Hi folks,
I’m going to try to avoid a giant lesson on gestalt design nor talk about AB test results. Let’s talk about GOALS and STRATEGIES.
GOAL: Discourse (and their clients) wants people to visit the discussion site and post a smart reply.
DATA:
A person finds the button distracting. Does it interfere with reading? Does it render the message unusable? Is this a common problem? How many people does it affect? Does it affect the business’s ability to thrive?
A person can’t find the link to respond. Does it interfere with reading? Does it render the message unusable? Is this a common problem? How many people does it affect? Does it affect the business’s ability to thrive?
We could stop right now by saying that annoying < conversion.
However, let’s say we want a super elegant product, because Jeff. 
Let’s discuss STRATEGY to make sure the email is both readable and converts.
-
Change is always distracting. The question is, is the button distracting because it’s new, or is it inherently problematic.
-
The very best thing to do would be a run a multivariate test with a variety of approaches to the CTA design. As a CEO I knew used to say, “If we are going to argue with opinions, my opinion wins.” Better to use data to make decisions, when possible.
-
If no data, then look at people you know that do have data. Facebook is a pretty good choice. Amazon has a giant yellow button. Most people place the critical CTA in a large button.
-
Finally, ask yourself “what else is on the page?” Sometimes pages feel busy and overwhelming because there are too many items competing for our attention. It can help to reduce that visual clutter, and have only one very clear CTA. The original post had bright blue for a link inside the post, and subtle gray for the key CTA. Simply flipping them might have worked. (I say might because I’d prefer data. In lieu of data, though, I’d bet it would work.)
Contrast is what makes things “pop” and get noticed, and thus clicked. So by reducing unimportant link’s contrast, and increasing important links contract, you increase click through.
You can use
- Color
- Size
- Shape (i.e. button)
and more…
Design! It’s what makes people click!
tl;dr make everything except the key CTA bold or underlined gray, and make that CTA Blue, or better yet, a button. But only if you want people to VISIT THE SITE.