David Fiske Affiliate Marketing & Web Development

You've brainstormed an idea for a website (perhaps not one of those listed by Kieron) and you're moving on to the build.

Most people would put a navigation bar to the top or to the side, add some content and some banners.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across Urbane Blinds, an affiliate site that breaks the mould.
 
Here's a screenshot for your benefit:



Here's why I think it breaks the mould.

No Banners

I didn't see any banners and instantly thought these chaps sold blinds. It's only when you click on 'Book an Appointment' you realise it's an affiliate site as it links via Buy.at through to Hillarys Blinds.

There's both an up and a downside to this. By not displaying a banner the admin panel will show zero impressions. This isn't good as it leaves you open to those annoying emails titled 'Reply If You Want To Stay With Affiliate Program X'. On the flip side, no banners means you can control the look and feel of the site.

No Passing Off

Urbane Blinds makes no attempt to mislead the customer. Right from the first moment, you can tell that there's a partnership here. You still get your standard sales text but it's all directed at getting you to make an appointment.

Not Pushy

We can all be guilty of pushing too hard for a sale. The overall feeling is of distrust or of trying too hard. Subtle calls to action are dashed around the site, looking warm and inviting:



Clean and Crisp

The site design is clean and crisp, if a little too Template Monster like. That's not a negative point though as the look and feel of the site works for the target market..

Concise and Focussed

The one aspect of this site I really like is that it only tries to target one market: blinds. It's not a large market admittedly and the fact that it's a very visual and tactile market means it's difficult to generate leads. The person / people behind Urbane Blinds have understood this point. They seem to understand that people buy blinds based upon the feel and look of them, and as such, they sway people towards booking an appointment. They don't ram this down people's throats. They don't have a blinds catalogue so you can order custom made blinds without an appointment. They simply take you on a gentle ride to an appointment.

Conclusion

I really like this site. It's one of those sites that has been well thought out and targeted. It's the kind of site that makes me want to get out my paintbrush and take another look at some of my existing sites.

An important note - Not every site will benefit from this 'template'. Trying to sell CD's and DVD's without pictures, audio and video is like selling a car using text and text alone. You need to see a picture to make sure you like it first, you need to test drive it to see if it handles well. You need to put the text in context.