After some cross country travel and a return to Fort Collins,
I’m “back in the saddle” as they say up in Wyoming, and places
that wish they were Wyoming.

I recently discovered an important secret about the written
content that we’re putting on our websites that I want to share
with you as soon as I read it.  Like a lot of wisdom, it’s
almost too simple to be true, yet is true nonetheless.

It’s from Jakob Nielsen, who has long been regarded as the
internet’s first and foremost usability researcher.  In fact, he
found out this secret way back in 1997, when I was still
beginning college.

That’s the funny thing about the web though, the more things
change, the more they stay the same.  Reason why is something
that gets lost in all the technobabble – at the end of the day,
it’s still you talking to me.  (Or the other way around)

The thing about human communication is that it has developed
over 10,000 years, with the story being the most compelling and
memorable way to communicate.  Once the written form was
developed, the first major texts were all books of stories,
being passed down.  For instance, the Bible.

1997 is nothing when you compare it to 10,000 years, which puts
a little perspective on things.  So with all this important
communication occurring via sales letters, blog posts,
tweeterings, and what not, here’s what Jakob has to say about
what you put on your website:

“How Users Read on the Web: They don’t” – Jakob Nielsen, Web
Usability Expert

Which begs the question – why put such an effort into all this
writing when most people don’t read it anyway.

Well, it comes back to a fundamental of web design.  And that is
- who are you designing for.

On the first try, you might say “everyone who visits my
website”.  And that would be incorrect.

The beauty of the web is that you’re designing for a small
percentage of folks who REALLY want to be there.  And nobody
else.  So the rub is that the majority of visitors will find you
putrid, annoying, and want to leave immediately.  And they will
do that.

But for a small subsection of folks, they LOVE you.  Right
away.  That’s who you want to keep around.

The typical web visitor is in a hurry.  So they’ll scan your
text to find what they’re looking for.  They’ll scan headlines,
pictures, hyperlinks – and then if you’re giving them what they
want, they’ll go further.

That’s when the reading actually happens.

It’s just that you have to get it to happen.

That’s where proven design comes in.  It takes the words you
have on paper (or screen, in this case) and ensures that your
headlines grab the visitor and pull them in further.  It uses
the right fonts and color combinations to ensure that you’re
getting your point across.  And most importantly, it’s setup in
such a way that someone can easily find what they’re looking for
in record time.

Because another proven fact is that it typically takes at least
12 touches with a prospect before they begin to buy from you.

And if you’re not compelling on the first touch, there won’t be
11 more to go.

An incredibly simple and easy way to ensure that you’re website
stays compelling for the right people – that is, those who want
to send you money, is to get your design right.  Here’s a low
cost way to ensure that your website’s design is right the first
time, right out of the gate.

Stay compelling,
-Wally

P.S. — Shoot me an email if you’re interested in hearing details about the “Automatic Follow Up System” that I put in place for one of my star clients.  It’s so powerful that I’m not sure if I’m going to release the details into the public yet.  http://www.wallythewebguy.com/contact.htm

P.P.S. — Random buzz: I just found that Obama’s garden at the White House has bees, and being a beekeeper, that made me pretty happy.

I’m sitting here in a coffee shop about 100 miles outside
Asheville, North Carolina at one of America’s oldest craft
schools – Penland School of Crafts.  It’s a beautiful mixture of
old buildings and studios, ranging from clay, to woodwork, to
metal craft, and looms and stitching (among others).

Not that I’m doing any of that, craft really isn’t my thing.
My craft is on the web, so here I am with the free wifi and
caffeine.

But it’s awesome to be around so much creative energy.  Last
night I was hanging around with all the teachers (one of the
perks of being married to Melinda, who’s teaching stitching) and
the school’s director, and she asked me if I could feel the
creative energy flowing.  Of course I said yes without any
hesitation, and everyone laughed at me.  I guess they didn’t
believe me, but that’s okay.

So what do you do if you’re not a crafter but you have 2 weeks
in the Blue Ridge mountains at one of the world’s greatest craft
schools?

For starters, you take advantage of the fresh air and slow
things down to a crawl.  We’re pretty far off the map, so it’s
not hard to slow down and just take in the clouds rolling
peacefully through the green valleys.  I know, sounds kinda
hippy dippy, but trust me it’s relaxing.

Then you spend a lot of time walking around and checking out all
the cool stuff that people are making.  Stuff like pottery, and
wooden book covers, and narrative maps that are hand stamped,
stitched, and evolving before your very eyes.  One lady even
managed to weave her own cloth, then stitch micah rocks and pine
needles into patterns.  Pretty amazing.

But one of the best parts are the slide shows every night.

They’re simply outstanding.  Here you have the teachers and
artists themselves, showing their body of work from all these
different disciplines.  Last night, we saw work from Fritz
Hoffman, who has been taking pictures for National Geographic
magazine in China over the last few years.

In fact, in 1995, the first time he moved to Shanghai, he
realized that he was the only western photographer on the ground
and just went to work.  At that time, he didn’t speak a lick of
mandarin, so don’t let not speaking the language hold you back
from anything – it can be learned.  And he learned it.

Among the many, many amazing photographs he showed us, was one
that had me laughing.  It was an aerial view of a guy laying on
a bed, getting acupuncture treatment.  Nothing weird there, in
China.  Except he was being treated to cure his, get this,
Internet Addiction.

I suppose we humans can make a disease out of anything.  After
all, once you’ve got it, someone’s got to heal it.  But of
course my ears perked up when I heard “Internet Addiction” and
immediately wondered if perhaps I should travel to China and get
some treatment.

Instead, I’m going to be spending some time treating myself (and
you too) by getting the Wally the Web Guy blog up and running,
which will be a good way to burn off the caffeine.  It’s also a
good way to increase readership of these email newsletters, a
fact I’m only mentioning because I want you to know that YOU can
do it too.

You’ve got a good message to get out there.  So get it out
there, and know that if you are putting out good content, you’ll

have some “internet addicts” following you too.  Especially if
you liberate your content to do some work for you through
the Ultimate Blog Add-On Service.

Enjoy your week,
-Wally

P.S. – Check out how the “Prime Minister of Pawn” was able to
create a following almost immediately using his custom Blog.
If he can do it, you can too: http://www.pawnonomics.com

P.P.S. – It’s all about getting your message out there, getting
found by the right people, and having them buy from you.
Easiest way to do that here.