How An Incredibly Ugly Website Silently Generates $ 30 Million A Year
I love to see people, especially online, beat their chests, talking about “Design is essential for conversions” … or … “What color should my button be to increase conversions” .. .
… meanwhile, there is an ugly website that quietly generates more than $ 30 million every year.
And, according to Similarweb.com, they have over 70 million visitors … per month!
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The site in question is:
“The Drudge Report”.
Founded in 1995 … and … let’s just say it’s * not * going to win any design awards any time soon. In fact, the design hasn’t changed much (if at all) in the last 20 years.
It is fascinating.
I’m not saying it comes close to the amount of revenue Drudge generates.
But, there are still great lessons you can learn from Drudge.
Here’s what I mean: there is always “that guy,” who beats his chest over why design is the key to website conversions. Sure, there may be some truth to that. But, as the adage goes: “You can’t polish a poop.” If your offer sucks, no matter how hard you try to dress it up and put lipstick on that offer, it will still suck. It may look pretty, sure. But it is still a bad offer.
However, look at the Drudge Report.
It’s ugly as hell.
Challenge ALL the typical tips you see online.
Yet you are quietly making millions of dollars every month.
Here’s the thing:
Drudge understands and has adapted to his niche in such a way that his readers don’t really care about design. Of course, some people would like to see an updated design. But that’s not why people (over 70 million a month) visit that site.
They visit the site for the content.
Content that speaks to them.
That reminds me … every time I use this example, there is always someone who is going to challenge me on this. (Which is fine. It is not illegal to be wrong).
“But, Kristian, think about how much revenue they could generate if they updated their design!”
Look, I’ll be happy to hear from you the day you make $ 30 million a year.
Here’s the thing:
Whatever niche you are in … no matter who you serve … no matter what your product is … there is always a natural progression in any business:
- Find out what people want and understand their hopes, fears, and dreams.
- Create a solution to solve your customers’ problem
- Market that product
- Sell said product
- Give your customers what they paid for
Once you know what people want, not what you want, everything else becomes pretty straightforward.
Let’s imagine that you already have a product and you want to sell more of that product.
Here’s an old-school exercise you can use to get people’s attention:
(Quick note, I don’t remember where I learned this from. But, full disclosure, not my idea).
Before you sit down to write your blog post … sales letter … social media post … or, best from sliced bread, your email (very biased in my opinion) …
Ask yourself this question:
“What is the ONLY thing you can say to your specific customer at that moment, so that they will push you into their house and force you to tell them about your product or service?”