Health VSL Analysis: Glucotrust

Glucotrust is one of the top-performing Health VSLs of all time.

And in this week’s Funnel of the Week breakdown, we met in Austin Texas with Johnson Li, a true direct-response health legend.

Johnson cut his teeth growing SixpackShortcuts, which made $500+ million in just a few years by running viral YouTube ads. Since exiting that company he has built a name for himself as the secret weapon behind many of today’s top health & wellness offers.

Glucotrust’s VSL is just one thing we discussed on this week’s Funnel of the Week episode with Johnson. We also got into:

• How to recruit, train, and incentivize high-performing direct response teams: At SixPackShortcuts Johnson grew the writing, video, media buying and sales teams from zero to over a hundred high-performing rockstars. Hear how he did it. (Don’t miss this)

• Creative testing: The counterintuitive creatine testing methodology he swears by.

• The Secret Power of Phone Sales for Low-Ticket Products: Why nearly all supplement companies under-utilize phone sales - and how doing the right kind of phone follow up & prospecting can change your business (even if you’re mostly selling lower ticket products)

• And much more…

It’s all inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area, which you can access here.

And btw - if you’re doing anything in the direct response health space, go get in touch with Johnson on his LinkedIn or on his website.

Let’s dive into this week’s breakdown…

Glucotrust VSL Breakdown

So, what is it about this VSL that's kept it at the top of the game for so long?

In this article, we’re looking at all the elements that make this a winning VSL-based offer.

Starting with what happens in the first 12 seconds…

The Hook

A headline above the video reads, “30-SECOND RITUAL LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR NATURALLY”

This invokes curiosity (through the 30-second ritual), mentions the promise (lowers blood sugar), and also offers a key benefit (naturally).

The video begins with dramatic music and a 3-2-1 countdown, which gives the viewer time to get ready for the presentation.

Immediately following the countdown, the video sets up a scene that should be a perfect, joyous occasion — a father walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.

This is a "Garden of Eden" moment, a time that should be filled with happiness, pride, and love.

Over footage of a young woman’s wedding, a male voiceover says: “It should have been one of my proudest moments as a father. Walking my sweet angel Natalie down the aisle on her wedding day.”

Then we cut to the "fall from grace," where the perfect situation is shattered by a medical emergency.

The voiceover says: “Instead, it was about to turn into a life-shattering nightmare.”

Watch the clip below closely to catch all the visual cues at play here.

They include:

• A glass shattering, symbolizing how this perfect moment is being suddenly broken

• A graphic of a heartbeat monitor line, suggesting a life-threatening cardiac event

• Footage of the father collapsing on the floor at the wedding

• The father’s hand clutching at his chest

The use of vivid, visceral imagery like the shattering glass, heartbeat line, and the father's collapse makes the situation feel real and immediate. These visual cues work on a subconscious level to evoke a strong emotional response and make the viewer feel like they're right there in the moment.

Ultimately, this hook works because it taps into a deeply emotional moment that most people can relate to — a father's love for his daughter and the joy of seeing her get married.

The sudden shift from a happy occasion to a life-threatening emergency raises the stakes dramatically. It's no longer just about a ruined wedding day, but about the risk of losing a loved one.

This creates a powerful sense of urgency and makes the viewer want to know more about what happened and how it can be prevented.

The Transition

In the next 12 seconds of the VSL, the crisis continues to unfold, and we see the consequences of the father's collapse.

The dialogue includes:

• The daughter's panicked cries for help: "Daddy. Oh my god, Daddy. Someone call an ambulance."

• A doctor delivering grave news: "Mrs Walker, your husband has severe artery damage. There's hardly any blood flow in his legs."

• The sound effect of an ambulance siren underscores the urgency of the situation.

The visuals show:

• A speeding ambulance

• Medical staff rushing a patient down a hallway

• A woman crying

• An empty wheelchair

• A medical drip

These elements work together to paint a picture of a family thrown into chaos by a sudden medical crisis. The dialogue and visuals emphasize the seriousness of the situation and the devastating impact it's having on the father and his loved ones.

