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Does the sales letter format really convert better than a normal site format (menu items at the top and a big buy link at the top and nice layering). I looked

by immad 18y ago

Does the sales letter format really convert better than a normal site format (menu items at the top and a big buy link at the top and nice layering). I looked at the parrot site and I had a hard time finding the buy button.

lionheart 18y ago
Amazingly, it does. Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are. I've tried both designs, run split tests, the salesletter always wins. I know plenty of other people who have also run tests, same result. I have no idea why. Maybe people like to read? The same tests also show that the less graphics the better. You'll notice that the Parrot Secrets site has almost none. Not even a logo or a header graphic. That's on purpose. The tests I've seen show that fancy graphics just destroy the conversion rate on a site like this. I have no idea why this is the case. But I'm going to do what works, not what looks fancy.
- comatose_kid 18y ago
  Could it be because a significant percentage of them are on lower bandwidth communications? Did you qualify your niche the same way - by reading newsgroups?
  - lionheart 18y ago
    I don't think so, I'd have to check my server stats but I think that most of them have high speed internet access. And I never did any research or anything to get into my niche. I found myself helping my friends to set up simple websites and I realized that other people might want the same help. I'm not a writer, so instead I just wrote software for the same group. It worked out for me.
- prawn 18y ago
  Related: have an informational site that is monetised by AdSense. It's not that attractive, but was doing OK. One day, I upgraded the design to make it look more slick, and the CTR dropped to half of what it was. Left it for a week just in case it was a single-day anomaly, but it wasn't. Switched back to the ugly bland design and CTR jumped back to where it had been.
garyrichardson 18y ago
Yes, it does work. The long copy is about building excitement. You're trying to stream the user down to the buy button -- but make them read the testimonials and the bonuses so when they get to the call to action, they'll have no reason not to buy. The key to it working is getting interested parties to read. If you don't care about parrots, no amount of copy is going to convince you to buy the book. If you've got a problem parrot, you'll be hooked after the second paragraph. When I used to work for IMC (http://www.marketingtips.com http://www.marketingtips.com -- company that teaches these techniques), I remember reading an internal news letter about a successful client. The site was about fitness/building muscle -- something I was interested in at the time. I clicked to his website and started reading. I knew about all the tricks in the sales letter, yet I still found myself wanting to buy his product. I 'snapped out of the trance' and didn't buy his ebook, but that was the day I realized long copy really works.
- bprater 18y ago
  Bingo. That "trance" is exactly what good long-form salesletters do. That's why they out-convert anything else. It's hacking for humans, and it works.
- Flemlord 18y ago
  Are there any books on the subject of writing good marketing letters that you could recommend? If not, is there a specific name for the technique that I could Google?
  - garyrichardson 18y ago
    I don't know of any books that you could buy from Amazon; I learned 'on the job'. It kinda hurts me to do this, but check out 'the course' from http://www.marketingtips.com http://www.marketingtips.com.
  - wallflower 18y ago
    Jay Abraham might be the reason why so many sales-pitch websites look the same (giveaway: red text headlines) Example inspired by him: http://salsadancesecrets.com http://salsadancesecrets.com Some of the best sales letters I've seen are direct mail. For example, get on the Nightingale-Conant mailing list. Their 'This audio program will change your life' letters are supreme examples of the genre. And once you get on their list, I think you will get more examples in your mailbox (BottomLine Personal, Jay Abraham)

by immad 18y ago

lionheart 18y ago

Amazingly, it does. Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are. I've tried both designs, run split tests, the salesletter always wins. I know plenty of other people who have also run tests, same result. I have no idea why. Maybe people like to read? The same tests also show that the less graphics the better. You'll notice that the Parrot Secrets site has almost none. Not even a logo or a header graphic. That's on purpose. The tests I've seen show that fancy graphics just destroy the conversion rate on a site like this. I have no idea why this is the case. But I'm going to do what works, not what looks fancy.

comatose_kid 18y ago
Could it be because a significant percentage of them are on lower bandwidth communications? Did you qualify your niche the same way - by reading newsgroups?
- lionheart 18y ago
  I don't think so, I'd have to check my server stats but I think that most of them have high speed internet access. And I never did any research or anything to get into my niche. I found myself helping my friends to set up simple websites and I realized that other people might want the same help. I'm not a writer, so instead I just wrote software for the same group. It worked out for me.
prawn 18y ago
Related: have an informational site that is monetised by AdSense. It's not that attractive, but was doing OK. One day, I upgraded the design to make it look more slick, and the CTR dropped to half of what it was. Left it for a week just in case it was a single-day anomaly, but it wasn't. Switched back to the ugly bland design and CTR jumped back to where it had been.

garyrichardson 18y ago

Yes, it does work. The long copy is about building excitement. You're trying to stream the user down to the buy button -- but make them read the testimonials and the bonuses so when they get to the call to action, they'll have no reason not to buy. The key to it working is getting interested parties to read. If you don't care about parrots, no amount of copy is going to convince you to buy the book. If you've got a problem parrot, you'll be hooked after the second paragraph. When I used to work for IMC (http://www.marketingtips.com http://www.marketingtips.com -- company that teaches these techniques), I remember reading an internal news letter about a successful client. The site was about fitness/building muscle -- something I was interested in at the time. I clicked to his website and started reading. I knew about all the tricks in the sales letter, yet I still found myself wanting to buy his product. I 'snapped out of the trance' and didn't buy his ebook, but that was the day I realized long copy really works.

bprater 18y ago
Bingo. That "trance" is exactly what good long-form salesletters do. That's why they out-convert anything else. It's hacking for humans, and it works.
Flemlord 18y ago
Are there any books on the subject of writing good marketing letters that you could recommend? If not, is there a specific name for the technique that I could Google?
- garyrichardson 18y ago
  I don't know of any books that you could buy from Amazon; I learned 'on the job'. It kinda hurts me to do this, but check out 'the course' from http://www.marketingtips.com http://www.marketingtips.com.
- wallflower 18y ago
  Jay Abraham might be the reason why so many sales-pitch websites look the same (giveaway: red text headlines) Example inspired by him: http://salsadancesecrets.com http://salsadancesecrets.com Some of the best sales letters I've seen are direct mail. For example, get on the Nightingale-Conant mailing list. Their 'This audio program will change your life' letters are supreme examples of the genre. And once you get on their list, I think you will get more examples in your mailbox (BottomLine Personal, Jay Abraham)