“Web users behave like wild beasts in the jungle,” says usability guru Jakob Nielsen. “People like to get maximum benefit for minimum effort.” When you’re creating links or subject headers for your newsletters, keep this in mind.
Although it’s often tempting to use word play or witty phrases to be different or intriguing, statistics show that explicitly described links are far more effective. Address users’ immediate needs as quickly as possible, and you’ll end up with happy customers and a more “sticky” site.
“Usage is like oxygen for ideas.” Matt Mullenweg explains, “You can never fully anticipate how an audience is going to react to something you‘ve created until it’s out there.” The moral? Your first release might not be perfect, but if you’re constantly tweaking instead of launching, you’re likely missing the boat. As one commenter put it, “This post is a great reminder to those of us with several dusty ideas in the back room waiting on that ‘one more thing …’”
“Compared to the creator,” Matt continues, “all critics are amateurs. When you make something, if you care about it, you know its shortcomings at a level far above anyone else could ever imagine, and so there’s a stronger temptation to try to preempt every possible problem by building more, and more, and more.”
Don’t be defeated by perfectionism.
The Travel Alberta Marketing Excellence (campaign over $5000 category) Alto Award recognizes creative marketing campaigns and projects that encourage travel to, and within, Alberta with budgets greater than $5000.
This year the campaign we created for our client, Alberta Pond Hockey, won first place! They beat Calaway …Park and the Calgary Stampede! “Not only did we want to host the largest pond hockey tournament in Alberta, we wanted to make a statement and showcase our community spirit,” says John Haney, president of the Alberta Pond Hockey Association.
