In addition to writing, I’ve always loved psychology (more specifically, buyer behaviour – I guess that’s why I’m a copywriter!).
I’ve just picked up the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (2006) and it’s cleverly reminded me:
“The conscious brain can only handle about seven pieces of data at any one moment.”
When someone is given too many facts, then asked to make a decision, the prefrontal cortex becomes overwhelmed. People get confused. Bad choices are made.
‘Too much information’ is one of the most common problems I come across in my work.
I invite you to consider this research in relation to your website:
- Is its design messy or disorganised?
- Are all the pages on there really necessary?
- Does the copy written ultimately help someone make a decision to call – or simply put them off contacting you altogether?
Next time you’re updating your website, remember:
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” (Herbert Simon, political scientist)
Any questions, gimme a call. I’d be happy to discuss your web content with you.
Till next month…
Best wishes, Natalie and the Avion team
P.S. For those keen to read more, here are a four of my favourite psychology/marketing books (if you haven’t read them before!):
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini (1984)
- The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
- Purple Cow, by Seth Godin (2003)
- Resonate, by Nancy Duarte (2013)
Content tips & tricks
HOW TO WRITE WEB COPY THAT CONVERTS – 8 SIMPLE TECHNIQUES BASED ON 4 YEARS OF RESEARCH
By Michael Aagaard, ContentVerve.com
In this post I’ll give you 8 simple techniques that will help you get it right every time. These techniques are based on what I’ve learned from 4 years of research and 300 copy-related A/B tests.
HAS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANGED HOW WE WRITE WEB COPY? HERE’S WHY I THINK SO
By Demian Farnworth, The Copybot
Before a marketer’s job was two-fold: write a compelling landing page and drive traffic to that landing page. But the social media has changed all of that.
THE MOST ENTERTAINING GUIDE TO LANDING PAGE OPTIMIZATION YOU’LL EVER READ
By Oli Gardner, Moz.com
If you want to be a non-lame marketer, it’s really easy. Read this post, have a laugh, and treat everything I say as gospel. I’ll show you exactly when and how you should really be testing.
