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ABOLISHING BORING WEBSITES ARTICLE 2 ARTICLE 1 ARTICLE 3 ARTICLE 4 |
Creating Powerful Content that Inspires Actionof that yet.” I always emphasize that there is nothing to be gained by driving customers to a site, making sure it looks great and dazzles the eye, and then failing to deliver informative and memorable content. You want to make sure that when potential clients visit your site, they are welcomed by well-written, concise copy that quickly gives them the information they need, and inspires them to take the desired action. First, many people will have already read your brochure when they visit your site, especially if your web address was advertised there. The last thing you want is a potential customer getting frustrated when they realize half way through your site that they've read that information already. They're there to find out more about you, not spend precious time re-reading your brochure. Another thing to consider when developing your web copy is that Web visitors absorb and analyze content and copy in a different way than print or media viewers. I sometimes joke that the patience of an internet surfer is lower than that of a New York City cab driver at a yellow light. Take a person who would happily read a two page article printed in a newspaper, put them in front of the same article on a web browser, and suddenly their attention span drops. You're lucky if they'll read one or two paragraphs of that article. Therefore, content must be brief, to the point, highlighted with headings and summaries, visually accessible, all the considerations that will make the intended impact or refer visitors elsewhere in as little time as possible. While planning your web content, you may want to conduct some online research into what your competitors are saying on their websites. Pretend you are one of your potential clients surfing the web. This exercise may inspire ideas as well as giving you a sense of what works and what doesn't work in what others in your field are saying and doing. What could you say that your competitors are not saying? What can you offer your clients that others don't have? Give special consideration to your attention span. What are other sites providing that engage you? That bore you?c. Taking the time to thoughtfully consider what you want your site to offer, how you want to project yourself online, and what actions you want your visitors to take will help you enormously as you take that important step to developing your web presence. Julia Stege is owner and principal designer of Graphic Girlz Design Solutions, a Bay Area based marketing, graphic design and website development firm. She specializes in market strategy, project management, product development, logos and branding, design, content development, and production of Internet and print marketing campaigns. |