seductive interfaces |
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All successful seducers exhibit their own personality, a style that is accurate as well as diferent. They might be warm, sincere, charming, sympathetic, and understanding. Your site has to have some personality, an unfortunately most don't. Most sites aren't warm or even welcoming. They're often techno-cyber-psychodelic. While this may be appropriate for the occasional audience, most audiences are looking for something more approachable, less standoff-ish, and more genuine. How a site looks, what it says, how it addresses they audience, and how it treats them is what creates this personality. Mystery is often helpful--just not so much that it becomes confusing.
People will evaluate whether your site is right for them much like they would with another person. Janet O'Neal reminds us that "You will be enticing if you look and act sensual, real, and touchable." Your solutions--websites, products, whatever--will need to do this as well.
Right or wrong, people do this inherently, whether they realize it or not. It's just another one of our design constraints. Ask your audience if this is an experience that they want more of, that makes them feel good about themselves, that helps them accomlish something important to their personal goals, that they would recommend to a close friend?
It is imperative that you treat your audience as more than customers, and certainly more than a set of interchangeable eyeballs only there for you to sell to advertisers.
In essence, you need to flirt with you audience.
Flirting isn't just a way of enticing people, it's also a way of showing respect and admiration. Janet O'Neal describes it as a way of saying "I find you exceedingly attractive. If things were different, I'm sure we could make the most wonderful love together. But since I'm/you're not free. Please accept my admiration instead."
She continues... "The essence of flirting is to create a closed, private, world between the two of you."