In his book, Ogilvy stated that text heavy direct mail campaigns were more effective than “slicks”. A 2 or 3 page letter on plain paper was more effective than a 4 color brochure.

The problem is that most direct response sites, (as Shaune stated above) don’t look professional, and that becomes distracting. Instead of reading, they focus on the ugly pictures, or incongruent design elements.

Perhaps we should call what we do “Professional Ugly”.

…or not…   : )

I don’t have all the answers - except left to their own, clients go with pretty. Sometimes that hurt results. Some of it depends on context. Do you have a large corporation with many products across multiple industries - or are you trying to create leads or sell a specific product NOW?

I recently saw a “pretty” email look that accomplished a 13% lead gen to a cold email list of tech professionals.

On the other hand, as one direct response pro once said…

“Ugly Works!”

Just kidding, but it is beautiful to wake up to every morning. I actually look out over the bay while at work each day. Spoiled I am!

You should have seen it before I adjusted it! It was all the way across the top. But yes, it could be tightened up a bit more, and I have done so.

Thanks for the suggestion,

David

…and Shaune doesn’t own all that land - yet.