Instead of the long...boring and sometimes over the top Sales Pages... do you think a horizontal page would be better? I propose a slide show effect from one idea leading onto the next demonstrated well with GFX, always with your order form underneath like the popup windows you get. The main content will be displayed in letterbox form (like on TV), allowing you to place a title above it and the order form underneath. I know this sounds hazy but I hope you get the idea?
Choosing a width wider than a standard screen resolution (800 pixels wide) and forcing the visitor to scroll left or right is a painful mistake; and it is sure to damage your conversion rates. Most, if not all, consumers who actively use the Internet are not accustomed to scrolling right to left. Rather, everyone in the world knows and is comfortable with scrolling up and down. It’s like forcing someone to drive on the left side of the road (if they are accustomed to driving on the right side) and expect them to not get in an accident. It just doesn’t work. Just my 2 cents.
hmm yeah just an idea from me there Don't you think that some of these sales pages need sprucing up though? I mean 5000 words and a bunch of lame pictures - including for sure a Fake Software Box is getting rather boring now isnt it?
Love "fake software boxes" . I think that horizontal thing would be al least as bad as vertical, no offense... p.l.u.r.
I guess it would depend on how well you implemented the idea. If you made the scroll wheel on the mouse scroll horizontally and had some nice big buttons on the sides of the pages it could work. It could actually be more effective because it's different, that is assuming that it's implemented in a very simple and straight forward manner.
yeah thats what i was getting at the Graphics mentioned. I was thinking of having banks of information leading on from each other, maybe with arrows or something if you get me? If it worked....I guess you could say "The marketing world has been turned...on its side?"
Well, give it a shot. I think it's better than those flash sites that have all the content in popups and those sliding windows that flyout because with scrolling people can more easily track where they've been and where they haven't been on a site.
I don't get how marketers can sell using the whole essay system? I get bored reading the 'Dear Friend' bit just after all the colours! Do any of you feel the same?
I really hate most of those long sales pages and think they look scammy and too hype filled. Evidently they work, but I think many people get turned off by them just like I do.
My mouse has a scrolling wheel that scrolls up and down, not side to side. More likely than not I'd leave the page without scrolling as it would be very annoying. Just ny 2 cents worth.
I think this site does a GREAT job at horizontal navigation: http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/bluevertigo.htm Normally a hortizontally navigated site results in an automtic window closure for me. Blue Vertigo does a geat job AND it's very useful.
I've see adwords that lead to long sales pages. I've see adwords that lead to a 20 minute flash of how using product abc has done xyz for that persons business (affiliate site) then popped to a sales/newsletter/mini-course page. The new onpage video advertisements really tick me off. The question YOU need to ask isn't "why do people use this format because it ticks me off?" The question is what format does my audience like. Test, test, and test. Test with long copy. add images, replace with short video, reduce content, add content, see what converts the best. If your best is a 10% conversion then try a shorter sales format as the landing page like flash and watch your conversions. Try a third format. Test each format so you are testing the best of each format and see which converts the best and go with that.