Question

Topic: Website Critique

Long Copy On Home Page Of Graphic Design Site

Posted by Anonymous on 2/21/2008 at 8:45 AM ET 250 Points
My dilemma is that I have recently launched a membership-based website called www.thedesignersinnercircle.com and membership has been low.

A number of marketing "experts" have mentioned that I need a section to "sell" the site via copy (I currently have very little - [inactive link removed]) and to put this on the home page. Much like www.5000bc.com

So my dilemma is that I am trying to attract a graphic design site audience and most design people are visual and do not respond to a lot of text.

They much more respond to the "look and feel" of web 2.0 sites.

So do I put my long sales copy on the home page, a secondary page or a lead-in on the home page and continued on a secondary page?

The reason that I want to implement long copy is that the site offers many things like screencasts, articles, audio, video, community tools, etc. and it takes some substantial copy to communicate the value of the site and its benefits.

I need to sell my membership site and currently the site, as is, is not working or not compelling. (only a few members in 2+ months)

Really perplexed (and frustrated) on this.

Doug


[Moderator: Inactive link removed from post. 2/14/2011]
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 2/21/2008 at 9:57 AM Member
    Keep each page on one topic, two at the most. Web visitors dont want to scroll through 10 screens of text to get to what they're looking for.

    Spend some time breaking the info down and creating navigation zeroing in on each specific topic. It will make a world of difference.
  • Posted on 2/21/2008 at 11:48 AM Accepted
    first off, great concept! I work with about 6 graphic artists, and manage our site. Each one aspires to start their own studio. I can see them really taking to this useful community. You've got great domain name too.

    Overall, work on making your copy more concise. You might change:Increase your graphic design profits starting today! to a bulleted list like: Increase your graphic design profits, Build your career, etc. You could put this list together in a artsy way, using interesting images or a cool B&W photo... this would demonstrate your caliber of design and resonate with your audience. Perhaps even a flash peice, containing your pared down content, would be great here.

    Next, I would move the copy "Hi, I'm Doug Farrick. I'm passionate about design..." to the right nav (just above the discussion forum), and include an interesting picture of yourself. Have the copy lead off with the most improtant information, about 2 scentences max, and then link to your About Us page.

    Also in the right nav, your "Here's what our members are saying..." could really use small photos. Do your members have a chance to upload photos when they register? In the future, you could select the best and have these randomly generated, and link to the member's bio, great for credibility and acheiving that '2.0' feel.

    Lastly, the entire site is very copy-heavy. Re-read your copy and delete any un-needed words. If it makes sense without it, it can go. Make your copy concise, clear and to the point. This will give you more negative space to play with, or add design elements.

    I hope this was a helpful point of view! Again, great concept.
  • Posted by Dunazee on 2/21/2008 at 1:52 PM Accepted
    Hi Doug,

    First. I want you to know that I'm your target audience, a working (mostly) freelance graphic designer. Although I agree with the posts above that there's a lot of copy, I don't see how you can communicate that you have all that great content without any words at all. You certainly can edit and pare, pare and edit, I absolutely agree with the above posts on that.

    Also, speaking from the designer's point of view, I'm not a writer, nor do I expect you to be if you are a designer as well. (Which does not exempt you from the basic rules of grammar. Run spellcheck. Don't forget that the site is an example of your work and represents you to the world.) You do need marketing-speak in a couple places, but the rest of it needs to be thorough.

    I like the home page you have over the one that just has the intro. Maybe it's that I can jump right in. I'm put off by sites that make me register just to get off the home page.

    From a visual standpoint, I can't say what "web 2.0" is, but I expect business communications to load quickly and be legible, as opposed to being all flash-y and fancy. You don't need to make drastic changes unless they were to enhance legibility. Overall, I'd advise legibility and organization over beauty for this type of communication. Classic design, good typography, that won't look dated for the next couple/few years. It doesn't need to be arresting, just well thought-out. (Check out HowDesign.com--they have recently relaunched their site. Not too exciting, but you can find what you're looking for.)

    I think you've got a great idea here. (I am bookmarking it as we speak.) You need to get the word out to the graphic design community that it exists. There are some great people having discussions at gd forums all over the internet. Try the forums at How magazine, About.com (has graphic design and desktop publishing), graphicdesignforum.com (associated with Dynamic Graphics mag)... those are all I can think of at the moment. Do a search and seek out the active ones. Start some conversations and ease into it.

