I'll followup with a post on why I used the sales letter format to sell the book, but I can tell you this: it converts 3x better than the alternatives I tried.
We had a similar situation with an inhouse-ad on our site. The polished version performed ok, but just for the fun of testing, we switched to a rough screenshot image. It performed more than five times as good.
Just because one doesn't like it, doesn't mean it won't work. My learning was: Always, test everything.
Just because one doesn't like it, doesn't mean it won't work. My learning was: Always, test everything.
This is a point that every single commenter on HN needs to be aware of. There are far too many people who seem to think that just because they don't like something, it can't work, won't work, should be priced lower...
Even further: asking people if they like the page would result in different results compared to testing if they end up paying for the advertised product.
I've heard this same result regarding business ebook sales at least half a dozen times. There's a sentiment in tech culture to the effect that we are free thinkers who should be dismissive of obvious sales tactics. But maybe the sales guys use them because they're statistically effective.
"Test everything" includes "test the options you're dismissive of, just in case not everyone thinks like you."
