Here’s a hypothetical.  You’re a business owner who has created and sells the world’s most amazing pen.  It never clogs, its ink is visible in three light spectrums and it comes in a one-of-a-kind color: celestial.  Well, congratulations; your website probably doesn’t need any kind of focus or direction because your product is one-of-a-kind, and you sell it by the gazillions.

Now, let’s try reality.  You’re an action coach who provides motivational and organizational mentoring to your clients.  You provide amazing service with a personal attention to your clients’ lives that is seldom seen.  But, the reality is, you’re competing with many other action coaches all vying for the same market share.  So, you decide to make a website to help build your business.  What’s the first step?

Believe it or not, the first step is perhaps the easiest, although many people overlook or struggle with this.  It’s just as simple as answering this questions:  “if a person makes it to my website, what do I want them to do there?”  A few common answers to this question are:

1. I want them to sign up for a newsletter.
2. They should buy something from my website this instant!
3. They need to know more about my essential service; have them call me!
4. I want their email address so I can get back in touch with them.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard the, “I just want them to stop by, look, then leave” answer.  But time and time again I see a website that serves as a brochure, but doesn’t entice, direct or otherwise encourage a person to DO something.

So, what do you do now that you have the answer to my simple question?  The next steps vary, but there are a few things to keep in mind when you implement it. Here are a few examples for obtaining an email address:

First, your answer, or call to action, should be one of the most prominently displayed items on your website.

If you want your client to send you their email, put it front and center!  Pick a spot at the top of the page, or prominently displayed on the sides, but for the love of all things virtual, don’t place it at the bottom of your website.  Also, keep in mind that your prospects are either very busy, or very lazy, but assume they are one or the other.  Do NOT give them complicated forms or questionnaires to complete.  Make it simple and to the point.  Remember, if your call to action is to get their email address, then ask for it without requiring a bunch of extra “stuff.”  Filling out an online form ranks up there with speaking repeat-a-english with a virtual phone customer service representative.  People want to talk to people, not give their life’s story to a form.

Second, if you’re asking for an email address, promise your client it’s safe.

I know that I’ve personally used about 10 different email addresses to “register” for a site just to get in, or sign up for something.  I have no idea what these sites use my email for, nor am I inclined to give them permission to use it as they see fit.  If you want a bona fide client email address, promise them it will be kept safe, won’t be sold, or used to market to (unless that’s a reason for asking for it) and tell them what the email will be used for.  The more assurances you give your prospect that you have their best interests at heart, the more likely they will be to give you their information.

Lastly, consider encouragement to get an email address.

These days the internet abounds with forms, questionnaires, and there’s a pervasive, give-me-all-your-personal-information attitude.  I can’t speak for everyone, but that has definitely affected the way I distribute my contact information.  Now, I adhere to the, ‘only if I absolutely must’ attitude.  So, if you want an email address, consider offering something for it.  Using the business coach example we used earlier, perhaps a summary of the top ten reasons why people don’t succeed and a synopsis of how to avoid them.  Or, if you’re in the position to do so, a free pass to a seminar to talk about your services.  Whatever you decide to use, consider it from the point of view of your prospective clients.  If you were in their shoes, would you give your email address for what was (or wasn’t) offered?

The first step to designing a website should be the most important in the entire design process.  Determine the purpose for your website, and implement a clear, concise, and obvious call to action.  Keep it simple, ensure your prospects’ information is safe, and offer something of value to accomplish your goal.  Doing this will increase the likelihood that a prospect will contact you for your service, especially if your competition’s website is a mere brochure!  And by the way, email me when you create the pen that doesn’t clog.

I’m using contrast here in a very broad sense, where it means that there are any two attributes of a single thing that are significantly different. Consider some examples, beginning with what we eat. Almost every meal we eat includes two or more foods. There really isn’t any reason beyond getting a wide variety of nutrients not available in a single food for us to prepare multiple foods when we eat. However, even if it covered every element of nutrition you needed, you would be unlikely to feel particular satisfied by eating the same single item with every meal.

Another very basic example is that we tend not to design objects to be of a single color. My laptop, on which I’m typing this now, has a number of buttons that when they are in the “on” position light up with a blue glow. The blue contrasts with the black of the plastic and is therefore pleasing.

Not every example is so trivial, though. While it may not have such a firm grip on its market as it once did, Monster was remarkable in the job listing website business because of the contrast between the generally serious matter of browsing through jobs and the more whimsical nature of cartoon monsters adorning the pages. Similarly, “Amazon” (at least to me) conjures up images of a rain forest where the only inhabitants have little if anything in the way of a written language, which contrasts heavily with the concept of an online bookstore. I’ve noticed Elizabeth regularly browsing a make-up site called “Beauty Whore.” Whatever you might feel about the name itself, it is certainly striking and memorable.

Even the name I picked for my online alter-ego, Dark Tortoise, was picked in part because of the contrast between “dark” and “tortoise.” If asked to name a bunch of things that are dark, especially if given the “sinister” definition of the word, it’s unlikely that “tortoise” would show up on your list anywhere in the top thousand.

I’ve been talking to my realtor friend, Ben, about ideas for a real estate website. Most such sites are, in my opinion, largely forgettable. They also tend to highlight the realtor, leaving the houses listed for sale as pretty much a set of photos and some basic attributes, like number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Buying a home, though, is largely an emotional decision with the house itself at the center of that decision. Thinking about contrast and that emotional factor suggests new ideas of how to present homes in an appealing, remarkable, and memorable way.

For example, we could present the homes almost as though they were people themselves so that the website visitor has the opportunity to be introduced to the homes and find one with a pleasing personality. We could include things like video testimonials about the houses given by either the developer or architect for new houses or the previous owners for resales. The presentation could even be made to look much like a typical (but well-designed) customized profile page on social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. The contrast between an inanimate object and the anthropomorphizing of that object would be unusual and notable.

Contrast, while not the only tool for creating distinction, seems a critical one. How could you apply new contrast to make something in your life more interesting, either to yourself or others as appropriate?