Which is more important? Design vs Sale Letter (Copy) ...

[iworkforthem]

Personally I think the copy is important, but the design of the website really help to impress the readers and establish a greater sense of creditability. What do you guys think?

[Paul McQuillan]

Well, take the copy away from a good design and count the sales. Take
the design away from good copy and money still flows.

I have seen many really ugly sales pages (design-wise). Ugly enough to
kill the interest of a reader. I like a clean sales page sprinkled with a few
meaningful images.

Every time I hear something like "impress" it becomes about us. I don't
want to impress them, I want them to click Buy Now

[iworkforthem]

Hm... seems like most internet users are still going reading through most pages. Myself I just scan through the headlines, if I like what I read, I go into the details. But the design is terrible, I won't even bother. ... I guess it's just me.

[nRehman]

Design and sale copy interlink with each other, so both are important and helpful in conveying message. Simple sales copy with simple layout works great.

[iworkforthem]

Hm... let's do a simple poll... Simple design and sales copy vs Elaborate design and sales copy... which do you folks prefer?

[David Raybould]

Originally Posted by iworkforthem

Hm... let's do a simple poll... Simple design and sales copy vs Elaborate design and sales copy... which do you folks prefer?

It doesn't matter what we prefer.

What matters is which makes the
most money, because that's what
copywriters are here for.

"Elaborate" design for the sake
of it is going to lower conversions
and cost money in most cases.

Personal preference doesn't come
into it, or at least it shouldn't. If
it does, you're leaving money on
the table.

-David Raybould

[Kevin-VirtualProfitCenter]

Originally Posted by iworkforthem

Hm... let's do a simple poll... Simple design and sales copy vs Elaborate design and sales copy... which do you folks prefer?

Both are close to equally important and need to be tested to be sure.

The design of a website can be a positive, a negative or neutral. I try to push for designs that are neutral, but my clients often resist because they have heard some place they have to use a graphic header, etc.

In those cases I typically just test their graphic header page side-by-side with one that DOESN'T have a graphic header. Almost always the one without closes more sales. But not always.

A much more important design factor you didn't mention is sales process. More and more online this is becoming the deciding factor in how many sales are generated.

[Mr. Subtle]

Let's see what the top of the copywriting food chain have to save on the subject of design:

As Stan Lee used to say: "Nuff said!"

[iworkforthem]

Clayton said that before .... My gut is pretty accurate... Lol..

[Paul McQuillan]

Cool quotes Subtle! You got mad skillz

That said, I see those guys using simple graphics (not crappy) to
this day in their stuff. Copy is king with them, despite the quotes.

There is little question that if a sales page is repulsive people will not stay.
I also agree that the look is setting up the buying environment.

That is why I do not mess with design. I am a copy guy. I prefer to let
direct response designers work their magic to help my copy and in the
end the client wins.

[nRehman]

Simple design doesn't mean its poor, it means packing up the message to make it prominent like framing a picture. Like if we see a clearance sale offering discount of 10% in relation to other one offering 20% for the same kind of product, where you go? On the other hand children will definitely go towards colorful balloons.

[John_S]

Design got hijacked by artistes a long time ago. They don't test. The vast majority are of a type. Taken as a group, graphics artists generally decry capitalism, sneer at commercialism, and bristles at plain old going out a making a sale.

Don't hire that type to do your design work and won't do too badly.

Art and design are different things. Design has the practical job of producing results -- just like copy. However design has been put into a straitjacket by both artists and business people as superficial fluff.

These otherwise practical types go a little nuts when they approach the subject of design. Many act like design is a recess from any pragmatic concern and now it's time to play with PhotoShop.

Design isn't the desert you treat yourself too after all the serious work is done. That's just the PR from the graphic arts field who isn't exactly seeking "work," but art patronage. Many see paid work as a chance to play with PhotoShop on the client's dime.

That's where the faulty impression design is superficial fluff comes from. Technically right, that mindset is also oh-so-wrong.