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When
you're hungry for a hardy meal you
pile on the toppings, carve up the
beef, spoon the legumes, slice the
whole grain bread. You'll pass,
thank you, on that fluffy Jell-O
mold. You want meat and potatoes,
not puff.
So
it is with serious visitors to
your PR pages. They yearn for more
than just eye candy. They want
texture, taste, substance. Of
course they came to learn more
about your company. But they'll
come back for seconds if you can
top it off with a little extra.
Large
companies spend big bucks
profiling who all is on the Web
and what it is they're looking
for. Take a free ride on their
research. The L.L
Bean site provides useful
travel information on national
parks. Black
& Decker proffers handy
home-improvement tips. The Tampax
site shares secrets on health and
looking good.
The
most enticing Web pages are timely
and useful. Even the best content
becomes stale after a few
servings. Keep your offerings
fresh and toss in a few surprises.
That'll keep 'em coming back, even
if only for a quick nibble.
And
it's worth taking the extra time
to word it just right, or paying a
professional for well-crafted
copy. Michael Kinsley, editor for
Microsoft's Slate,
says, "When I go to a
restaurant, I want the chef to
prepare my meal, not the guy at
the table next to me."
Information
should be spooned in appealing
bite-sized bits if you want them
to swallow. I've found the writing
voice best suited for the Web is a
short, snappy broadcast style;
fewer words per sentence, fewer
thoughts per subject. Long blocks
of boring black text will be
clicked behind in a flick of the
mouse whiskers.
And
even the best writing is just so
much Spam if it's without
something worthwhile to say.
Construct
your PR pages on a foundation of
substance. Give, give, give, to
your valued visitors. Share your
company’s passion and interests.
Serve it with a flourish, ring the
dinner bell, and they'll come
running.
-
Steven R. Van Hook
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