Ben SettleEmail Marketing Specialistbensettle.com
The last non-flakey "direct response" designer on the planet.
I am a huge fan of Keith's work. Hire this man. He's probably the last non-flakey "direct response" designer on the face of the planet.
Free checklist for business owners, marketers & copywriters
9 design mistakes quietly
9 design mistakes quietly
killing your sales page
Your offer's good. Your copy's good. So why isn't the page converting? Nine times out of ten it's the design — not because it looks bad, but because it was built to look good instead of to sell. This 15-minute checklist shows you exactly where your page is leaking money.
- The hero mistake that loses readers in the first few seconds
- Why "looking good" and "selling" are two very different jobs — and how to tell which one your page is doing
- The "boring" fix that makes any page look instantly more professional
Free PDF, straight to your inbox. Plus the occasional email on direct response design. Unsubscribe any time.
“Without him, I'd probably be making no money.”
Doberman Dan DobermanDan.comWhat people say
Mike Samuels"The Coffeeshop Copywriter"copywithmike.com
I don't pay for pretty. I pay for conversion.
The reason why I go to Keith for page design is because he gets direct response.
I've worked with a few designers over the years, and while they can all make a pretty page (especially now with AI), Keith's work is designed to look good AND to convert. And being honest, I don't want to pay for something just because it looks good.
Sound familiar?
Most website briefs look like this
Aesthetics for aesthetics' sake. A nice bit of virtual real estate where people can find out how long you've been in business and what the owner does at the weekend.
Rarely anything to do with actually selling.
A website isn't a brochure. It's a machine — a tool to make your business money, whether that's sales on the front end or leads on the back end. It needs to earn its keep. Otherwise, what's the point?
WEBSITE BRIEFPage 1 of 1
OBJECTIVES:
- 1.Make it look good.
- 2.Help build the brand.
- 3.Tell people about the business. Somewhere to get in touch.
- 4.Make it look good.
- 5.Make it look good.
Where’s the bit about selling?!
What's inside
Nine leaks. Fifteen minutes.
Open your page on your laptop and your phone, work through the checks, and count your "no" answers. Every one is money walking out the door.
- Your hero section doesn't hook
- You're asking them to do more than one thing
- It's designed to win awards, not sales
- It's a wall of text
- Your headlines are hard to read
- Inconsistent spacing, sizes and fonts
- It's slow
- Cheesy stock photos
- Colour chaos
Who this is for
Great product, underperforming site
You've got a product or service people love. But your website looks fine and isn't pulling its weight — it's not bringing in the leads or sales it should.
Building something new
You're about to build a new site or funnel and want it done right the first time — built to convert from day one, not retrofitted later.
Your designer doesn't "get" direct response
You've got copy that sells, but your designer keeps making it "look nice" — burying the message under graphics and whizz-bang effects instead of getting someone to act.
No fluff
What I actually do
Most agencies sell you one piece of the puzzle — a nice design, or "SEO," or "copywriting" — and leave you to figure out how it all fits together. Direct response doesn't work that way. Every piece has to pull in the same direction, toward one thing: getting someone to act.
And in that order of importance: product, then copy, then design. Always.
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Every word on your site should be doing a job — getting attention, building interest, and asking for a decision. Not filler. Not "About Us" waffle nobody reads.
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No point writing world-class copy if nobody finds it. I make sure the right people — the ones actually searching for what you sell — can find you in the first place.
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Design's job is to get out of the way of the message, not compete with it. Clean, fast, and built to guide someone toward a decision — not to win an award. Think grizzled airline pilot, not Top Gun: land the plane, no heroics.
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A great homepage means nothing if there's no path from "interested" to "customer." I build the actual journey — from first click to paying customer — not just a page that sits there looking nice.
Someone
takes
action
A few things I've built
Tales of Khayr
- Problem
- [One line: what wasn't working before]
- What I did
- [One line: copy, design, funnel — what you built]
- Result
- [A number, if you have one]
“He asks smart questions, understands that a web page needs to drive action, not just look pretty.” — Wesamuddin Azzaidani
More testimonials
Wesamuddin AzzaidaniOwner, Tales of Khayrtalesofkhayr.com
Costs more — worth every cent.
I'd worked with a designer in the past who just didn't get it — I had to constantly follow up to make sure the basics were done right. Working with Keith was a completely different experience. He asks smart questions, understands that a web page needs to drive action, not just look pretty, and still has a sharp eye for design.
