New homepage: feedback?
---
Book a call for personalized & private feedback
I like it.
The "Read All Reviews" button close to halfway down the page looks like it'd be better if the color was the same orange as the rest.
And, I think the "Trusted by Thousands of Winners" could be better if it was organized similar to this design (though, I'm pretty biased since I created it).
The main thing that sticks out to me the most though is the font. It looks like Lobster, which is a default font that feels like it comes with every writing platform. And, that makes the overall look come across as "cheap" to me.
It has a "fun cursive" feel to it because it's traditionally cursive enough to be worth using over a standard Arial while also being bold enough to be a laid-back font that you might find on a kid's PowerPoint.
I don't have anything against Lobster. But, if traditionally published books were to begin using cursive fonts more often, they wouldn't use Lobster. And, that feels like it takes away from the seriousness (and maybe credibility) of the TPM site.
So, if I were in Lucio's shoes, I might go with:
#1. Bakerie
The homepage's black background can be given the same feel as a chalkboard (which compliment's the course's name, Power University) by using a font that looks like it was written by a teacher with a preference for cursive and a good, steady hand:
#2. Italianno
Or, if you're going to go cursive, go all the way with a high-quality font anyway:
And, with a font name like "Italianno", maybe it was meant to be :).
I also like it. I see the font and some images changed, and I like the new font more than the previous.
BOOM thank you so much Ali, super helpful to say the least.
Thank you so much Bel!
---
Book a call for personalized & private feedback
It looks like it's been updated to Italianno, which is what I would've gone with as well out of the two I suggested.
Aside from the font being awesome, in my opinion, I'm also curious about the marketing psychology of it.
Methods of Persuasion by Nick Kolenda:
Thanks to processing fluency, if you want your target to perceive your product to be unique, you can create this perception by increasing the perceived complexity of your message — for example, by using a difficult-to-read font.
E.g. “People were more likely to purchase a gourmet cheese when the advertiser described it in a difficult-to-read font because people misattributed the difficulty in processing to the uniqueness of the cheese — a perception that made it seem more appealing.” (The effect disappeared, however, when the advertisement depicted an everyday cheese.)
Power University is by no means an "everyday course". And, I think that using a font that's aesthetically pleasing (yet somewhat more difficult to read than the fonts of your competitors' sales pages) underlines that.
This might not be effective if the course was still named "Social Power" because there are many social skills courses out there, so it could have the effect of "fancy writing on an everyday cheese".
But, there aren't too many power courses out there. And, that gives Power University a greater advantage in its uniqueness and appeal with this new font.
Same theory here:
Methods of Persuasion by Nick Kolenda:
E.g. Students were more willing to purchase an online coaching service for help applying to graduate school when it was presented in light blue text on a white background (difficult-to-read display) rather than black text on a white background (easier-to-read display) because they misattributed the difficulty in processing the information to a difficulty in applying to graduate school (a perception that sparked a great need for the coaching service).
Perhaps, readers will misattribute the difficulty in processing the information (due to the font) to a difficulty in attaining power and status, which may spark an even greater need for your product.
Curious to read anyone's thoughts below.
I like it. One thing that strikes me about the header image, the king, is that he's alone in the chessboard. I'm not sure if that's by design. But my gut tells me that this site being about influence, social skills, etc having a single figure doesn't capture this well.
I think the landing page might hit one giant objection: "but... I don't want to care about power; that's not me. That's for politicians, people I hate and that are certainly not me." Which triggers otherness, and moves away from the happy path to purchase.
I like how McAndler puts it when talking about why CEOs need to cultivate power:
I think studying power's important. It's easily misued, but properly understood, it can be built, shared and redistributed in ways that make your tech work better and improve the world.
I think this is the same message that TPM wants to convey, but it goes 'off track' (IMHO) when you start talking about being bad, Machiavelli etc. After going through the material you understand the course is not about being the asshole who always wins, everything else be damned. But this is not what the current copy says. I know, it's a fine line and very hard to communicate...
Quote from Ali Scarlett on May 18, 2022, 4:34 pmIt looks like it's been updated to Italianno, which is what I would've gone with as well out of the two I suggested.
Yeah, it might as well be the definition of stupidity not to take Ali's suggestions on this :).
Quote from Ali Scarlett on May 18, 2022, 4:34 pmI'm also curious about the marketing psychology of it.Perhaps, readers will misattribute the difficulty in processing the information (due to the font) to a difficulty in attaining power and status, which may spark an even greater need for your product.
That might as well be the case.
I was recently reading Blindsight, one of the best books I've read on influence / persuasion and, if I remember correctly, it better explained when to go for easy processing VS difficult one.
That being said, I think the effects are small-ish at this level of sophistication and you're better off focusing on executing the basics right.
And, to be sure, you should really measure it.
I'm also curious though, so maybe something to be answered down the road when the focus will be more on the marketing side.
---
Book a call for personalized & private feedback
Quote from leaderoffun on May 18, 2022, 11:59 pmI like it. One thing that strikes me about the header image, the king, is that he's alone in the chessboard. I'm not sure if that's by design. But my gut tells me that this site being about influence, social skills, etc having a single figure doesn't capture this well.
I think the landing page might hit one giant objection: "but... I don't want to care about power; that's not me. That's for politicians, people I hate and that are certainly not me." Which triggers otherness, and moves away from the happy path to purchase.
I like how McAndler puts it when talking about why CEOs need to cultivate power:
I think studying power's important. It's easily misued, but properly understood, it can be built, shared and redistributed in ways that make your tech work better and improve the world.
I think this is the same message that TPM wants to convey, but it goes 'off track' (IMHO) when you start talking about being bad, Machiavelli etc. After going through the material you understand the course is not about being the asshole who always wins, everything else be damned. But this is not what the current copy says. I know, it's a fine line and very hard to communicate...
Awesome feedback LOF, thank you for this.
The reason I went for Mach was:
- There is a subset of people looking for that type of information (mis)believing that it's the key to success
- It's one of the best TPM's competitive advantages: no other place comes even close to combining either a summary of academic research, or its practical applications / strategies / techniques (let alone combining the two)
Also, few if any other sources focus on the fact that to reach top positions and succeed, you need to master those power aspects that include Machiavellianism, manipulation, conflicts of interests, covering your ass, etc. etc.
However, you raise a good point: it's certainly possible that the people who are turned off far outnumber those who are attracted to it.
---
Book a call for personalized & private feedback
Update:
I followed LOF's feedback and changed the picture from Machiavelli to Augustus.
I may also look later on how to add a queen and pawns around the king, albeit that might be more difficult to do execute well.
---
Book a call for personalized & private feedback
I might be the lone outsider on this, but I liked the previous font (before the latest change) and previous Machiavelli picture more.
Personally, when I came to The Power Moves, I was exactly looking for how to be more “bad”, i.e. play on an even playing field with manipulators.
Another option could be to keep Machiavelli and slightly change the text: “Learn how to be bad… because it’s the only way to be good and win”.