In this installment of our Dark Side of Conversion series, here’s a list of conversion no-no’s that should be avoided.
- Spamming people with emails email after they’ve opted-in
- Adding people to your email list WITHOUT their permission (just because they gave you their business card doesn’t mean they’ve opted into your newsletter or offers)
- Videos that pretend you are my friend (you’re not my buddy!)
- Videos that bait instead of educate
- Overpromising, under deilvering, and then charging for the “actual insights”
- Slick, slimy used car salesman syndrome:
When you see it enough times, you may think this is the “right way” to do a call-to-action/video. Just remember, everyone put asbestos in the walls until it became obvious that it was unhealthy. Doing something because you see it elsewhere is NOT a good reason. Doing it because you think it’s effective, or because you and your team respond well to it IS a good reason to try it — so TEST IT and see if your visitors like it, too. - Avoid manipulation: The following quote is from a well-known conversion expert, and it is truly sickening:
“We do not want to start sending traffic to our website until we have a well-oiled mouse trap with fresh cheese set.” — Chris Smith
If you strart looking at your visitors and potential customers in this way, you’ve lost the whole point of online marketing — which is to develop relationships, not to deceive or twist someone’s arm to buy. - Too many calls-to-action (CTAs) on a page:
- They’re bad for conversion
- They’re bad for UX
- They’re just plain bad!
- In the example below, there are 14 tabs in the navigation, at least 12 CTAs above the navigation, and a minimum of 8 CTAs on the page — before you scroll. That equals 34 items for a visitor to digest on the homepage. This is a conversion and UX nightmare …
Related articles:
Understanding Point of Conversion (POC) on Your Website
The Dark Side of Conversion: Treating People Like Fish
The Dark Side of Conversion: Desperation