Sure, Keith costs a bit more than some other designers — that's because he's actually better. If you want someone you can hand things off to and trust completely, hire Keith. And don't be cheap about it: he's worth it.
Doberman DanDobermanDan.com
Without him, I'd probably be making no money.
I've been working with Keith Commins exclusively for at least 15 years. Maybe longer. He's the only guy I trust to create and maintain my various websites and handle any other tech issues, because he understands direct response marketing and sales copy better than any tech person or designer I've worked with.
I can't put a dollar figure on how much he has helped me, but I do know if I had to figure this stuff out on my own I'd probably be making no money. Because of Keith I don't have to worry about any tech issues or website issues, and that allows me to concentrate on building my business.
He knows his stuff, does great work and completes all projects on time or sooner. And if you've ever dealt with other service providers, then you know how much of a big deal that is.
Keith has my highest recommendation.
Jason Supokerwithpresence.com
When big money's on the line, trust the pro.
When you have big money riding on the designs of your page it matters to have a pro on your side, and Keith is a true professional. Clear with communications, setting expectations, and most importantly, skilled at delivering on what he says he will at a high level. I have hired him for multiple design projects over the years and would not hesitate to do so again.
Jonathan RiveraThe Podcast Factory
Website down? Hackers? Just call Keith.
Our website's down again. Oh man, it's crashing. We're getting hit by hackers. Our plugins are bad. That was life before we hired Keith — always worried about our website, because the website was the centre of our business.
After hiring Keith, we did not have to worry any more. Website down, plugins, hackers — it doesn't matter. Call Keith. That's all we ever had to do, for I don't know, I think he said it was 10 years we were working together. It seems like forever, but any time we had a problem, we called Keith.
And if we still had the website today, I'd still be working with Keith. So if you need a guy you can depend on, a guy you can count on to do things right, someone you can trust — call Keith.
About
Hey, I'm Keith
I've been putting web pages on the internet for almost 20 years — since the days of Dreamweaver and FrontPage. When I left systems engineering to go out on my own, I did everything you're "supposed" to do to find clients. Business mixers. BNI. Cold calls. Knocking on doors (one business called the police on me). Nothing worked.
Then I discovered direct response marketing, and it flipped everything I thought I knew about websites. Since then I've built them the old-fashioned way — not to win design awards, but to make the phone ring and the cash register open.
I've spoken on stage about funnels, direct response marketing, and beyond — including at Nomad Cruise and Nomad Eire — because I'd rather show people what works than talk about it in theory. I'm also a committed Toastmaster, so if I'm going to talk about persuasion for a living, I'd better be good at it myself.
Outside of work, you'll find me on a dance floor rather than a design conference — salsa's the other thing I take far too seriously.
Enough about me
Truth is, none of this matters unless it gets you results. So start with your own page.
Run it through the checklist. It takes fifteen minutes, and you'll know exactly where it's leaking — and which leaks to fix first.
Before you ask
Fair questions
Straight answers to the things people usually ask before they sign up.
Question not here? Grab the checklist, then just reply to any of my emails.
Is it really free?
Yes. Pop your email in and the checklist lands in your inbox a minute later. No catch, no credit card.
What happens to my email?
You get the checklist, then the occasional email from me on direct response design — what's working, what isn't, and teardowns of real pages. No spam, and I'll never sell or share your address. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Who's it for?
Business owners, marketers, copywriters and coaches with a sales page, landing page or website that should be selling more than it is.
I'm not a designer. Will it make sense?
That's exactly who it's written for. No jargon, no theory — every point is a simple yes-or-no check you can do yourself in a few minutes.
What if my page passes all nine?
Then it's in better shape than most, and you can stop worrying about the design and get back to the copy and the offer — which matter more anyway.
Can't I just put my sales letter in a Google Doc?
Sometimes — if your offer is strong, your copy is sharp and you've got a starving crowd. But some people WILL NOT buy from a Google Doc. It's harder to skim, and it looks like you cut corners. Mistake #4 in the checklist covers it.
Can't I just use a template?
You could. But you'd be shoehorning your copy, for your product, into a layout built for someone else's. Fine for testing the waters on a new idea — not for a page you're serious about.
Do you design pages too?
Yes — I design and build direct response websites and funnels. If you'd rather someone just fixed the leaks for you, reply to any of my emails and tell me about your page.
Free checklist
Is your page leaking money?
Find out in fifteen minutes. Grab the checklist, run your page through it, and fix the leaks before your prospects find them.
Free PDF. Unsubscribe any time.
