Using the Lazy Web Surfer to Tackle a Complicated Multi-Page Website
By Sid Smith

Every so often I re-read parts of Nick Usborne's "Copywriting 2.0: Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts."

It's like getting a tap on the shoulder to remind me of what I already know. It's the same reason I keep reading books like "Breakthrough Advertising" by Eugene Schwartz, and drag out my AWAI copywriting course.

And, every time I read bits and pieces of these manuals or books, I get something new or different that I didn't get before.

That's what happened today. In the first chapter of Nick's course, he says, "Multi-page websites are complicated beasts."

Amen, brother.

What Nick says about becoming an architect instead of just a writer is right on the mark as well. His comments helped me with a breakthrough on one of my current projects, a new website for a PR consultant.

See, when someone says something is hard or complicated, I want to take it apart and see if I can put it back together more simply. The truth is that mutli-page websites ARE complicated beasts … but they don't have to be IF you approach it from the perspective of the lazy web surfer. Here's how:

1. Give Me Your Clothes …

Unlike direct mail where you're sending something to an unwary (and uninterested) prospect, website visitors are coming to you. They're like Arnold in the first Terminator movie. They come to you. They want your clothes, and they want them now.

From the moment they arrive at your home page until they leave your site, there is something specific that they want from you. They're not willing to wade through a jumbled home page with a hundred distractions.

Your visitors’ eyes go straight to the most dominant picture, then to the headline, and next to the navigation bar. Think of what they see on your page as a big letter "F".

That is, if they don't find what they want at the top of the page (a compelling headline, lead, or offer), they'll go to the navigation bar. Just make sure that your navigation makes sense to your visitor, using the exact words he or she would use if he stopped you on the street and asked, "Hey, where can I find some Italian food?"

2. Harry, Use Your Wand!

You can help your clients create a little magic on their websites by using a little Polyjuice Potion and becoming the lazy web surfer. Ask this question, first for the homepage, and then for each subsequent page on the website:

"What am I looking for on this page?"

A simple question, yes? The lazy web surfer has a one track mind that is easily distracted. Your job as the web architect and copywriter is to direct their attention straight to that ONE thing that they want. For example, here's a great headline from Rich Schefren, the "guru" of internet marketing gurus.

Why You’re Only One Business Obstacle Away
From a Million-Dollar Payday

It's the kind of headline that makes the web visitor scroll down the page to read more.

3. Tag, You're It!

Once you've got a sense of how the lazy web surfer thinks, you'll understand that he's not into playing hide and seek or tag with you. That's why some of the highest converting web pages aren't afraid to put the call to action at the top right of that letter "F" I told you about earlier. Hiding the call to action at the bottom of the page simply doesn't work as well online.

You'll often see the call to action (order button, opt-in form) at the top part of the right-hand column (the two horizontal lines of the "F").

And – this is important – it stands alone in that column.

The Point Is This …

Your clients will want to make their website complicated because they have "so much to say" and so many wonderful products or services to promote.

Don't bite that apple. Put yourself in the body of the lazy web surfer and simplify, simplify, simplify.

That's a lot of what Nick's program helps you do. Once you understand things from the perspective of the lazy web surfer, you'll never look at a complicated website the same.

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Published: July 15, 2009
Publication: Wealthy Web Writer