

Send the explanation with a text summary

The delivery message should tell the recipient what the link opens. Include the observation, the useful recommendation and the question in writing. That lets them assess the idea even if they cannot play the recording immediately.

For example:

The video shows one way to turn your public interview format into a short clip without adding another recording session. The main constraint is choosing excerpts your team can approve quickly. If that is relevant, would you prefer to discuss one sample or the ongoing workflow?

This is an illustrative message, not a claim that every interview should be repurposed or that this offer suits every company. The recipient can disagree with the premise, ask for another format or decline.

Check the link and sharing permissions before sending. Do not expose client tabs, private dashboards, browser notifications, personal contact details or confidential results in the recording. Make sure any evidence is cleared for use with this recipient.

Handle the reply as carefully as the recording

Positive interest starts a conversation about fit. Ask what outcome matters, what the current process looks like, who owns approval and whether the timing and budget make sense. A friendly reply does not settle those questions.

“Later” should lead to an agreed follow-up, if the person wants one. Record their stated timing instead of inventing urgency. “No” should end the sales sequence. A stop request should be respected across the channels you control.

Harry presents the worst outcome as a grateful prospect who may buy in the future. That is too optimistic. People can dislike the contact, misunderstand the observation or consider the format intrusive. Use those responses to improve targeting and judgment, while respecting the decision of the person who received the message.

The same care applies to tools. LinkedIn's rules on automated activity are separate from whether a message is useful. A vendor's pacing setting or a personalized recording does not establish permission to automate account activity.

For a small manual test, keep a record of the reason for contact, format chosen, permission received, production time, reply and eventual fit. Compare useful conversations and time spent with a text-only approach. If the video adds production work without helping people understand the idea or make a decision, stop making that video. Put the effort into a better observation instead.