feedback needed - new muse

[Gina71]

Hi everyone...I am new to this and need some feedback please.

I have read many of your posts, and I respect your opinions and experience. All ideas are welcome.
Our parenting workshops start at $400 to attend in person, and we're not sure how the cost will transfer to this concept. We're testing at $125.
??

Here is my site...
www.thesourceapproach.com

Thanks in advance....Gina71

[Sven]

I'd prefer to see a picture of a real family instead of 3 seperate pictures.
And I feel that the difference in the "old" price and what it is now a bit big. "Is that for real?"

But I do think the way you present it is viable. It seems like a real solution to a very real problem.
Good luck with it!

[webgal]

I do think a photo of a guy that looks more like a dad and less like an underwear model would work better.

[Gina71]

Yes - I agree about the photo of the family. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
With the price...do you think it would be better if we itemize it on the Buy Now page to make the price seem more realistic?

Anything else?

Also - we have several other "muse" add-ons to this concept (different parenting workbooks). Do you think its wise to add them on to this main site and build this into a large parent resource? Or create a totally separate site for each concept?

It's all so exciting!

[froldt]

That is a big price jump! Why is it so large? If you put a reason why it's on sale today, it might help with the image.

I think it would help to show what each of the products would cost individually. Show buyers that they are getting a bargain when they buy the package!

[jackson]

Did you do an Ebay test auction?

[Keep a Movin' Dan]

Header looks fairly professional, inspite of the photoshoped together family. You need to do something similar for the formating of the text--it's really obvious you're just using HTML tags at present.

[Gina71]

Great feedback, thanks.

Do you think using HTML tags for the text is going to affect conversion rate?
What I mean is...do you think nicer looking text will encourage people to purchase? Is that your experience??

So far...
- we need a photo of a real family
- explanation of product and pricing - itemized is good
- price jump/sale price seems unreasonable

Is there enough re: expertise and qualifications? Or is that not really important.

We are getting clicks, but no conversion yet.

Also - is the free gift/tantrum report clear enough?
Should that be on the front page???

[Gina71]

No - we did not do an Ebay test auction.
But we do run parenting workshops in person @ $400 each and they are very successful but incredibly draining and time consuming. We are now looking to automate the process.
Hopefully we can transfer our success to this format.

[Keep a Movin' Dan]

Great feedback, thanks.

Do you think using HTML tags for the text is going to affect conversion rate?
What I mean is...do you think nicer looking text will encourage people to purchase? Is that your experience??My experience is mainly in the world of blogs, I'm still learning the ropes of selling products. In the blog world, I can tell you that all the most read bloggers--the ones with long comment threads, who support themselves or at least substantially supplement their income by blogging--pay close attention to how their sites look. When they give advice to wannabes, they mention appearance. I used to participate in a group blog where there were official policies regarding how posts were supposed to look.

In spite of being new to product marketing myself, I'm convinced this generalizes everywhere. As a buyer, when I encounter an offer for something online, I evaluate it large part based on how much effort it looks like the person put into making the offer. If their marketing apparatus looks cheap, it's a sign to me that they probably didn't put much effort into the product either, and want my money on the cheap. We may well be programmed to think this way--in biology, it's called costly signalling. Peacocks have showy tails because only healthy peacocks can afford to.

In short: Put the effort into doing everything right with your website, and that will signal you can make a quality product, too.

[Gina71]

I understand. Thanks for the detailed explanation.
I am a psychologist and not a web page designer, so I didn't understand the difference between HTML tags and the alternatives.
What you have said here makes perfect sense.

We are sending the site back to the designers for revision and I am gathering up a list of changes. How do you suggest I word it to them? "Don't use HTML tags"? Or what do I ask for instead?

Thx - Gina71

[Grayman]

I would say "Please use CSS to make the text look much nicer." Although I don't think the text looks that bad for what it is intended to do. It is standard sales page fare that has been proven time and time again to work.

I think more work on improving your copy would yield better results.

[Keep a Movin' Dan]

Don't tell the designers not to use any HTML--that will frustrate them. Some HTML is necessary. But they shouldn't rely on it as heavily as they do for the body of the page. More CSS, maybe a little less HTML.

To give you an idea of the kind of tricks that they rightly used in the header/border, and should be used throughout: See how the header and shaded border looks like one continuous thing? That's an illusion. It's constructed from multiple image files, one repeated many times. Copy and paste these two URLs into your browser:

http://www.thesourceapproach.com/images/navbar.jpg
http://www.thesourceapproach.com/images/background.jpg

Those are two of the images that make up part of the formatting on your site. Neat, huh?

[Keep a Movin' Dan]

P.S. you could certainly benefit from working on the ad copy. If you and your husband can charge $400 for this as a workshop, this might be a case where putting your name out there, along with "the benefits of a $400 workshop for $125," could help.