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Comment by aresant | Hacker News Reader

I personally had no idea what Whiteyboard was . . .

So from fresh eyes - the landing page doesn't do a good job explaining what it is and why it's awesome before hitting me up for $$$.

I bet your bounce traffic left in a hurry (sub 2 seconds) yah?

I'm sure the reddit ad explained partially, but on that landing page I'd have suggested a really bold headline, summary, picture of use then buy buttons below. . .

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This is the first time I've heard about Whiteyboard, and I didn't have any trouble at all figuring out what it was.

From the name "Whiteyboard" and the words "stick-on whiteboards" right at eye level when the page first opened, I immediately knew what it was.

Actually, our bounce rate is awesome. I agree though, we don't do a stellar job of explaining the product and we are working on a way better commercial. Should we keep the same girl?

If you do, please have her practice applying it without bubbles. And get rid of the nails. It looked quite amateurish, and her not really being able to hold it didn't help.

Re: the bubbles, that was my first thought too. But actually I liked the way she just threw it on there WITH the bubbles, and how they were easily patted away. Shows how easy perfect installation is - but this should be highlighted as a feature instead of potentially giving viewers a bad perception.

"Got some air bubbles? Not a problem, just quickly wipe your hand over the whiteyboard and push the bubbles out. Easy as that."

It should definitely be shown off as a feature - everyone has had that frustration when trying to put a screen protector on some device.

Also, they say it can be re-applied. So maybe demo putting it on one way and then moving it to another wall or flipping it the other way. And demo on a non-white surface. It looks kinda transparent in the video because it's being stuck on a white background.

The bloody atrocious sound quality is what I noticed. I've had better quality Skype calls than the voice quality in that video.

noted

I think the girl is fine - but she sends mixed messages - she's trying to explain whiteyboard, but she's trying to be a little bit flirty - there's a long awkward pause at the end that needs to be shortened, and the moustache is really gimmicky.

Also, if you stick with the same girl (which I think is totally fine), you should have her wear a more professional outfit (not to sound sexist or anything). What's your biggest potential market? (offices i'm guessing?) You should have her match that - so for offices, maybe business slacks and a professional top. Right now she looks like a college student, which is fine if you're trying to cater for that market.

I can't believe no one has mentioned this, but it seems to me the most important thing is how well you can erase the marker. Assuming it works well you should demonstrate this. I simply will not buy a whiteboard without knowing how well it will work over time. Also, I've used Georgia Pacific Mark-R-Board which costs about 1/3 of your product and it works just fine. That made me chuckle when I read the cost comparison in your FAQ.

That's half the battle - here's my suggestion: before you build a video build out an all-text lander.

Just super simple - 400 pixel high, two column. Left column just bullet points of the benefits of the product, rigth column awesome picture of the product.

Then A/B test that thing 3 - 4 times.

once you've got your messaging confirmed, move to video - video is much more difficult to a/b test IMO due to production

Do you want to take a crack at it? If so, ping me at jason@tinycomb.com

Sure - check your inbox -

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