Why This Ugly Website Is Kickin’ Butt
During a recent presentation I shared an “ugly” website, and the great marketing lessons it contains for all website owners, with the audience. For those who didn’t catch the presentation, I want to share the example and lessons with you here.
(This post will make a lot more sense and be a lot more meaningful if you read my last post before reading this one.)
This is the website for a company, Logo Design Guarantee (you can click to see a larger view).
It’s an ugly website. It’s cluttered. There are grammatical errors. It’s just ugly.
But it’s an ugly website that’s converting really well in a highly competitive niche.
And the reason it’s converting so well is that the 5 elements for a successful website that I shared with you in the last post are all above the fold in this website.
The 5 elements are:
- Desperate Problem
- Unique Promise
- Overwhelming Proof
- Irresistible Offer
- Immediate Action
And, when I say the fold, I simply mean the part of the website you see as soon as you land on it…before you scroll or click on anything. (The screenshot above shows the fold for this website on my computer.)
So, let’s see what they’re doing here…
As we mentioned in the previous post, the messaging of your website starts with a desperate problem or burning desire. For this website, the desperate problem is along the lines of…
“I desperately need a logo for my company. I don’t want to pay a lot of money for it (or don’t have a lot of money to pay for it) but I still want one that looks good and doesn’t look like some generic cookie cutter logo.”
That desperate problem is addressed in this part of the website which makes what I’d consider to be the main Unique Promise of this site…
The site makes some other Unique Promises too…
They’ll beat any competitor’s pricing:
They’ll give you 6 logo designs for $49:
And they’ll give you a 365 day money back guarantee:
And, if you think those “Unique Promises” also sound a lot like part of this site’s “Irresistible Offer”, you’re exactly right!
Many times the content on your site will serve double or triple duty (or more) for the 5 elements essential to your website’s success.
There’s also plenty of “Overwhelming Proof” on this website:
They have security badges like PayPal Verified…
and McAfee Secure…
These let users know that they can trust this site and spend their money here without worrying about getting ripped off.
The 365 day guarantee, besides being part of the Promise and the Offer, is also part of the Proof. It says “We’re so confident that you’re going to love the logo you get from us that we’re willing to back it up for an entire year!”
They also show examples of their work. Here are some images of some really great looking logos:
They also have social proof going on here:
(Now, if this company were to hire me as a marketing consultant, I’d recommend they update this at least one a month or so to say “over 1347 satisfied customers” because being specific is also a form of proof.)
And they also have these photos at the bottom of the fold (cut off a bit, but it’s still clear what’s in the photos):
These are clearly not stock photos. There are real photos of real employees in a real office. That makes the company seem more real and more credible…another form of proof.
And, lastly, they have “Immediate Action” in this banner at the top…
If you don’t act by Midnight, you miss out on this special offer.
Problem. Promise. Proof. Offer. Action.
It’s why this “ugly” website is doing so well in a highly competitive niche.
Am I saying that you have to choose between these 5 elements and having a great looking site? No, absolutely not!
Ideally you have both.
But most people focus on design first and they try to cram their content and messaging into the design they have to work with.
If I can get you to reverse that way of thinking and focus on your content and these 5 elements first (ie. the stuff that actually produces results!) and build your design around them to support them…
…then I’ll have done my job with these two posts and your results will be so much better! 😉
If you want to go more in depth on these 5 elements that are critical to your website’s success, I’d highly recommend you check out The Total Conversion Code from Terry Dean and Glenn Livingston. (That is an affiliate link because I believe this course is one of the top 3 online marketing courses I’ve ever purchased.)
