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Marketing: What Works Best?
Should you use a long headline or a short headline in your marketing materials?
Which one really works best?
Well, there are solid arguments for using both. And many marketers DO use both types of headlines successfully. Of course, you could always split-test both long and short headlines. But in the end, it doesn't really matter anyway because in marketing, it's all about what works best for you.
What's the most effective number to use when pricing your product or service? $39.95, $39.99, $39.77, $37.00?
Some experts claim using the number 7 will dramatically increase your sales and conversion ratio.
However, in his article, The Truth About The Fallacy Of "7", Dean Phillips strongly disagrees with that assessment. Dean writes:
"Almost without exception, every infomercial I've watched over the years, regardless of the product, have prices that end with a five or a nine. For example, $29.95, $39.99, $249.95. The number "7" may be lucky in dice, but in marketing, it's just another number!"
Is Dean right?
With all due respect to Mr. Phillips, I think he's missing the point. It really doesn't matter what has worked in the past or is currently working for someone else. In marketing, it's all about what works best for you.
It has long been argued that blue is the best color to use for your website. The color blue is supposed to have a calming influence over visitors to your website, making them more receptive to your offer. Certain shades of blue indicate dependability, making it a good color for business ads. Blue is also associated with authority and dependability, and is a popular color for uniforms, worn by police officers, mail carriers, security guards and other officials.
With that in mind, I used the color blue when I built my website. However, while doing research for this article, I also discovered some of the most successful Internet Marketing websites don't use blue at all. Websites like Addme.com, Knowthis.com and Marketingterms.com.
Proving once again, it's all about what works best for you.
Some experts claim having an attractive website will help you sell more products. But Mark Daoust of Site-reference.com discovered something interesting. In his article, "The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites" Mark writes:
"I was struck by an example of just how effective ugly websites can be this past week as I was browsing through some web related news. I stumbled across the story of Plenty of Fish. This is a very plain looking website that offers a free online dating service much like Match.com (but without the subscription fee). There was nothing specifically impressive about the website that stood out to me, in fact the site was actually rather ugly.
What caused me (and I am sure several other people) to take a second look at the website was its reported earnings. It is reported that this website brings in over $10,000 from Adsense – in one day. Yes, you did read that correctly. For those of you counting, that is $300,000 per month and nearly one million dollars in just three months.
The example of Plenty of Fish lead me to consider how an ugly website could be so successful. As I looked around, I suddenly realized that this was not the only successful ugly website. Ebay is unbelievably ugly, Craigslist has never won an award for innovative design, and IMDB has never even bothered to format their text out of the default Times New Roman."
I'd like to add something relative to Mark's statement. Selfpromotion.com has one of the ugliest websites I've ever seen. The website is nothing but pages and pages of black text on a white background. Ugly and boring. Yet, the website has been extremely successful for years.
In closing, you should always respect proven, time-tested marketing methods and strategies. But that doesn't mean you have to necessarily go along with the staus quo either. Because in marketing, it ultimately comes down to what works best for you!
Dale King
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Originally Posted by SophieM
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