Two weeks ago I attended Bend Webcam, a two-day conference that dissects online creativity and marketing. National thought-leading speakers shared their expertise in such thought-provoking detail I thought my head was going to pop right off of my neck and explode. To say I learned a lot about how to create effective websites would be an understatement. A group of friends/colleagues and I plan to get together repeatedly over the next few weeks and months to review the information and discuss how it applies to each of our sites. Hmm. I have three with a fourth on the way since I’m launching a new travel-related arm of my business. But more on that later. In the meantime, bonus for me!
Of all the presenters, Dr. Susan Weinschenk, author of How to Get People to Do Stuff, excited me the most. To be honest, I actually understood her entire presentation, which I can’t say about some of the others speakers who were more technical. Yes, I confess. I’m a techno weenie. Nonetheless, here’s just a part of what I took away from Dr. Weinschenk’s keynote speech and subsequent workshop/breakout session the following day about creating effective websites:
- If you want people to really think about an issue, use a hard-to-read font. That slows them down and jolts them out of System 1 thinking (which is easy and spontaneous) and into System 2 logical thinking.
- Using stories to get your point across works for two reasons:
- Research shows that people process information best in story form because they understand material presented that way faster and better. Along the way, they form an emotional connection which helps them remember it.
- We tell ourselves our own self-stories that are very powerful.
- Humans are resistant to change. If you want people to make a big change, get them to make a tiny change that doesn’t go against their sense of who they really are. The same idea applies to writing. If you’re having trouble getting yourself to write, don’t try to carve out a two-hour slot. Start with just ten minutes most days of the week.
- The reptilian part of our brain, which is the oldest part, wants to know three things only: Can I eat it, can I have sex with it, will it kill me? Any time you show photos of food or talk about food, you will grab people’s attention. I guess that means I’m going to start sharing my monthly restaurant reviews on my blog. Ha!
- Social validation in the form of testimonials and reviews by “regular” people are even more effective selling tools than expert endorsements. The more information the reviewer provides (name, home location, thumbnail photo), the more effective the testimonial.
That’s just the start of what I learned from Dr. Weinschenk, but I don’t want your head to pop off your head. Besides, contrary to common wisdom that says we can retain up to seven facts or ideas, people only remember three to four things at a time. So I’ve exceeded my limit.
I hope you can put these insights to good use. Please let me know if they make a difference in your writing or your business.
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