One copywriting "rule" that's OK to break
I've challenged most of the tried and tested copywriting rules and have discovered that they exist for a very good reason... they work.
But there's one last one that I still challenge and my results bear me out. It's the old adage never to include navigation or links on your sales page. I agree that you should never have links in your copy. Many people are almost compelled to click when they come across a link in the page body.
But there is absolutely no problem with a navigation menu either at the top or side of your page. In some cases navigation can even subtly help you establish credibility.
The purported reason to avoid navigation is to keep from distracting the visitor, i.e. the visitor will click away from your copy.
But why on earth would someone click away from good copy? They won't even be aware of the navigation.
Of course if your copy is not compelling they may look elsewhere but that's the fault of the copy, not the navigation. Without navigation they will simply leave the site altogether. The result is the same.
I've compared my sites with and without navigation links and it makes no difference. If the conversion is suffering it's because the copy's not doing its job.
In fact, a menu may reinforce your image as an authority site if that's what you want to project. It will be taken note of when your site first opens. And what kind of site has no contact, about or other supporting pages?
But there's one last one that I still challenge and my results bear me out. It's the old adage never to include navigation or links on your sales page. I agree that you should never have links in your copy. Many people are almost compelled to click when they come across a link in the page body.
But there is absolutely no problem with a navigation menu either at the top or side of your page. In some cases navigation can even subtly help you establish credibility.
The purported reason to avoid navigation is to keep from distracting the visitor, i.e. the visitor will click away from your copy.
But why on earth would someone click away from good copy? They won't even be aware of the navigation.
Of course if your copy is not compelling they may look elsewhere but that's the fault of the copy, not the navigation. Without navigation they will simply leave the site altogether. The result is the same.
I've compared my sites with and without navigation links and it makes no difference. If the conversion is suffering it's because the copy's not doing its job.
In fact, a menu may reinforce your image as an authority site if that's what you want to project. It will be taken note of when your site first opens. And what kind of site has no contact, about or other supporting pages?
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