This is the most important part of any informational/mechanistic VSL. The more aware and sophisticated your market is, the more important it is that your problem mechanism be unique, believable, and compelling.

Video summary:

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To come up with the problem mechanism, you want to start with a simple Google search/AI prompt asking: "What is the real root cause of [problem]?" Find the scientific term for it, find studies related to it, and then simplify it and give it a catchy name.

When introducing the problem mechanism in our script, we start by stating it directly: "Researchers at [source] shocked the world with their discovery that the real root cause of back pain is Lumbar Compression."

Then, we explain it: "...This is a fancy way of saying your spinal discs are compressed and squeezed together, pinching the sensitive nerves in your back and causing your pain." This way, we give it to them piece by piece (what it IS, what this MEANS, what this DOES/LOOKS LIKE in your life AKA connecting it as the cause of their problem), starting simple, and all of it can be absorbed and understood and is relatable to their experience of their problem.

The more aware and sophisticated your market, the longer your VSL will tend to be because it takes more information and copy to get the prospect to believe in your solution. And we have to build up to that belief, and the doorway to a new belief is opened when a new root cause is believed. This can often take lots of explaining and examples and metaphors, but keep in mind that it should always be very simple and easy to understand.

The prospect should have a clear understanding of a 2-word problem mechanism (examples: collagen collapse, cartilage degeneration, cervical compression) and understand what that means to THEM: how this problem mechanism leads to the real, visceral problem they experience on a daily basis.

One of the best ways to get understanding of the mechanism into the prospect's mind is using metaphors and visualizations. This is why the Bible and scripture from around the world, read by billions, ubiquitously relies on allegories and stories to explain concepts that people don't have direct understanding of. When you attach something someone doesn't understand to something they do, you bring the understanding of what they do know (in the Bible's case, the stories) to the concept they don't know and create understanding, which opens the door to accepting new beliefs. So we turn our problem mechanism into a metaphor.

Here is a problem mechanism introduction and explanation from one of Miami MD's top VSLs:

Introduce the problem mechanism using an easy-to-understand example (Benjamin Button comparison), tie it into the BIG problem (loose saggy skin, wrinkles)

Defeat this one skin enemy and you can have beautiful wrinkle-free skin. Science has discovered a new major cause of wrinkles and loose, saggy skin. Myself and a handful of other leading experts call it the Benjamin button protein. Maybe you saw the Benjamin Button movie at the theater on TV. It was about a kid that looked elderly from birth. This condition actually exists in real life. It's called Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome. It's caused by high levels of an aging protein called progerin.

Continue explaining problem mechanism, add in credibility (research) use a metaphor to explain PM again, and tie the problem mechanism into the BIG problem (THIS causes your skin to look saggy and old)

Research shows that after the age of 40, you have high levels of this aging protein too. It's not a protein you eat, it's a protein molecule in the skin that interferes with normal, healthy cell function. It can cause your skin cells to age earlier than they should. It's a normal part of aging and it kind of works like a dial. When the progerin dial is turned up, it can prevent healthy cell growth and cause your skin to look saggy and wrinkled earlier than it should.

Transition into the BIG promise (reduce [PM] ⇒ BIG promise/ideal outcome) tie in PM as the reason alternative solutions don’t work

When you turn the progerin dial back down, it can really help reverse the signs of aging like wrinkles as healthy skin cell function is key to youthful skin at every age. The higher progerin levels you have right now could be the reason why nothing you do works to prevent new wrinkles or get rid of the ones you already have. So look, even though you may not be able to turn the dial down enough to get carded in the bars anymore, you can still shave years off your appearance by reducing progerin levels.

Continue with the promise/ideal outcome, explain how solving PM can lead to BIG promise and ideal outcome, and explain how PM affects the problem area directly

This way, you'll at least be asked to prove you qualify for that senior discount when you're in your 70s and 80s. The reason reducing progerin can be so effective at preventing and erasing wrinkles is down to the aging proteins' effect on the skin's ability to renew itself. Your skin is renewing itself every single day. It can only make one of two choices first thing in the morning.

Slippery slide/open loop: “let me show you how to reverse PM to get [ideal outcome]”, introduces authority figure with credibility

Your skin can either create unhealthy cells that age the skin further or create healthy cells that help wipe away the wrinkles and firm up the neck. So let me share the best way to turn the progerin dial down.