I've seen sites like these that are the most gawd-awful looking things in the world. Example: http://www.expressprofitsonline.com/ It reminds me of the website equivalent of an infomercial. Does anyone have a website like this, where it's just one super-long page that you have to scroll down forever. Do they actually work though? Does it generate more sales? I would be curious to know why they still exist.
Depends on what you are trying to sell. The gentleman I manage a server for has quite a few of those and makes good money off of them.
It seems those are universally popular with a certain class of web marketers [eg everyone at the Internet Warriors Forum]. I have no doubt that they work under some circumstances, but I doubt their long term viability. They are used mostly in conjuction with "firesales" and other time-limited offers, though not exclusively. I would not try to sell a product year-in, year-out with this technique. I also belive that these type of pages can lower your credibility in the eyes of some other more straight-laced marketers (and buyers), which could be bad if you ever are looking to partner with them for joint ventures. [Unless they are Warriors Forum members]. You also really need to have a high tolerance for spewing hype to make these really work. That said, Yes, some very successful people swear by them.
They may look awful, but I've heard of people doing quite well using them. You could have the ugliest sales page ever, but your product is absolutely the best thing ever invented, then it really doesn't matter what the page looks like and you'll still make sales.
When I see these pages, I instantly click away. It's anonying to have to read all that crap. I personally don't have the time and it's just meaningless words. A better alternative in my opinion is a simple page, more like this. http://www.gentlemansguidetoseduction.com/... I'm not affiliated with this site. This is not an advertisement by me or a plug. I saw this site once and I was impressed that I nearly bought the product. Not because I actually need it, I run my own dating service, but just because of how well done it looked. I mean this page really sales that product well. I'd like to eventually get in touch with the owner and find out how well it's design sales his product. Because from my perspective I much prefer this, then scrolling down a ton of junk. A page like that could be used, I've seen such pages for products being marketed through clickbank.
That is a good looking page, the kind I'd prefer to use. But ultimately, I suppose what makes the most sense is to test and see what coverts best.
I've landed on those long, long pages and when i encounter them now i immediately think scam for some reason, i think that i automaticly compare these kind of sites with the get rich quick theme websites. Your being crushed with useless info, (just like scams) and then bit by bit and pice by piece are they trying to convince the visitor that it's so great they can't pass on it. Would never make such a site, got written scam all over it in my oppinion.
I personally hate those long pages of crap, but they do work (often). The thing is that you have to be aware of your target customer. A web savvy webmaster/marketer is going to see this and run, on the other hand Joe Q. Public might actually read a few lines and get hooked... then buy.
I'm a bit of both. If I come across a page with this layout, I'd immediately know that 99% of it is lies. I'd normally read them to look at the wording and laugh when reading the statements/wording. However, I use a similar layout with a current ebook I sell, it's selling really well, with an excellent conversion rate (10% roughly, price at $19.95). So it's definitely working! I think the average internet user isn't totally educated to these kind of sales pages, and so the tactic is generally effective.
Hey Blitz, I'm looking for new ways to promote one of my ebooks, would you be willing to share your tactics with me?
I think they work with the sort of people that the products are aimed at. Someone who is just interested in just cutting to the car chase past the lovey dovey would probably hate the product anyway. I've read the formulas to creating those pages somewhere too. Down to how many "free" extras to give, how many ps, pps, ppps postscripts to add, how many testimonials, how many "this is what's in the book and on what page (23)" bullets and even how interesting to make the price look. Yes, "interesting". A high price that grabs your attention is better than a more affordable one. Notice all the prices ending in 7 these days? Ending in a 7 is the .99 They usually work best for people who are trying to sell products to people who want to sell products to people who want to make money by selling these very products to people. The same people that sit around all day reading sales pages wishing they were making money.
I totally agree with Edz, these sites are my pet hate, as soon as I see them I hit that back button. I think alot of sites that sell low quality goods or services use this format, so I tend to think all sites that use this format are selling crap. I think anyone who is thinking of selling a product or service online should be wary of using this type of format.
Simple, obvious solution: create 2 sites. Each with a completely different look, name, feel, copy, etc. Both sites sell the same product. One site uses the spammy-but-works sales page, the other uses a more traditional, elegant solution. Imagine it as if you were two different affiliates selling the same product. Some might say at this point to kill the site that under-performs, but why? That would be like leaving money on the table.
Exactly, it's a matter or arbitrage. Even if you're making the slightest profit there is no reason to kill a site, unless the time commitment is too great.
Guy I used to work for loved this kind of stuff so much he based much of his own internet business model after it (and forced me to build it for him...) I never really understood how it even converted -- conventional website design wisdom says that website visitors need to be able to figure out what they're looking at based on a 10-second view of the top of the page. Big goofy red letters asking WHO ELSE WANTS TO LEARN THE OMG SUPER UBER BLACK HAT SECRAT TO MAKING MONEY ON TEH INTARWEBS THAT GOOGLE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT doesn't tell me anything at all -- and if I have to scroll down and read through 30 paragraphs of patronization and false testimonials by false PhD's just to learn that this secret is an automatic scraper site generator ($899.97 for the first 50 orders), I'm just going to get pissed off and wonder why I wasted 15 minutes of my time.
Feedbucket, I suspect that they work by filtering out the people unlikely to buy. If you care enough to read to the bottom, odds are high that you're going to click that "buy now" button down there.
I agree that the only real way to test this is to try both a long and small ad copy site. As much as I HATE the long ad copy sites, if I learned that long ads sell 20% more than short ads, the business man in me says "do the long ads". Another question I have is whether there are long ad and short ad types of buyers? Who knows, maybe you'd never sell a short ad guy on a long ad site and by adding a short ad site for your product, though having lower sales volume, you are actually converting those "I hate long ad copy" people. Did I actually just write a 41 word sentence? I'll put this on my list of things to try. After I come up with some ebook, I'll try both a long and short ad copy site. Then I'll have material for a new ebook on what sells... bwuahahaha. I'll let DP people get a limited offer special price too.
i think they look like crap but they must work because sites that seem to do some seirous volume contiune to use that layout