Recently I had the pleasure of attending a performance of the Broadway hit musical, Wicked. The San Francisco production completely lived up to its billing, with dazzling light shows, clever set design and imaginative choreography. The acting was engaging, the two leads superb.
Yet, even with the top notch design, direction and cast, that is not what remained with me
late into the evening and for days to come. So what did stay with me?
The story.
Speaking as a writer, this came as no surprise. And for anyone engaged in web content writing, this should not be news for you, either. But lets dig a little deeper.
In any good theatrical tale, the story is the framework upon which everything else is built. No matter how good the production elements may be, a weak story produces a weak show.
The same is true of our web pages, blog posts and other web content writing.
Lets return to Wicked for just a moment, and ask a question that playwrights, dramaturgs and directors ask over and over again. What does the audience want? The most common answer: they want to feel something, to be moved. In fact, they want to somehow be transformed by the experience.
The audience wants change.
The ways in which the characters change – are effected by events and each other – is what we latch onto and what we take with us, when we leave the theater. That’s the transformation we truly want to experience. We relate to it in unexpected ways, pulling up memories and long forgotten events from our own lives.
A good story effects us, causes us to feel something, and in a way, we too are changed.
The same could be said of your presence on the Internet.
If your website or blog is beautifully designed, it may catch the attention of your visitors. However, that’s not why they came. Unless you’re a web designer, your marketing probably does not include phrases like “flashiest site on the web,” or “most colorful blog of the year.”
The main goal of the graphic design of your site should be to call attention to your content. That’s it. Graphically, the site can be as elaborate or as plain as suits your needs. Just keep in mind, the design supports the content.
Make no mistake, your visitors come to your site to be effected by what you have to offer. Whether it’s a solution to a big problem, or a small one, they’re looking for something.
Your visitors want change.
And you must provide it, or the possibility of it. That must be reflected in your web content writing. If not, their visit will be short and they’re unlikely to return. Pay attention not only to what you say, but how you say it. Engage your visitors with your words.
And then, like the witches of Wicked, what you say will stay with them, and they will want to read more.
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