And for anyone that loves odd socks, this is an awesome site (not affiliated, i just love their sock selections and used them for years): http://www.sockdreams.com/_pages/index.php
All I know is the first pair of socks were cashmere and had hand stitched seems so I know at least you were serious about that one.
Edit: Just found it, I would make it more clear that it is one pair. I easily overlooked the splash image, maybe make it stand out more.
Let relatives buy subscriptions (the socky gift that keeps giving).
unfortunately it's not working in europe... Or am i wrong?
Cost and details of what you get should be listed prominently on the signup page. I see the cost on the homepage, but only after looking really hard. You need details on what kinds of socks you're going to be sending out. Pictures seem essential for something like this. (Don't make me go looking for them. Make them bigger.) Your 'learn more' page desperately needs actual information as well.
None of this was evident in the minute I spent looking around the site and I ended up closing it.
Put a gigantic button under that sock graphic that says:
"Sign up now for $11/mo"
I want to sign up for your service, but I almost closed the page thinking that you hadn't launched yet. The only thing that kept me looking was the gallery. Since it looks like you've been doing this, I /kept/ looking for the sign up link.
You need ot change this immediately!
Also put a price on this thing!
This would be a cute gift for my wife - the posted socks fit her style, and if it is $11 / month, it's certainly affordable. But I'm not going to sign up for something if I'm not sure I know what it costs.
[Edit: Ah-ha, the other commenters here pointed its location out. Pricing has to be prominent and up front - little grey text always gets skimmed / glossed over.]
Buy
a subscription1. Front page needs to be clearer about what you are offering. The socks themselves are not directly described, the cost sort of shows up in the wall of text below, and the call to action buttons are small. The option to actually view the socks is hard to find at the top bar
2. The sock gallery page needs a lot more work. I can't seem to click to actually see more images. Why are the images themselves so completely boring? Take some filtery pictures, take pictures of you wearing your socks, I don't know, SOMETHING. You're only selling a small range, this really shouldn't be a problem. Remove whatever php 2002 gallery code you're using and build something more image friendly that's less about lists. We live in the age of pinterest.
3. When you fix your gallery, replace your front page with it.
4. I think your actual product has a lot of potential, although I don't think your socks are particularly quirky enough. For example I don't see what's so special about the May pair (maybe because I can't click to actually look at it in detail). I want a pair of socks that has Captain Picard and Darth Vader having a fist fight.
Still, I would agree that something cooler should happen when you click on a particular sock -- maybe a funny video?
Keep it up, it looks great!
(Subscribe page has no price anywhere that I see : http://www.sotmclub.com/subscribe)
I'd at least put the price in the How It Works and Subscribe sections, that's where I looked.
I have large (size 15) feet. Are your socks going to fit me? You should mention sizing or let people choose.
Also the blog isn't working.
Feedback:
Obviously, as others mentioned the call to action is incredibly weak and I also thought you may not have launched yet when looking for the Sign Up link.
Copy is hilarious on the front page.
Learn More actually gives you no new information, which is quite annoying. That section needs more. Can I cancel anytime? Am I charged monthly or annually? Maybe something about the socks, "we source top quality socks from brands like X, Y, Z using whatever fancy cotton". Do you ship internationally? I'm in Canada.
Your blog entries other than January don't exist, sloppy. How can I see the brand of the sock in the gallery?
I will likely sign up when I get some more info. Best of luck.
I think it would be good to put a link to this and similar news items on your home page. Fashion trends are mostly stampedes, many people would buy your socks if they know people from FB and Twitter are wearing them, i.e. it's a new trend.
It has links to your competitors but I think the trend validation is worth it.
Popup photos of socks need to be larger with more detail.
Consider annual subscription at $99 or less and see if that helps. 11*12=$132 is a lot for socks, especially since some of them are going to be duds.
Need more photos to jump start this than the first 4 months of selections so one can more accurately judge your taste.
Consider a birthday or holiday bonus sock - annual subs get 13 socks.
Bug report: I see 5 blog titles listed but the urls to all but the first one lead to a 'not found'.
You're getting lots of feedback it seems and it's the early days yet. The messaging is there, I think. People are motivated by two things: Will it get me laid or get me paid? You've got that down.
Now it is just details.
Finally, the blog links seem to be entirely place holders.
It's almost there. The design is compelling and made me consider it and click all over the site to see what else there was to see.
Also like DSC, consider adding a couple pricing tiers. A $1 a month?! I almost can't say no and would just sign up for the hell of it. Maybe $1 a month just gets you fresh pair of white socks. $11 gets you the amazing mustache socks.
You're at a party talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex.
You're at a party talking to a member of the attractive sex.
A small change to make. I feel a bit conflicted suggesting a change to be inclusive of gays when the idea to do so was triggered by the stereotype in my head "What about all the well-dressed gay guys?". Odd...
For some, there can be more than one attractive sex.
- I would really improve the quality of socks. Especially design wise. I would have subscribed in an instant but then looked at the lineup and was dissapointed.
- Lifestyle business is as much about the experience as it is about the product. Make me feel happy. Everlane is one of the best online experiences I have seen. Especially since you have a simple proposition and only one product to sell you can do a lot in the experience factor without making things unusable.
- Use better product photography
-I love the "How it Works" part
- I think you are already doing but use your blog as the bandwagon for raising awareness and interests in socks. Maybe even push content from other sites about socks? Like this one? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/fashion/in-silicon-valley-...
Feel free to ping me @tuhin for more design related and experience feedback
1. How to pay for the service. (I looked around the page for "buy" then I looked at the source page for "buy", I didn't find it. It wasn't before I came to the comments that I knew where to look).
2. How much it costs. It should be bigger and easier to read.
3. Details on the service. Monthly cost, one pair sent each month, only available for US residents.
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I suggest making a short summary in the graphic that stands a bit out with a summary of the service, as well as putting the "buy" or "subscribe" alongside the home/now/view/read/write.
Also, if the rest of the world is excluded because of too high shipping-costs, how about offering a collection? Say every half a year, for an additional shipping. No reason to not take money from those willing to pay :)
Is it upfront for the year? Pro-rata? Subscription billing of $11 a month? etc.
Aside from that, we both love the idea and the copy. I probably should echo the other sentiments expressed here - call to action is hard to find, price should be easier to find, etc.
Also, my wife just lamented that she can't go back and buy April's sock. Is there anything she can do about that?
"thesurpriseclub.com" is available...
A couple things - on the subscription form you might need to provide some details about what countries you can ship to (The "State", "Zipcode", and lack of a "Country" input box implies that it's only for U.S. addresses but it should be explicit).
I was also unclear on whether subscribers would be charged for shipping costs (is it included? or extra? If it's in addition to the $11/mo, can you provide rates?).
- I'd also feature the price right there -- "We deliver a pair of socks once a month for $11."
- Feature pricing on "About" and "Subscribe" pages.
- On Subscribe pages, where do I enter payment info? Why page doesn't have SSL? (I assume payment info is submitted on the next page, but it is not clear -- maybe change "Submit" to "Next: enter payment info")
- I'd change "Write/Contact Us" at the top to "Buy Now".
Edit: formatting
Personally I like my socks to be white and come in bags with other socks, which probably explains why I think spending $11 a month for a single pair of socks is insane, but I'm obviously not the target market.
A way to sign up to get informed by e-mail when shipment outside the US becomes available would be awesome.
And why spend 12$ a month on these when I can buy something from Happy Socks or Richer Poorer socks for 12$ a pair from a multitude of patterns and designs whenever I want to and be assured of good quality every time?!