5 ways to make sure you don't bore your site visitors

There’s a scene in the film Airplane where a young man literally bores his seat neighbours to death

Here are a few ways to avoid the website equivalent, sending your visitors off to the next website as fast their flying fingers can take them

1) It’s all about the visitor

Write about your customers. No one wants to know about you unless knowing about you helps them know how you can help them. That means describing the state they’re in and how you will help them.

Instead of….

Curtain maker - “I make beautiful curtains that will liven up any living room.”
Therapist - “I’m a trained psychotherapist specialising in common mood disorders.”
Drama School - “We train actors to become professionals in the industry.”

Try…

Curtain maker - “Your curtains are ancient and make your living room look shabby and that’s making you sad. I can help fix that.”
Therapist - “You’re suffering at the moment, to the point of it making life unmanageable, talking to someone has been proven to help. I’m here.”
Drama School - “You’ve always wanted to act but have no idea what the first step to achieving this might be. Here’s a step-by-step guide.”

2) Don’t write reams and reams of text. If you need to give lots of information, break it up

Sub headers

People find it reassuring and helpful to scan a page and know the gist of the content they’re about to read.

Bullet points

Never underestimate the brevity of the attention span of an average web user. Bullet points will

offer information concisely and quickly
avoid the pre-exhaustion that comes with being faced with a solid wall of content
improve the effort v reward ratio
provide a speedy overview of your service

It’s also a very helpful exercise to distil your offering into distinct parts, both for you and the customer.

Images

Images will do some of the heavy lifting required to get your message across leaving less work for your text to do.

They’ll also give the analytical part of the visitor’s brain a rest, letting the emotional/creative part engage.

3) Did you know that…

… by asking a question you directly involve your visitor? This is a much more effective way of engaging a site visitor than simple presentation. Particularly if you make it a fun fact.

Did you know that a goldfish actually has a longer attention span than the average web user?