How important is a homepage - a social experiment
August 16, 2012 8:01 AM Subscribe
How important is a homepage? Or is the key to just make your site exclusive?
Afternoon guys,
I wanted your opinions on a social experiment I am running but I included the link of my site and my post was subsequently deleted. This time round I won't include the link!
So I created an online club. I limited the club to 11,000 memberships (i.e. I made it exclusive). On the homepage is simply a form that asks for your name, email address and if you are free on the 11th Novemeber 2012. I also ask for a reason you want to join the club.
No where does it say what the club is, it doesn't even hint as to what it is. It has, amazingly (I think) received over 7000 applications in a matter of 3 days. The reasons given for wanting to join the club are staggering:
"New experiences are one of the most exciting acts of living. They simulate your mind and free your creative emotion, thus liberating your thoughts from the tension of a daily routine. This could be one of those moments."
Another one -
"Sometimes, you have to take a risk, to open doors and make a step in a dark room, even if you don't know what you'll find inside. Sometimes, you have to be the first, part of the happy few, But sometimes, questions are more important than answers."
And finally:
"It's intriguing... I've never done anything like this before; taken a blind chance; made a huge leap. I'm at a place in my life right now that requires a major change, and I think this might be it."
There are over 7000 applications like these. Maybe wrongly, I find this unbelievable. I owned a startup - and poured my heart and soul into trying to create the perfect homepage, the perfect amount of text to persuade someone to part with their name and email address to sign up to my free service. Thousands and thousands of startup owners face similar problems. What do I put on my homepage to entice a user to sign up?
My experiment proves, at least in my mind, that it just doesn't matter what you put on a homepage. But rather, is it exclusive? Do people feel they're missing out on what their friends are experiencing? I am an avid Internet user but the amount of sites I go on daily I can count on one hand. The amount of sites I've signed up for however...
What is it about us that makes us long to join something that another person can't get into? Why do we fear we are missing out when absolutely nothing is advertised. Next time the tech blogs criticise what is on a homepage, what does your product do, why do I need to sign up - ask yourself - does that actually matter?
Finally, if you are wondering, my club does have a genuine benefit but that will remain a secret until the 11th Novemeber. For now, I am just enjoying seeing people sign up to something they know nothing about - people are naturally curious, to the extent that they are willing to offer a reason to join a club they know nothing about.
Afternoon guys,
I wanted your opinions on a social experiment I am running but I included the link of my site and my post was subsequently deleted. This time round I won't include the link!
So I created an online club. I limited the club to 11,000 memberships (i.e. I made it exclusive). On the homepage is simply a form that asks for your name, email address and if you are free on the 11th Novemeber 2012. I also ask for a reason you want to join the club.
No where does it say what the club is, it doesn't even hint as to what it is. It has, amazingly (I think) received over 7000 applications in a matter of 3 days. The reasons given for wanting to join the club are staggering:
"New experiences are one of the most exciting acts of living. They simulate your mind and free your creative emotion, thus liberating your thoughts from the tension of a daily routine. This could be one of those moments."
Another one -
"Sometimes, you have to take a risk, to open doors and make a step in a dark room, even if you don't know what you'll find inside. Sometimes, you have to be the first, part of the happy few, But sometimes, questions are more important than answers."
And finally:
"It's intriguing... I've never done anything like this before; taken a blind chance; made a huge leap. I'm at a place in my life right now that requires a major change, and I think this might be it."
There are over 7000 applications like these. Maybe wrongly, I find this unbelievable. I owned a startup - and poured my heart and soul into trying to create the perfect homepage, the perfect amount of text to persuade someone to part with their name and email address to sign up to my free service. Thousands and thousands of startup owners face similar problems. What do I put on my homepage to entice a user to sign up?
My experiment proves, at least in my mind, that it just doesn't matter what you put on a homepage. But rather, is it exclusive? Do people feel they're missing out on what their friends are experiencing? I am an avid Internet user but the amount of sites I go on daily I can count on one hand. The amount of sites I've signed up for however...
What is it about us that makes us long to join something that another person can't get into? Why do we fear we are missing out when absolutely nothing is advertised. Next time the tech blogs criticise what is on a homepage, what does your product do, why do I need to sign up - ask yourself - does that actually matter?
Finally, if you are wondering, my club does have a genuine benefit but that will remain a secret until the 11th Novemeber. For now, I am just enjoying seeing people sign up to something they know nothing about - people are naturally curious, to the extent that they are willing to offer a reason to join a club they know nothing about.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Wait, that crappy metafilter post the other day was actually a self-link to your own site? Completely not okay. If we'd established that at the time you would have been banned immediately. You are, now, banned. -- cortex
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