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The Big Red Fez - Seth Godin

The quickest read yet... I loved the simplicity of this book and really enjoy Godin's writing and thougt processes...

This book report is more of a bullet list, the things I like best and want to try myself are documented here so I can remember to try them soon

  • E-mail subscribe form - ask for just the e-mail address (it's all you need right now) and on the confirm page, ask for a bit more info
    • test multiple page collections
  • When users search and get no results - display the most viewed pages, top 10 search results w/hot links etc...
  • On a 404 error page - display the most viewed pages, top 10 search results w/hot links etc...
  • Cookie some information for users who have given us data so we remember them properly
    • Don't ask for an e-mail address each time
  • Each page on a site may have one and only one "banana" - define what that is and focus on it
    • Pick the most important thing on the page and use it as the lead banana - if there are other important things on the page - rotate them
  • Think of the web site as a pachinco machine - dump a huge amount of balls in at the top and let them filter down
    • Minimize the filtering because the balls won't go where you want them to - remove roadblocks
    • Balls are much more valuable at the bottom then they are at the top!
  • Put a simple e-mail link on every error page asking users to "tell us you saw this page"
  • Most users access web sites from work, during the day - we shouldn't force users to download videos or other high bandwidth applications
  • On thank you, confirmation pages - make additional offers for savings, special offers etc...
    • Join the presidents society now at 10% off!
  • Pop-ups are OK occassionally - but make sure the pop-up has a crystal clear banana!