Don’t Read this Article, Please! This is Not Meant for You.

Dear Friends,

Despite this heading, you are still reading this article, right? Yes, I know! This is exactly what happened to me a few days back.

I was reading a Medium article titled “7 Ugly Niche Websites That Make Over $5000 Each Month”. I didn’t have complete access to it since it was a premium article. However, I couldn’t resist diving deeper. My mind was pushing me to search and hunt for similar websites! Essentially, I was looking for low or no UX (User Experience) websites that still make huge money.

The first hit was https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/. Do you know who founded this? Can you guess? The website looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 1990s—plain text, no modern styling, and no interactive features. Yet, the holding company has a $1.01 trillion market cap, a share price of $467.95 (as of January 17, 2025, 7:25 PM), and generates over $300 billion annually.

Warren Buffett, an American investor and philanthropist, is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As you may know, he lives in a modest corner house in Omaha, Nebraska. He bought the house in 1958 for $31,500 and has lived there ever since. Interestingly, he bought his first stock at the age of 11 and filed taxes at the age of 13.

Now, take a look at https://hyderabad.craigslist.org/, https://www.lingscars.com/, or even https://www.htmlgoodies.com/. These websites look super simple yet powerful in their mission (either now or in the past).

What is this phenomenon? It’s called “Anti-Marketing” or “Counter-Cultural Marketing.” It goes against conventional marketing norms to create differentiation and authenticity, sometimes embracing flaws or imperfections as part of the brand identity. This creates a sense of uniqueness and even trust.

Guerrilla Marketing refers to using unconventional methods to attract attention and generate interest. For example, on November 25, 2011, Patagonia published an ad titled “Don’t Buy This Jacket” for Black Friday in the New York Times. It was a deliberate ad campaign, highlighting that each piece of Patagonia clothing—whether organic or made from recycled materials—emits several times its weight in greenhouse gases, generates at least half a garment's worth of scrap, and uses significant amounts of freshwater, which is becoming increasingly scarce worldwide (www.patagonia.com). The message was intended to show concern about mindless purchases. And guess what? They’ve only grown stronger since.

Sometimes, it’s not just about business—trust and genuine concern can lead to more business! Check out Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps (with its cluttered design and eco-friendly packaging), and you’ll see how design doesn’t always matter—content does!

If you’ve reached this paragraph, I’m sure you’ve also been trapped in this marketing 😊 Isn’t that true?

Please, do not visit my blog: https://i2itm.blogspot.com/ 😊

Ravi Saripalle