How many sites have you seen that are one great big glorified "About Us" page? You can't read a sentence without being reminded over and over about what WE do and about how great WE are... Wait a minute! Where are the sentences that tell YOU what YOU can get from this website? Look as much as you like. You won't find any because there are none. At no point has anyone stopped to think about you and your needs. In fact, it doesn't really look as though anyone is interested in you at all.

Is this really the message your business should be trying to get across? "We are important, that's why all the copy is about us. And as for you? Well, sorry, you're not even getting a mention. Now, where was I? Ah yes. Another thing about us..."

What message are your visitors hearing?

Marketing a website is a bit like speed dating. You're faced with a stranger (your new visitor) - who you would really like to see again - and you have a very short time to make an impact. Are you putting yourself in your visitor's place, listening and reacting to them, anticipating their needs? Or are you pinning them against a metaphorical wall and lecturing them about your good points? Which approach is going to make them feel at home, encourage them to linger and come back for more? And which approach is going to elicit a polite smile and a quick exit?

It takes courage to take a step back from what your instincts tell you and approach your conversation with your visitor (for that is what it is) from a completely different viewpoint. When I started up my business, all I could think of putting on my website was a list of my selling points (and as there weren't many of those at that point, it was a rather short list!). I even felt that it would look more business-like if I used clipped text and lots of bullet points. Frankly, it was dull and rather desperate, and I wasn't fooling anyone into thinking I was some sort of major player.

Is your site a monologue or a dialogue?

I wasn't having a conversation with my visitor - it was an out-and-out monologue. Here's an example from my old 'Services' page:

Our skills combination of IT, design, animation and education gives us the edge.

We know how to get the message across.

Contact us for:

• in-depth consultation
• creative and innovative design solutions, etc.

I was quite proud of it at the time. Loads of bullet points! Stripped-down text! Not a single extraneous word! How professional!

Sadly, it didn't really tell anyone anything they wanted to know. People needing a new website weren't interested in the technical language - all they wanted to know was whether their website would work for them. And as a 'first date' opening gambit it was on a par with "Hallo. Now, let's talk all about me." Time for that polite smile and a very quick exit.

This is the start of my current Web Design Services page:

Do you feel that you need a website but aren't sure where to start?

Or perhaps you already have a website that just isn't doing much for you?

The first thing we'll do is sit down with you and listen to your needs. You are the expert on your business and you know your customers and their requirements.

See the difference?

'You' or 'We'?

And there you have it - WE belongs to the 'About Us' page. The rest of the website should be all about YOU. Try it. Go back to your home page and count how many 'we's and how many 'you's. Then check every page on your site and don't rest until you have got a real conversation going. Remember - it's a dialogue, not a monologue!

>> Article (4): Is anyone looking beyond my home page?

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