I was sitting in a fastfood restaurant last week, I sat down on a dining chair waiting for my order stirring the straw in my cup while I observing the area around me. I was looking at a man in front of me as he munched a burger with his right and read a newspaper with his left. There it strikes me, websites and fastfood restaurants have similar goals: attract consumers and to keep them satisfied. Information is the food for your readers.
These are things that I have discovered with relative patterns between websites and fastfood restaurants:
Brand Image
Customer’s image of McDonald’s is about burgers and fries, Taco Bell is about Tacos, Starbucks is about Coffee. How about you? How do you want your readers to view you? Do you want them to view your site as a professional blog writer, a comedian, a skilled artist, a caring organization.
Provide Customers with Convenience
Put out chairs and tables, show them a big menu screen in front of the counter, display your products, design your space to make them feel relaxed and provide fast, reliable service. Make it simple, convenient, and hassle free for them to order.
When it comes to your site, your readers should be able to find what they want and if possible this should be a one click process.
This means:
- Where can I find your latest blog? “Click”
- Where can I find your popular posts? “Click”
- I like this post, where can I find more of these? “Click”
No, not this:
- Where can I find your latest blog? “Click” “Click” “Click” “Click”
- Where can I find your popular posts? “Click”… “Click”… “Click” “Click”
- I like this post, where can I find more of these? “Click”… “Click”
Display Posters and Advertisements
Don’t read this literally! What I mean is update your readers via email, feeds or newsletters. Let your readers know what you are up to, inform them that you have a new blog post for them to read. I call these updates posters and advertisements because it builds awareness and your community will know that you have new things for them.
That’s it! Your turn, what do you compare your website/blog with?
Photo credit: friend_faraway
