And, after this interesting exposition I will not be buying the book either.

@ spencer rant - marketingsherpa makes fun of the landing page in their book. Why didn’t they just make a great landing page? Who knows, but that doesn’t diminish the value of the book. Remember, MarketingSherpa accumulates research from people that succeed, not succeed themselves (for the most part)

Ben: you bet, we’ll be working in plenty of seo posts.

Justin: You’re damn right about the power of the brand and that IS a perfect example.

Pat: you should contact them with your complaint, as it was probably a mistake and not an underhanded attempt to get more $$$

Pete: good call on the ‘by’ vs. ‘up to’. Thanks for that.

Spencer: There IS a lot of crap on the web, without a doubt. But there are some gems out there too. It’s separating the two that’s the tough part. My advice is to network the hell out of the web and develop some good relationships. This will give you people to bounce ideas off of, partner with AND you can trade tips on what is (and what is not) the real deal.

Ken: I said I didn’t read the book in my post. My critique was purely base on their landing page, NOT the book contents.

Boris: It doesn’t surprise me actually.

Jdog and Chuck: thanks

Jay: I’ve tested pages like that and they just didn’t work as well. Granted, I’m sure it’s getting sales, but they’re more than likely coming from branding rather than good sales copy.

One other comment - MarketingSherpa IS riding a fine line. They’re a marketing research company, not some fly-by-night ebook slinger. So they do have a responsibility to keep their salesyness (is that a word?) on a lower key to retain their image. However, with a little thought, they could have done better (as could we all).

An interesting article and a good way to start your blog.

I’d personally appreciate more critique on companies SEO efforts - helps build a qualititive picture of SEM.

I’ve done a little freelance work and am currently full time SEO but always looking to see how others interpret website optimisation.

Keep up the good work,

Ben

As a MS member, and Landing Page Handbook waiting lister, I was disappointed that the price nearly doubled. The handbook was “available” on their website for the $247, but you were directed to sign up for the waiting list.

Then after waiting for a couple months, I was excited to receive the email that it was ready to ship and headed into purchase it right away. Then was slapped with a previously unmentioned, significant price increase.

It immediately left a sour taste in my mouth and I have not purchased the Handbook as a result. Transparency is key, in my opinion.

Sorry for going off on a tangent…

“Lift Conversions Up to 55%” is a valid sales pitch, you can’t increase conversions above 100%, and I am happy with 20% (I’m assuming that your 400% is a reference to popular headline hype of “Increase Conversions by xxx%”).

Apart from that minor detail, an interesting and informative post; keep up the good work and good luck with the new blog.

Pete