Most of us don’t like jerks who are always telling people what to do. I’m one of those people that likes to figure things out for myself, so if you tell me what needs to be done, I’ll either get it done or ask for help if I don’t know. But I don’t like to be told how to do something because it takes away my opportunity to figure it out.
But when it comes to your website, your visitors want to follow the alpha male. That’s right, they want to be told what to do and, in many cases, how to do it. [Tweet This] They want everything spelled out for them so there is no guesswork and no chance of getting it wrong.
In fact, they just don’t want to have to think about it.
I recently watched an episode of Malcolm in the Middle on Netflix. It was the episode where Reese joins the army. If you know anything about the show, Reese is the kid that doesn’t listen to anybody. But in the army, he finally gave up. He turned his brain off and did only and exactly what he was told to do. The drill sergeant says he’s never had a finer soldier cross his path.
Of course, hi-jinx ensue as the radios are broken and the commander cannot communicate with Reese. He is simply paralyzed, unable to make a decision. As a result, his team is soundly defeated in a war game.
But this is a great analogy to visitors on our website. If they are not told what to do, many will simply do nothing. Do you want them to “download” your ebook, or “buy your product”? Don’t make them have to figure that out for themselves, tell them. And make sure that you provide all the links and instructions along the way. It needs to be so easy, even Reese could do it.