    Think about whether there are any "strategic partnerships" you can create--say with your local chamber, Printing Industry of America chapter, web designer groups, AIGA, GAG, GAIN, etc. Maybe some other bloggers in allied businesses (print, advertising, whatever). Link to their sites from yours and have your link on their sites.

    Put enough stuff out there for free that folks will want to come back. Just like in-person networking, sometimes you have to have met someone a gazillion times before they'll refer you to their creative director buddy who's looking for freelance help.

    Finally, have you checked out CreativePublic.com? One of your competitors... check out their pricing. :) CreativeBusiness.com is a free resource for graphic design business advice.

    Good luck!
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 2/22/2008 at 4:56 AM Member
    Search engines generally like text and I'd tend to keep text on the front page, but support it with strong graphics and probably a stronger design than you have at the moment. Think like a newspaper or magazine. That has lots of text, but uses strong visual indicators on the page to help the eye navigate. Headlines that jump out at you and that look different to mere links. Horizontal dividers rather than boxes to break the page up and more white space separating the section menus so it's easier to see where to look. One I really like in this vein is https://www.mountainpassions.com/ - nothing to do with me, just a very strong layout yet with lots of text.

    In addition, if you are using click-thru advertising then generally you want specific landing pages that act quickly to bring visitors into the site focusing on the keywords they were searching for and then take them to a specific action. These pages should be much more focused and depending on their purpose, may be much punchier with less text and more graphics
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/22/2008 at 8:31 AM Member
    Right now, you're assuming the problem is the long copy. But, you don't have any web analytics for your site (you don't know how many people are visiting your site, how much time they're spending, how they got there, where they go on your site, etc.). Use Google Analytics (or your favorite other software) to manage your site's tracking to give you some solid data.

    I think you have 2 problems: 1) An unclear home page and 2) no free sample of what you're selling.

    1) You certainly have a lot of text on your home page. As a graphics person, you should make it graphically interesting. Consider adding navigation buttons that represent the structure of your site.

    2) Before someone will give you $10/month, you need to show the value of your offering. Instead of showing teasers for the featured resources & articles, show the entire resources/article, changing it daily.

    PS - You have a typo in your first page ("The New Designers Inner Circe")
  • Posted by Pollywog on 2/23/2008 at 3:06 PM Member
    The issue I see with your home page is that it is very unfocused and lacks visual appeal. If your audience is graphic designers, your site needs to demonstrate that you're an expert in that field, which I'm sorry to say, is not being demonstrated very well.

    For SEO, use about 200-250 words of optimized copy on your home page. Optimize your copy around ONE search term--two at the very most. Use the keywords in the page title, headline, ALT tags, etc.

    Build your site navigation around your keywords. For example, if you plan to have a section for graphic design tools, use that as your navigation header. Then optimize its landing page around the same term.

    In summary, I think you're trying to do way too much on your home page, and it has obscured your message. Less is more, focus is crucial.

    Remember that you're not just building a Web 2.0 site that encourages social interaction--you're also trying to sell a service. Present ONE main idea (a customer benefit), and two or three lesser ideas on the home page, and that's it.

    Hope that helps. Good luck with your site!
  • Posted on 2/25/2008 at 12:34 PM Author
    Hi All,

    Great responses.

    As for the analytics the CMS package I am working with does have a nice reporting package so I do know what is happening.

    One thing in particular is "free versus paid" - how much free before folks might want to sign up for premium.

    Dunazee: I am familiar with CreativePublic and yes they provide free content. but it is from all over the place. I wanted to focus on leveraging top graphic designers in my interview series and the rest is what worked for me in founding and selling my own successful design studio.

    And I DO like sites that seem to have a person (or personality) behind them that you can get to know. That was my goal in founding this site. I have 20+ years in the design biz including working for small studios, large corporate design positions and finally founding my own so I have taken a few on the chin in the process but want to share all the "hard-earned" knowledge.

    And I love teaching and sharing.

  • Posted on 2/25/2008 at 12:45 PM Author
    Michael,

    Thanks for your comments.

    As mentioned above, a big issue is that people think the content is free then get nailed with a "member only content" and "go here to pay money to see it" message that tends to turn people off.

    It works for many sites that use the same CMS platform (specialized membership software) but I believe is not in the best interest of potential subscribees.

    So again I am back to how much free content do I give away so they can get a taste of membership content.

    Also not sure if I should "tease them" with what is available on the member or paid section.

    But you are right, it does take time to shake things out and figure out what is going on and how it can best serve designers.

    A re-design is in the works and am continuing to focus on quality content.

    Thanks again,

    Doug
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