This is important for several reasons:

• It continues to build the emotional stakes. By showing the family's distress and the dire medical situation, the video keeps the viewer emotionally invested and rooting for a positive outcome.

• It sets up the long-term consequences. The mention of "severe artery damage" and the image of the wheelchair suggest that even if the father survives, he may face significant health challenges moving forward.

• It creates a sense of helplessness. As we watch the crisis unfold, we feel the family's desperation and the sense that they're powerless to stop what's happening.

The Story

Seth Godin said, "Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell.”

Instead of simply listing the pain points and benefits of the product, GlucoTrust’s marketing team chose to tell a personal story.

As the VSL continues, we meet the man who collapsed at his daughter’s wedding, James Walker, and find out more about his story.

Whether or not the story is true or entirely true, it serves as a powerful tool to highlight the promise of the offer.

It’s also a vehicle to address common objections and concerns, such as the ineffectiveness of conventional treatments, the high cost of medications, and the difficulty of making lifestyle changes.

Here’s a rundown of the key points:

• James Walker is a 53-year-old high school science teacher and independent health researcher from Ocean City, Maryland who struggled with high blood sugar, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes.

• He tries various diets, exercises, and alternative treatments, but nothing works.

• James' condition worsens, and he is hospitalized, facing the possibility of amputation.

• When he was young, his mother passed away from diabetes complications.

• Determined to find a solution, James researches at a university library.

• He discovers a buried study by Dr. Kumar about beta cell regeneration and the power of natural compounds.

• James meets with Dr. Kumar, who shares his experience living with the Hunzas, a remote tribe known for exceptional health and longevity.

• Dr. Kumar reveals the key to the Hunzas' health is a special brew containing a rare ingredient called “gurmar” or Gymnema Sylvestre.

• After perfecting a formula combining gurmar with other ingredients, James began sharing his discovery with his closest friends and family members who were also struggling with erratic blood sugar and weight issues.

• He coached them on the proper way to take the nutrients, including the importance of taking them before bed to work with your body's natural rhythms.

• Within a few weeks, his friends and family reported back with their own success stories. They noticed lower blood sugar readings, reduced cravings, improved energy, better sleep, and significant weight loss, all without strict dieting or strenuous exercise.

• Seeing how many people he was able to help with his homemade version of the formula gave James the idea to partner with a supplement company to make it available on a larger scale.

• He wanted to ensure that the manufacturing process met the highest standards, so he teamed up with a producer who could make GlucoTrust in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility.

Unique Mechanism

If you’re at risk of diabetes and you go to the doctor, what are they going to tell you?

Diet and exercise, right?

Lay off the soda. Say buh-bye, cake, cheese fries, and pizza.

While that might be sound advice, it’s something the market is tired of struggling with and hearing about.

GlucoTrust, therefore, takes a contrarian approach and calls out approaches the market doesn’t want to take.

According to the VSL, type 2 diabetes isn't due to a problem in the pancreas. It's because of beta cells that live on them.

Beta cells produce the insulin your body needs to convert sugar energy. But when you have high blood sugar, your body becomes less responsive to insulin. This causes your beta cells to work extra hard to increase insulin production.

Eventually, this causes them to burn out. Without healthy beta cells, your body can barely produce insulin at all, with nothing to keep your blood sugar in check.

Dr Kumar theorized that beta cells can be brought back to life or regenerated.

His natural, plant-based solution is offered as a unique mechanism and safe alternative to expensive medications.

Twisting the Knife

There is no shortage of serious pain points to discuss when talking about diabetes and its complications. These include the risk of amputations, trouble losing weight, erectile dysfunction, aches and pains, and sleep apnea and snoring.

However, GlucoTrust twists the knife even further by digging deep into the core wounds of its target audience, exposing the raw emotions and vulnerabilities that many people with diabetes and related health issues face.

For women, footage of an overweight woman in contrast with a slim woman strikes at the heart of the desire to be attractive and desirable. This core wound is further aggravated by the shame and embarrassment often associated with obesity, suggesting that the supplement can help users regain their confidence and feel comfortable in their own skin.

