Conversion Rates ... Graphics % v.s. Sales Copy %

They're not. Take some of the best copywriters in the world (like John Carlton, for instance). Look at John Carlton - Marketing Rebel - Operation MoneySuck Salesmanship Essentials See any fancy graphics? Nope . . . John puts it best when he says that fancy graphics take time to load (especially on slow machines), which is the equivalent to a guy standing on your front porch clearing his throat for a minute before he starts his pitch.

this really is a double edged sword kinda question

place things in this perspective - If you have a killer design and no sales copy would you make any sales?

definitely not.

But if you had no design (just a white blank page) and just a killer sales copy, would you make any sales?

absolutely.

Adding a killer design to an already killer sales copy will absolutely boost conversion depending on the niche.

The design builds a perceived authority and will come off as more legitimate to potential buyers.

Always build your webpage around your sales copy and never the other way around. Your design should just brand your image but never take attention away from your headline upon first sight.

And always worry about split testing:
1) headline
2) offer
3) price point
before even worrying about a websites design.

just my 2 cents. I am a graphic designer at heart but understand the art of sales copy.

I have had a website pull in no sales but looked amazing. When I rewrote the sales copy using the same design - that one site now brings in $20,000 a month.

cheers

Good points there Derek.

Are you then there "saying" that one should always create the sales copy and then the design (if any) around the sales copy to complete the sales letter creation process?