Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

I thought I would share something that appears to be true (at least for me)

Ugly pages convert better than lovely pages.

I first noticed this on a book promotion I was doing. I had a plain Jane graphic (even sort of unrelated to the content - just generic) on an opt in page for those interested in hearing when my book came out.

My graphic designer made a fancy and nice design that was very much related to the optin purpose. - Conversions fell to almost nothing.

I was shocked.

I've since noticed that ugly seems to do better than pretty on more than one occasion.

What do you think? Any thoughts or experiences to share?

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

It depends on what your designer thinks "good design" is.

A lot of designers are more focused on making the page look nice with fancy graphics instead of focusing on a design that actually converts.

Design can cloud your message and confuse your prospects if not done well.

It's hard to say without seeing the different versions, but the "ugly" version most-likely worked better because the message was simple and to the point.

Especially for an email lead page, simple is always better. You need to sell people in about 3-5 seconds or they're gone. It's more an impulse thing

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

Thanks @DrewIM - that makes sense.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

Have to agree with Drew. Sometimes simple sells better than something fancy and filed up with too much info.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

Good point, maybe I have 'simple' confused with 'ugly'.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

I agree with all sentiments above. It's hard to make any true judgements without examples of the two pages, however, ugly does not always mean better conversions. It really depends on the layout structure of your LP and if the design/graphics are helping to make a clear point or simply a distraction. If it's the latter, then yes, pretty LPs can sometimes impede the conversion process.

The main reason, I have found within my own campaigns, that more simple LPs tend to work is because they define the product better without clutter/distractions, yet if you take remarkable headline and add a few elements to help emphasize the key points, then you will end up with a much more professional looking page with better conversions.

Example Headline: "Generate $100 Per Day - Uncover the Shocking <course niche> Tactic Experts Use to <insert benefit here>"

Example Headline2: Same Headline above with red arrows pointing to the headline, 2 highlight graphics outlining the "$100 per Day" and the <benefit>. Maybe even take it a step further and include a faded graphic in the background, slight drop shadow on the text, and a white outline.

As you can imagine, example 2 will almost always convert higher as the graphics boost the message and DO NOT impede it.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

definitely things worth thinking about. This is very timely for me as I try to understand one of my own landing pages right now.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

I find that a plain white landing page with your opt-in box in the middle and your headline has a very high conversion rate as there's really nothing to distract your potential lead from give you their email

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

interesting, that would be a lot easier to do than a lot of people make it sound. thanks for sharing that.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

Test it out David. Easier doesn't necessarily mean better.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

Not totally surprising...just goes to show that you can not assume. You must test everything! Results will vary.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

I definitely agree, based on my experience

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

What is your actual optin rate?

There is a difference between optin rate and subscribers. One thing you should do, is add a thank you page after the user submits his details. So instead of sending him/her to the download after they input their details, you send them to a subscription confirmation page ( show how the confirmation message looks like, add possibility to login to their email from your thank you page. After they confirm subscription, the first follow up should be the download link.

Hope this helps a bit,

Darius

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

YES! that's true EVERYTHING is subject to testing

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

good idea - thank you for sharing it.

Re: Having trouble with conversions? Try Ugly....
 

That appears to be the truth. I recently spent too much to switch shopping carts. I found the new shopping cart did not seem to convert as well as the old, uglier one.