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Resources to Learn Direct Response Graphic Design Concepts?

by KingOfContentMarketing
9 replies
Several people have hired me to rewrite their Clickbank sales letters and we've had decent increases in sales.

I'm not a graphics person by any means but I know HTML. A couple of times I reworked the layout a little and it looked better.

It piqued my interest to learn a bit more on graphic design for sales letters. Not to offer the service, just to know the concepts better.

Is there a book on graphic design for direct response or sales letters?

My own sales pages are simple and that works fine. I'd like to learn more about fonts, layouts, color theory, balance, white space, that kind of stuff.

I found this book
Amazon.com: Direct Response Graphics: The Best...Amazon.com: Direct Response Graphics: The Best...
I know AWAI has a course but I don't need that much info.
AWAI’s Graphic Design Success

There are some good threads in the archives like this one:
http://www.warriorforum.com/copywrit...hics-copy.html

Still, do you know any Direct Response Graphic Design for Dummies type resources?
#concepts #design #direct #graphic #learn #resources #respnse
  • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
    Hi Joe,

    I don't own these, so this isn't a recommendation, but you might want to have a look at:

    How To Design Your Next Business Card, Website, Brochure: Design Clarity In Minutes - Products - Psychotactics - Big and Small Business Ideas

    and

    Increase Website Sales: Use Visuals On Your Website Sales Page To Increase Conversion - Products - Psychotactics - Big and Small Business Ideas
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    Andrew Gould

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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    Here's another resource I found, it's not my site.

    MagalogGuy.com - Direct Market Magalog, Bookalog, Issuelog & Slim Jim Layout

    scroll to the bottom and you'll see a few samples of how copy and graphics are integrated together.
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    I

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  • Profile picture of the author OliviaHoang
    For design theory, Robin Williams has a book called the Non-Designer's Design Book that is highly recommended by graphic artists to newbies who want to learn basics of design. She also has a host of other design books: web, presentation, design and type. Check her out on Amazon.
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    There is none... not that i'm aware of.

    Back in 2000, me and a few others (my boy Vaughan @ killercovers.com) were the first group of direct response web designers...

    but something to think about... are you running a business? or are you trying to become a designer?

    if I was you, i'd outsource it and focus on what you do best.

    Also keep in mind re: the print stuff... design for online and print are totally different and while some aspects might be modeled, a lot of them, you might think twice before just using what they do.

    i should get around to doing this course... its been 'on hold' for a few years, just super busy with other niches. :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeHumphreys
      Originally Posted by davemiz View Post

      but something to think about... are you running a business? or are you trying to become a designer?

      if I was you, i'd outsource it and focus on what you do best.
      I mostly agree with Dave on this point. It's definitely better to hire a design pro to do the layout on your salesletters.

      I fought learning PhotoShop for years but eventually gave in. It's been my experience that knowing it is important. Things like how to do "minor" graphic stuff like removing the red eye from a client's headshot photo or changing the text on an order button to create several versions to test with... determining font styles and sizes to use in your layout are really important too.

      If you do have a top-notch graphic designer, they might be too busy to tweak something that you need done like 10 minutes ago. Or if your client made the mistake of hiring a sub-par graphic designer... then having some fundamental design skills will help you guide the designer to create something that will help sales, not flatten them.

      i should get around to doing this course... its been 'on hold' for a few years, just super busy with other niches. :-)
      Put me down for an advance copy if you ever create it.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeHumphreys
    Originally Posted by Joe Ditzel View Post

    It piqued my interest to learn a bit more on graphic design for sales letters. Not to offer the service, just to know the concepts better.

    Is there a book on graphic design for direct response or sales letters?
    Another vote for Robin Williams' Non-Designer's Design Book.

    I found this course to be quite helpful as well (non-affiliate link)

    Photoshop Minisite Graphics Secrets - Master Minisite Design With Ease Using Photoshop

    You can "cheat" a bit by having PhotoShop and picking up a few WSOs done by graphic designers where they give you the PSD files. Then it can be a matter of tweaking a file to get what you need.

    Hope that helps,

    Mike
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  • Profile picture of the author zapseo
    I've been known to do layout on sales pages ... but not the fancy ecover/header graphics stuff.

    A little knowledge html/css knowledge (sitepoint has some great books), a few good templates like the famous "paper template" and a bit of understanding about balance, color and a few other graphics-related concepts can go a LONG ways to making a poor layout look pretty good -- I guess what I'm saying is, knowing some of the principles behind good design can go a long way.

    But then, it can be an issue of ferreting out just exactly which principles are the most important for direct response. I've been doing this for awhile, so I may be underestimating what it takes.

    Though I must admit that, on some salesletters, it took me more time to get the layout how I wanted than it did to do the writing (no, not a good thing; I'm sure the copy would have been better had I spent more cycles on it -- OTOH, I find I need to do layout to get an overall feel. It's def a tradeoff.)
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  • Profile picture of the author davemiz
    its not just looking pretty... most designers can do that... its about designing for response... and testing... which most designers have never done.

    after testing so much with my own offers, I'm able to zero in on what works and what doesn't, which helps me designing stuff in the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author zapseo
      Originally Posted by davemiz View Post

      its not just looking pretty... most designers can do that... its about designing for response... and testing... which most designers have never done.

      after testing so much with my own offers, I'm able to zero in on what works and what doesn't, which helps me designing stuff in the future.
      Exactly. Most designers make the focus of the design to look pretty, that's their aim. And they frequently can remove attention from the copy by doing so, killing, not enhancing, conversions.

      I should point out that the same is true in terms of the copy itself. People frequently get too caught up in using fancy words & persuasion tactics. Many people see right through that, it's called "trying too hard."

      A sincere & good offer, clearly communicated, can result in awesome conversions.

      I mean ... if you are in pain, do you need a bunch of fancy words in order to buy?

      That's why we copywriters talk about finding the prospect's pain.

      Live JoyFully!

      Judy
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