TOC #56: They're Just Not That Into You...Yet
(January 25, 2022) Avoiding overwhelming your readers with too much personal info on your website
Oh my god, there they are.
Damn, they're cute.
Okay, play it cool. Act like you're not totally shocked that they swiped right on you.
EEEP they're walking over here. Okay, chill. Be yourself.
“Hi!”
Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod.
Well, say something back, dummy!!!
“Hi.”
K. Real smooth.
“It's so nice to meet you! Let's get to know each other better. Tell me about yourself!”
Okay. They're asking about you. You got this. There's no way you can mess this up.
“well, I've been in the city for a few months, I first moved here for my job—I work as a…”
Great start! Setting the scene. Perfect.
“…and I grew up in Nebraska, so…”
Alright! A bit about your background, how you got here, not bad…
“…and then the chickens just wouldn't stop jumping all over us, and my mom would always scream at us to not go in their coop and to just collect the eggs and you know I think that's when I first discovered that she didn't love me as much as other moms loved their kids and I tried to make up for it by being perfect but turns out I was actually really bad at school so then I tried painting to maybe get an art scholarship but sucked at that too and the chickens were actually my only friends so…”
Um, bestie? I think it's time to reel it back in a bit…
“…so, yeah, that's how I spent the entire winter of 1987. But it got better around 1993, when I finally decided to call up that old friend who…”
Seriously, stop talking. Now. I think they're nodding off.
“…and I was never expecting to do it, I mean I'm not the type to even think about trying to sky-dive, but I'm also really easily influenced and…”
Uhhhh… they just left.
No—no, don't get up. They're gone. There's nothing you can do about it.
What do you MEAN you don't know why they left? You seriously don't know?
I hate to break it to you, but…
You gave up WAY too much personal information too soon. They just weren't that into you… yet.
They barely knew who you were—you can't just launch into a story about your chickens and failed art aspirations and skydiving experience and expect them to be fully engaged when you just met them…
It's okay, don't feel bad. You'll get 'em next time.
Here, take my phone—read BTL's Tuesday Table of Contents newsletter from this week. She talks all about how to ease into conversations like this.
Well, actually, her advice is more about websites, but… I'm sure you can apply it to your dating life, too.
In fact, you probably should…
They're Just Not That Into You… Yet. Let's Fix That.
As you may have guessed, today's topic is:
Figuring out when it's appropriate to start telling your readers more about yourself on your website.
Because, let's be real, websites and first dates have a LOT in common.
You want to make a great first impression, and keep their interest for longer than that initial first date—or first page.
…and, typically, kicking things off with a bunch of personal information word vomited out (before the person on the other side has even determined whether or not there's any level of attraction) isn't the best strategy.
Scott Brinker, VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, calls this sagging page syndrome.
“Trying to cram as much as possible onto one page puts the burden on the [reader] to sift through it," Brinker says. "Unfortunately, most of the time they're just not that into you yet.”
And because I know you're now wondering, “well, how DO I get them to become ~into me~ then?!” I'm going to skip ahead to that.
There are 5 questions your readers want answered by your homepage:
“Who are you?” (at the basic level—not the weird chicken coop childhood trauma level from the story above)
“What are you an expert in?” (aka what do you do?)
“Who do you serve?” (aka who do you do it for?)
“How can I benefit from your offerings?" (aka what's in it for me?)
“What do I do next?” (don't leave ‘em hanging and don’t assume that the next step is obvious—explicitly tell them what to do next: contact you? read about your services? download your lead magnet?)
To learn more about WHY your homepage needs to answer each of those questions and HOW to answer them (with examples from real websites I've written!), click the button below for the full post.
Hi, I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. Thanks for reading this edition of the Tuesday Table of Contents! If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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xo, Sara