Squeeze page feedback please - a newsletter on learning

Hi Phalanx,

The page "seems" ok. Now, I say "seems" because looks don't matter - only test results.

Try these two things: 1) place your opt-in form "above the fold". 2) Your header takes up about 25% of the page. Your logo doesn't need that much space so narrow that down.

Remember that you want your headline and benefits to "sell" your visitors into opting in. So, give those things more prominence - not your logo.

Hope this helps.

- Jay

I agree with J - but I am also a sucker for headlines. Because your copy is so short - I would ask a power question to get the reader involved right away (and ensure it is an open ended question opposed to a yes or no question)...this will immediately engage your reader.

Nothing any copywriter can say will paint a better picture in the readers mind then the readers own imagination...

JS

Thanks for the input guys!

Jay, you're absolutely right. Test results are what matters.

I'll try making the logo smaller and putting the signup form above the fold, and see what happens.

And Jon, thanks for pointing out the headline. I just realized I actually gave the headline very little thought. I spent hours on the bullet points (because I used all of them originally on posters to promote the website), but only slapped together the headline in like half an hour.

I'll spend more coming up with new headlines, and see how they perform. And I'll see if I can come up with a good open-ended-question headline, per your suggestion.

Anyway, thanks again, guys!

A couple of thoughts. First, are there actually students out there that care about studying or getting good grades? I'm not an expert on academia but it seems that our schools keep turning out grads that know more about pop culture than anything academic. I guess my question boils down to this, is there really a market for a super duper study strategy?

And if there is, would it be wise to launch such a course in May, when most schools are getting ready to close for the summer?

Yes, I'm cynical about college students having any great desire to get good grades. If I thought the 'get better grades' niche was happening I have two absolutely killer study techniques that I could literally guarantee. These are strategies I developed on my own in college. I literally cut my study time by more than half and got great grades (Dean's List) using them. These techniques were born from necessity as I was taking a full load in college and working a full time job at the same time.

Of course, people would actually have to employ the techniques to get the results. But they aren't really hard and really would cut actual homework and study time by half. The only reason I haven't written an ebook or guide for the method is that I tend to doubt the niche is profitable. Anyone have evidence that the 'study smart' niche is profitable?

I second what Travlinguy said... although I don't know Leeds University particularly, it might be one of those insane schools like Oxford or Yale.

Having said that... when I was in college I was one of the only people interested in learning... as opposed to smoking a crap tonne of weed, drinking my weight in alcohol and sleeping with as many of my coeds as possible.

Now, my comments:

The squeeze page is WAY too narrow, and as such, you're wasting a whole heap of prime virtual real estate.

The actual copy isn't bad. Could use a fair bit of tweaking (making it short, sharp, and really "pop" and adding some emotional punch) but it's not a bad starting point.

-Dan

1) NEVER put your name up the top.
2) Test this headline!
Here's How To Free Up More Time To Socialize
... without sacrificing your grades!

WHY? I think it was Dan K who discovered that at coffee time, a particular profession he was working with always talked about golf.
He changed his headline to "XXXX ... SO YOU HAVE MORE TIME FOR GOLF" It worked!

Please let us know if you get more subscribers.

Bill

@travlinguy:

I definitely think the students here want advice on better studying, from all the people I've talked to (read: a LOT). Of course, I don't know yet if they care enough to pay for products. I'll find that out during the next academic year.

The reason I launched the newsletter in late April is because exams are coming up, so students are really feeling the pressure of bad studying methods catching up with them. My reasoning is that right now they emotional pain is at its highest and they're most motivated to do something about their learning methods.

@Dan:

Thanks for the input. I'll make the page a bit wider, and I'll definitely try adding some "pop" and "punch" before my second big launch next academic year.

@Bll:

I removed the logo at the top, because you and several other people pointed out that it's distracting.

Also, thanks for the headline! I'm testing it right now.

@Paul:

Is your middle name Santa by any chance?

Just a few days ago I was watching this Eben Pagan video where he was going through some great headlines and why they work so well. And after watching it, I thought: "Damn, I want some more of this great headline analysis!"

And here you appear, giving me exactly that!

I changed the headline to Bill's idea for now. It definitely reads better now.

Thanks a lot for the input, everyone!

Update: I tried rearranging the page to fit everything above the fold. You can see the result here - http://smartleedsstudents.com/index2.html . I guess only time and testing will tell if this version is better than a longer squeeze page with testimonials and everything.