Getting and Keeping People's Attention at Your Site

Posted Saturday, October 25, 2003

A new discovery says that people are born to respond to information a certain way. It also indicates that when we use our in-born or natural style to process information, we relax and feel good. The same research also indicates that 92% of thousands tested have changed that style to one they think works better. The change causes stress. So 92% of the viewers of your site are you are stressed.

Because people often visit your site and click off almost instantly, you face the problem of getting their attention and keeping it long enough to persuade them to buy. The fact is that people today have shortened attention spans. If you don't get them in the first few seconds, you lose them! You can either build a terrific web site -- or just end up with "click throughs."

Many site owners think it enhances a site to add animation or cool sounds. But the answer is to make your site appeal to the individual. Great sites of the future will know how to "individualize" their message.

Even though we all have to learn how to use a computer, high tech has not made people think the same way. You are not battling high technology; you are fighting to keep the attention of three (3) basic in-born styles. This may sound overwhelming, but it is really a simple matter of anticipating a viewer's response before he or she gets to your site.

Anticipation of responses makes or breaks your site. So how do you anticipate how a viewer responds before it happens? It is really simple. You start by learning how you personally respond to information. Why is this the beginning place?

It is because you and the way you react when receiving or giving out information influence everything about your site. Next you learn about the other ways people respond to information. It is easy to begin anticipating reactions as you get a whole new perspective on how people are born to process information. Things start to make sense to you and people are no longer such a mystery. These conclusions are drawn after over 20 years of research.

The research verifies that it is possible to appeal to most views rather that 2 or 4 in a thousand. So, when someone tells you how to write killer copy, or make your site jazzy with new technology, you are hearing from only one of the basic in-born styles.

Take everything with a grain of salt until you evaluate it according to the simple guide that lets you appeal to ALL styles rather than only one.