By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting (Pty) Ltd
One of the quickest ways to get me to unsubscribe, fire you as a service provider or indeed walk into your competitors lair, is to irritate me.
You see, for me it is not just about what the offering is, it’s not just about the product or even the service – for me it’s about the whole experience. It’s about how that whole experience makes me feel (and I don’t necessarily mean in a warm and fuzzy or touchy feelie kind of way). Does it make me want to return, does it make me want to share (in a good way or even when I’m spitting mad), does it make me smile or laugh, does it make me want to change something?
Reading for me, be it articles or magazines or books, have the same kind of effect. Is it written in a simple manner that is easy to read and understand? Does it bring forth images that make me smile or laugh or even cry and squirm or shake with anger? Not every ‘good’ experience is sweetly pleasurable – some sadden and make me think and then act, some challenge and some . . . . well, they just irritate!
They irritate because they are too technical or they use words that necessitate me being permanently attached to the dictionary or they are so devoid of any type of truth or figment of reality that I am blinded by a red mist of anger and indignation at the fact that someone would even think that I would be caught up in their absolute nonsense!
Like many, I do not like to steeped in and surrounded by negativity and if I am reading something that constantly brings this emotion to the forefront, I will stop and move onto the next article.
As a creature of habit, I usually return time and time again to the same sites. When I find an article that I enjoy on a site, I will usually ‘follow’ it to see what else comes up. That said however, I can just as easily ‘unfollow’, which is something that I will do from time to time, if I become disgruntled and irritated with the author or their content.
The reality is that I am not any different to anyone else out there in terms of how I deal with my own set of particular likes and dislikes. The reality is that there are truckloads and more, of information out there – useful stuff, enjoyable stuff and of course a load of nonsense too. It’s freely available to anyone and everyone. The only thing between someone reading your articles or not is the choice that they make about the experience that they are having.
So, if you want your readers to keep coming back, time and time again, you have to make sure that you do not irritate and annoy them. Make sure that every article equates to a memorable experience.
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za
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