

The Ugly Truth ("Ugly designs sell. Really well.") - kristiandupont
http://www.mrgreen.am/affiliate-marketing/the-ugly-truth/

======
revorad
Highlights a good point, one which I often wonder about. But there's not much
analysis of why ugly sells.

"A large amount of internet users are still afraid of the whole idea internet
idea.

This is exactly why ugly websites work.

People trust things more when they look like they were done for the love of it
rather than the focusing on sheer profits."

That makes no sense at all. People also trust good design. It makes them feel
they are buying from someone who cares and put in the time to make the product
and site look great.

But it's hard to tell without lots of data. The real test would be if Google
and Amazon looked like Apple and vice versa. Now that would be interesting.

~~~
rprospero
I think the problem is trying to generalize things to all people. Some people,
like yourself, see a lousy website and wonder, if the creator won't put in the
effort to create a great design, would she really put in the effort to make a
great product. Other people, like myself, see a snazzy website and wonder if
the creator is trying to blind my with style to cover her lack of substance. I
think that the author's main point is that there's enough people following my
heuristic that a blind charge toward top quality design isn't always
warranted.

~~~
revorad
Actually, I'm mostly in the second category too. Err... that's why I like
Google. I've just got lots of feedback on my products from people in the first
category. But I'm aware that people don't always act as they say.

------
imjk
It's not so much that pretty designs don't sell, or that ugly designs sell
really well. It's that experienced online and direct marketers understand the
crucial elements for a high converting page (i.e. the call to action, the bold
headline, the right copy, the legible font, the right contrasting colors, etc.
etc.), and they A/B test these elements till they feel the page is optimized.
The result is often a hodgepodge of a page that looks disjointed, but converts
really well.

What these online and direct marketers tend to over look is the final step in
which you keep these important marketing elements but work with a quality
designer to smooth out the edges and iterate on the broader design, without
losing conversions (the result if often an even better converting page). But
there are four reasons that online and direct marketers tend to overlook this
part: 1. It requires a little more effort/time and money (why go through the
trouble if the page converts well as it is?); 2. They tend to overlook the
long-term value of branding (Why care if we’re making a ton of money right
now? This is even more the case among affiliate marketers who don’t even own
the brands.); 3. Like Mr. Green, they think the page converts well BECAUSE
it's ugly (Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, right?); and 4) These marketers
tend to copy other marketers a lot as ethics isn't the highest priority for
them, at least not more than making money. (If they're doing x, it must be
working) Hence, they further reiterate the ugly design mindset.

------
garethsprice
"...for some categories".

As revorad said, ugly ads definitely work for some categories but there's no
real consensus why. What categories?

Seems to be self-service C2C sites (CL, PoF) and low-end consumer products
(diets, affiliate stuff) in industries that feel amateurish/scammy at the best
of times - so is the poor design a trust builder only when it feels like an
individual has spent money on the design?

Is there a point where this tips and poor design breaks trust rather than
grows it? Will a web development company with terrible design convert better
for some clients? Lawyers? Hospitals?

------
blankenship
While I don't necessarily disagree with the premise, the author is starting
with outlier examples and applying a cause/effect relationship in a global
way, ignoring the other factors for their outlier success.

It's lazy journalism at best.

------
hammock
See also: the low budget 5-Hour Energy TV ads

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUdoyYMTUJM>

------
netmau5
what