Men, on the other hand, are confronted with the core wound of masculinity and virility when James mentions his struggle with erectile dysfunction.

Furthermore, James' fear of becoming a burden on his family taps into another core wound — the desire to be a provider and caretaker for loved ones. The thought of being dependent on others and unable to fulfill these roles can be deeply distressing and lead to feelings of guilt and shame.

By exposing these raw nerves, the VSL creates a powerful emotional connection with its audience, making them feel understood and validated in their struggles.

The Villain

Of course, every story needs a villain, and, in this case, it’s Big Pharma.

James claims a large pharmaceutical company deliberately buried Dr Kumar’s study so they could keep cashing in on their diabetes medication sales.

Curiosity gap

Another element that features heavily in the funnel is curiosity.

James strategically mentions intriguing bits of information without fully explaining them right away. This tactic is designed to keep the audience watching in anticipation of getting the full details.

An example includes referring to taking the supplement as a 30-second bedtime ritual before he introduces the supplement.

Bonus Takeaways

• Have a Quality Product that delivers results: It goes without saying that to have a product with this type of scale, in today’s online ultra-transparent world, you need to have a good product that delivers on its promises. If it was a low-quality product, it wouldn't be able to sustain its popularity and sales volume.

• Make very clear the consequences of NOT taking action: These types of health VSLs are written for the person that went to the doctor and the doctor said, “You're going to die if you don't fix yourself. And they didn't listen.” So the story needs to be dramatic and shocking to shock them into taking action.

• Don’t hold back: You have a quality product that delivers results. So if someone can really benefit from what you're trying to sell them, then you should pull out all the stops to try and get them to try it out and see the benefits for themselves.

• Exit Pop re-triggers curiosity: When you try to exit the VSL page, you’re reminded that you’re just 1:12 minutes away from discovering the “30 Second Bedtime Secret”, taking you back to the same spot in the video. This forces visitors to watch more to get the offer.

• Familiar order form design = higher conversions: The order page design looks similar to standard Shopify pages people are used to, increasing trust compared to aggressive direct response style pages.

• When to show the offer: The GlucoTrust VSL is quite long and the offer doesn’t appear until near the end. This forces viewers interested in a solution to high blood sugar to watch the entire video, making sure they are more invested and engaged when they do get to the offer.

• Offer Stack: The offer includes 1, 3, or 6 bottles, along with digital bonus books. These bonuses increase perceived value rather than discounting the core product price, helping to boost AOV. People are willing to invest or pay more if the value is there, especially if the extra value works well with the original products, e.g. unique tires for your new car.

• Add Perceived Value with Digital Product Add-ons: Thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT, bonus ebooks full of unique content can be created quickly and easily as an incentive. Give detailed prompts to make the ebooks super valuable (for example, you could make sure to include superfood ingredients, like a certain fruit, or make all the recipes different). The ebooks can tie in ingredients from other supplements the company sells and include affiliate links and links to other offers to maximize revenue. Here’s an example that Glucotrust uses to add perceived value:

(Note: Consider compliance with bonuses (for example, don’t say your bonus ebook sells for $59 when you’ve never sold it for $59).)

More from this Funnel of the Week Episode…

Glucotrust’s VSL is just one thing we discussed on this week’s episode with Johnson. We also got into:

• How to recruit, train, and incentivize high-performing direct response teams: At SixPackShortcuts Johnson grew the writing, video, media buying and sales teams from zero to over a hundred high-performing rockstars. Hear how he did it. (Don’t miss this)

• Creative testing: The counterintuitive creatine testing methodology he swears by.

• The Secret Power of Phone Sales for Low-Ticket Products: Why nearly all supplement companies under-utilize phone sales - and how doing the right kind of phone follow up & prospecting can change your business (even if you’re mostly selling lower ticket products)

• And much more…

It’s all inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area, which you can access here.

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Have a great week!

The Funnel of the Week Team

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