Friday, January 6, 2012

Making them click


I recently completed the book Neuro Web Design: What makes them click? by Susan M. Weinschenk (link), and I must say that there are quite a few times throughout reading it that I would just stop and say "Mother F*****!". Why? Not because the book was bad, in fact the book was very good. No the reason I would say that would be because I'd realize that I'd been sucked into things online without me even being aware of it.

I wont give away everything the book talks about, but I'll say what I'm taking away from it.

  1. Many of the decisions we make are unconscious ones. If we can engage the different parts of the brain then we can help facilitate unconscious decisions.
  2. Humans are social creatures. We like to be connected to others, do what others do, and we need to feel like we belong. Adding social functions to sites can be very powerful tools. Ask yourself this, how many times have you bought something because someone you know told you it was good? Or how often do you watch videos on YouTube because they were located in the "Recommended" section of the site.
  3. Knowing that something is scarce or only available for a short time increases your desire for that something.
  4. Less is more.
  5. If you want to sell something, list that item first.
  6. Getting people's attention is very simple if you:
    • Change things
    • Display food
    • Imply sex
    • Talk about "You"
  7. Attractive people make things they are advertising attractive (at least in our heads)
  8. Unleashing emotions in people is very powerful, especially when people feel like they are about to lose something
  9. Stories grab attention
  10. Like the old saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words". Use of pictures is far more memorable than text.