“It’s Easy!” (For whom???)
Just as one person’s trash is another’s treasure…one person’s “easy to use” is another’s “OH MY GOD! What do I do??? What? What?”
This applies to everything from easy toilet repairs (takes me hours to do what a plumber could do in minutes) to writing marketing copy. (“Hey, marketing is easy, I’ll just read a book!”)
And so we come to writing that copy. I’ve been working with a client for over a year now - thinking, talking, writing, rewriting, packaging, repackaging, talking some more…Part of the challenge is how to talk about “ease of use” in ways that are meaningful to someone other than the developer or a super tech geek.
As the Web poobahs at GrokDotCom note in yesterday’s post re web copy:
Just remember, “easy to use” won’t reassure visitors — and a visitor with doubts usually clicks away, fast. If you want her to buy, you’ll have to give her credible assurances that are tailored to her real anxieties.
This advice also applies to any type of communications. Simply saying something is “easy” doesn’t cut it. You’ve got to put some thought into how it’s easy - and if it really is for someone other than you. (And, if you say “it’s easy to sell” to a distributor, tell them why…and how…)
Related Posts:
No, I Won’t Write Your Brochure.
Marketing is Easy! I’ll Just Read A Book!
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December 12th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Easy is relative. Congratulations on a site that is deceptively simple. I can only imagine what went on behind the scenes. Yeah, I think I’ll read a book and update my own! Happy Holidaze.
December 12th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
The discipline of this can be tricky. So make a list of concrete attributes which convey the subjective. So “Easy” could mean:
- Useful in 20 minutes
- Fixes itself when broken
- Mr. Farber’s second grade class uses it
It reminds me of the time I wanted to use the phrase “No Brainer”. Didn’t do it. Instead talked about the product and many times a potential customer would say “That’s a no-brainer”. Mission accomplished.