I've seen "peel away ads" on websites before, and they always pique my curiosity and get me to at least mouse over the corner of the page to see the offer hiding there.
I saw the best example of a peel-away ad on a website yesterday, though. And it was on the PeelAwayAds website itself. This is a new product released by Harris Fellman and Richard Osterude, which allows you to create your own peel-away ads.
The package is currently selling for only $37, which was reasonable enough to make me order without much more than a scan through the sales copy. But when I moused over the corner, which was peeled back just enough to show a little teaser of the offer, I found a $10 off coupon.
Clicking that peel-away ad in the corner brought me to a new order page, where I could get the package for only $27! Good conversion tactic? You betcha! 😉
Check it out for yourself here: www.peelawayads.com
What I like best about the peel-away ads is that it is non-intrusive on the visitor, it requires action on their part to initiate, it takes up *zero* valuable space on your actual page layout, and it is a visually appealing addition to a website - even if its ignored.
Not to mention they're kinda fun to 'peel away' 🙂
For $27 - which is a limited time offer, by the way - it's certainly worth testing. It would be interesting to see if offers would do well on blogs or content sites as well as sales copy type sites.
Obviously you could use these ads to promote affiliate offers, to increase conversion rates for your own products, or you could even rotate offers and sell the ad space for premium rates.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on peel-away ads, both as a visitor and as a website owner. Personally, I'm thinking the holiday sales season is an excellent time to test something like this...
For more ideas and a live example, see www.peelawayads.com
Or you can see two live examples on my own website on the Webinars page or this Case Study page. Each one uses a different color theme, and you'll notice two interesting things: the links are cloaked automatically from mouseovers, and they open in a new window.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!
Best,
Technorati Tags: Harris Fellman, Richard Osterude, peel away ads, peel away script, peelaway, advertising, promotion, marketing strategies, marketing tips
About Lynn Terry
Thanks Lynn. Do these peel away scripts work on all browsers? I had tried a similar script almost a year back. And it distorted my website in a few browsers... so if you've tested it out, would love to know if it works on all major browsers or not.
You can check the Webinars page and Case Study page I linked to at the end of the post above - they are working great in the browsers I've tested so far.
Thanks for the heads up on the money off voucher. I'm looking for something a little different in the way of advert display, and this seems novel enough to catch peoples' attentions. Many people seem to now subconsciously filter out the ads placed in traditional areas of a site or blog.
They are all over the place. I am already tired of them.
Hi Paul,
I'd be interested to hear more from you on that note. Since they dont display unless you mouse over them, they are pretty much hidden unless you choose to view them. What is it about them that makes you 'tired of them' - if you dont mind sharing?
I've actually not seen these before. How neat. I really like the look of them.
While I think it's a neat idea (from the marketing perspective), I'm with Paul on this one -- I'm a little tired of them.
I've come across a couple of peel aways that were not quite obnoxious, but still annoying because they kept "bouncing" (for lack of a better term). Another one actually refused to go back to its original state after I accidentally clicked on it.
All that said, it's a great way to combat ad-blindness as long as you don't cripple the user experience.
~ Teli
Lynn,
That's a NICE discount on your webinar page. 250% off standard price. WOW!! LOLOL
As for an annoyance factor, I'd rather see a "peel away" than listen to the annoying audios/videos that start immediately on some sites and blow my ears out.
heh heh
But I think they can be effective. But not too many affiliate managers are adding any "peel aways" in their affiliate toolboxes so far anyway.
Rick Wilson 8)
I've started using the Peel Away Ad on my Cottage site to attract newsletter subscriptions. Too early to tell the conversions of visitors to subscribers, but I like the look so much better than pop-ups. Now, I'll just test test test. Doesn't matter if I like it, but if it does the job it was meant to do.
I agree with Teli's comment though. Once the Peel Away Ad has been opened, my preference would be for it to not continue to "bounce" on every page visited. Annoying.
Hmmm interesting, I would love to test it out. It is so much better than pop ups/audios, those are in fact annoying. This I think customers would be more satisfied with. I think the bouncing though...unless there was an different ad on each peel away ad that they can see on each page of the site? Hmmm....
I bought the package but it doesn't have any instructions with it. Maybe I missed something in the download. Did yours come with instructions?
There is a support link at the bottom of the page - that should give you what you're looking for...
Jacquelyn - yes, you can use a different ad on each page. Great idea!
After using Pop-ups, Pop unders and almost any other means to get the attention of my visitors, I've found this product to be the most attention grabbing, while at the same time not as obnoxious or irritating to visitors as the other ways.
Also Liz, there is a downloadable video that the creator of the program provides that walks you through the setup and all the different ways to configure the program. It's included in your download package. It's the most comprehensive support system I've ever seen. Check your download info, for the installation guide.