Kreskin’s Tips to Make Your Site Sticky

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.

When I was a kid there was a TV show that constantly fascinated all us Canadian kids called The Amazing Kreskin. Kreskin knew what people were thinking because he had ESP (extra sensory perception) and a simple catalogue reminded me that if we want to run a profitable website or online business, we all need this essential skill

A couple days ago a catalogue arrived in my mailbox. I had never heard of the company before, and certainly hadn’t requested the catalogue. I admit that since it was electronics related and I am a guy after all, I did have about a millisecond of thinking it was interesting before I decided to toss it in the recycling.

Then The Kreskin Factor Kicked In

Here’s the front cover (click to enlarge). I had decided to toss it, but during the time it took for me to walk from my front door to the waste bin, the catalogue managed to change my mind and actually get me to give it another chance.

After I looked through the catalogue, when I sat and thought about what happened to get me to change my opinion, I realized that this was the same process of instantaneous judgments that we utilize everyday online (some say the process of deciding whether or not we like a website happens in as little as 50 milliseconds).

Here was the course of events:

1. I received the catalogue in my hand, and decided to put it in the recycling bin.

2. I noticed, even before the title, since it is more prominent, the phrase “We’ll guide you through.” This started the process of me believing there was actually something to this magazine that was for my benefit and not just a pure sales job.

3. I noticed the “Products ship from Ontario” sentence at the bottom. If you’re Canadian this is a serious benefit, since we are constantly bombarded by offers from the U.S. that take 6 weeks to arrive or end up getting caught in customs and having service charges applied.

4. Then as I opened the cover my eyes landed on page 3 which included a picture of the guy in charge and his signature and welcome statement. This is important because it is now much more difficult to believe this is a rip-off organization. There’s a nice man that looks like my Grandfather telling me about his company. Of course, I’m willing to buy from him and his 33 years of experience in the industry.

5. “Free Comprehensive Lifetime Tech Support” This is a great way to build credibility since it addresses the fear of many that they won’t be able to figure out what to do and will be abandoned with a new purchase.

Notice how the “what’s inside” section is practically the least important element on the first 3 pages. They are building trust first.

6. Then on the inside cover, the third page that I looked at, I discovered the “5 Hot products…” As any webmaster who isn’t living under a laptop knows, “Top X” lists have a magical effect to get people involved and interested in your topic.

How Does This Apply to a Website?

Very simple. Basically everytime someone new comes to your website, they come with their finger on the mouse and with one click they can put you in the virtual recycling bin. In fact they have already made up their mind to do so before they even get to your site.

The strategic and purposeful use of ESP as illustrated in the catalogue breakdown is necessary to pull the finger back from the mouse button and allow curiosity to have a chance to consider your message.

Know Your Audience

We are immediately defensive when we are pitched or approached (it is pure instinct, these days we can lose a few bucks, but in our distant cave dwelling past, a single mistake could cost your life - we’re still dealing with the same brain patterns), therefore trust is taken almost immediately and it needs to be skillfully won back, by easing the concerns of the visitor and defusing the triggers that cause suspicion.

Kreskin used ESP, and you’ll need to develop something similar to do well in any business. Know your customer’s thoughts before they even come to your site. There are three thing you must do to make your site sticky:

1. Communicate clearly, in a manner that can be identified before the 50 milliseconds are up: what’s the benefit of reading your site.
2. Answer all their objections and calm any fears well enough so that their curiosity has a chance to pull them in further.
3. Provide some content of interest that will get visitors excited and move them to deepen their relationship with you and your site.

It’s likely that only experience will allow you to develop audience ESP, but it can be sped up by paying attention to comments (especially the negative ones), asking for opinions (especially from people who are not your traditional readers) and from analyzing other sites that make a really strong positive impression on you.

Browse Timeline

• « My Project Evaluation Spreadsheet
• » 6 WordPress Plugins to Increase Earnings

Comments ( 3 )

Add a Comment