[March 6th, 1999]

See Also   Want A Sticky Website That Sells? Forget Content!   Giving Customers What They Want   Rule Busters Lose   Building Your Web Site's Sales   Abandoned Shopping Carts: Enigma or Sloppy E-Commerce?   The Only Visitor That Counts Is A Repeat Visitor   Three Steps to Get More Customers   Your Web Site - Do It Yourself? or Get Serious!   How To Make Them Buy Now   The Future of E-Commerce Stinks!   Beware Overload   Does Your Site Have Stopping Power?   Online Sales Psychology That Works   And the Broadband Played on, and on...   How Your Web Site Can Learn From Newspapers   Promise Not to Tell   Where's Your Community?   Understanding Your Visitors   The Seven Deadly Web Site Sins   The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Part 2   The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Part 1

So, you want to know what can make your Web site really effective? I can tell you what. It is your concern for visitors. Understanding their needs and their wants. Responding to their wishes. Because you are building the web page for them - not for you, right?

So, take a look at your Web site and examine how does it fit with the psychology of your visitors. Keep in mind that people act and react differently on the web - so much so, that sometime it is difficult to believe that these are the same people who behave so "normally" in the "real" world.

1. They are always rushing

Maybe because they have soooo many places to visit, maybe because they feel guilty that they should be doing something else. Whatever the reasons - they are always in the hurry.

They have in their hands a deadly weapon (mouse) and they click away whenever they get bored (and they DO get bored really fast and easily).

Make sure then that your pages load fast, that you tell people quickly what and where they can find and provide them with a way to jump to any page from anyplace with really easy navigation.

2. They expect a LOT for free

People on the internet ARE on the internet because they know that it is a gold mine of free information. They are expecting to find it - and they will. Once they find it, if the gold mine is really rich - they come back for more. And they send their friends to visit the same places.

However, they simply refuse to come back to the place that didn't interest them when they landed there for the first time.

Build your offer around the rich, free content. Don't think about selling - but about what you can give. Then, and only then, offer them something so incredibly valuable, that your visitors will be willing to pay for it.

3. They don't trust easily

People on the net are often misinformed and even paranoid about buying on line. They are aware that anyone - even a 10 year old kid - can build an awesome Web site full of unique graphics and they need to be skilfully persuaded before they are ready to leave a name or e-mail address. And they need to be persuaded even more before they will hand you their credit card number.

Don't even think about selling something in the first paragraph - resist selling on the home page at all. Use it to establish rapport and to provide information. Romance your visitor and use as many ways as possible to inspire their trust.

4. They love to click

Their mouse-finger is literally begging them to click. They will request and subscribe to just about anything that somehow looks promising - as long as it is offered free of cost and you don't ask for too many information. Your visitors will enter chat rooms even if they plan to remain silent, they will vote, and they will even click on some advertising banners - all for that thrill of clicking.

Make sure then that you satisfy their need to push that mouse button while exploring YOUR site. Use that craving to your advantage - ask them to subscribe, to vote, to click for more information, to ask questions. If you don't give them opportunity to interact, they will click anyway: they will click to surf away.

Don't follow into the steps of those who try to change the surfers habits instead of taking advantage of them - it is a very costly mistake!

Wanda Loskot is international business coach/writer/speaker author of referral system that will make your business work so that you can rest or play - register to win one month of FREE business coaching! http://loska.com/successconnection.

For FREE subscription to her e-zine "Referrals Unlimited" send an e-mail to ru@oaknetpub.com with SUBSCRIBE in the BODY of message.