Humans are hardwired for stories. Our earliest communities used storytelling to transmit beliefs and information from one generation to the next. Even today, we teach our children to respond to stories, whether it’s The Tales of Peter Rabbit or The Time Aunt Becky Got Smashed during Christmas Dinner.

Today, marketers use stories as a powerful way to connect with consumers. You can use storytelling to sell too, if you know when and where to use it.

The Power of Storytelling

Stories are powerful because they combine fact and emotion. In marketing, you can use facts alone to make an argument: Our dish detergent cleans 15% better than the competition. But stories emotionally engage the reader:

Before I tried this dish detergent, my dinner guests were appalled at the soap scum left on my dishes. Today, I can entertain without worry or embarrassment.

So what makes for a good story? There are some common elements, such as a hero you can identify with, an obstacle to overcome, a climax or turning point, and a resolution or transformation. These elements are common to most good stories, whether it’s at the movie theatre, in a book or on the back of a cereal box.

Chanel N°5 and the Run Away Movie Star

You may remember this TV ad featuring Nicole Kidman and Chanel N°5:

The ad is like a movie plot condensed into two minutes. You have a hero to identify with (unshaven male lover or perpetually surprised movie star, your pick), the obstacle (she needs to stop dodging taxi cabs), the turning point (stick-in-the-mud manager insists she gets off the roof and back on the red carpet), and resolution (they settle on loving each other via Skype with maybe the odd naughty email).

Tell a Story or Shut Up and Make the Sale?

Part of good storytelling is knowing when to tell the story, and when to shut up. In marketing, much of it depends on the purpose of the story and what stage of the purchase decision process people are in. Have your potential customers recognized a unmet need? Are they looking for information? Are they evaluating alternatives? If so, storytelling can be a great way to persuade.

For example, the Chanel ad would work well with people who have no immediate plans to buy perfume. Even if you haven’t been thinking about buying perfume, the ad might get you started. The romance! The adventure! The smell! If you’ve been thinking about buying perfume, the ad might convince you to include Chanel N°5 in your list of perfume choices.

Incidentally, the ad also provides reassurance to consumers who’ve already bought the perfume. Look at how glamourous she is! I knew I made the right decision to buy Chanel during those five minutes at YVR duty free.

However, if the consumer has already made the decision to buy your brand, storytelling can get in the way. If you’ve ever had a beloved uncle who responds to any question with long, detailed stories about the war, you’ll know how painfully unproductive this is.

For this reason, visitors to Chanel’s website aren’t treated to stories about run away movie stars. Instead, the site has straightforward listings of products and store locations. After all, if you’re checking out the Chanel website, you’ve probably already decided to buy Chanel.

The situation is different for websites optimized for search engines. People are much more likely to land on your site as a result of conducting online research, before they’ve made a specific buying decision. In this case, storytelling can be a great way to engage visitors and generate sales.

Storytelling on About Us Pages

When you find storytelling on websites, it tends to be on the about us page. These pages often tell the story of the company’s founders, how they grew from Mom and Pop potato farmers into an international potato chip conglomerate. It allows the company to show their humble roots and values, and show how they carry these through today. McDonald’s website, for example, tells the story of founder Ray Kroc and his emphasis on quality, service, cleanliness and value.

Does your company have a story to tell? Should you tell it? Take a look at where your marketing channels intersect with consumer purchase decisions. You probably have an opportunity to tell an engaging story, one that your audience might want to share.

As a copywriter and creative type in general, I’m a big fan of the Apple brand and its many polished products. But it hasn’t always been easy to be a member of the Apple faithful. In fact, my loyalty has been tested by two elements: fire and water.

Apple Flambé: What Happened to Compatibility?

About three years ago, my office decided to convert our web copywriting company into a full-fledged Apple operation, complete with MacBook Pros, doc stations, Airport wireless, servers — the whole bit. We made the switch from PC in the hopes of better reliability and to get more in sync with our web designer clients. At the same time, I decided to go ‘all Apple’ at home. Everything was going great until I decided to charge my iPod Shuffle via my new MacBook Pro.

“Daddy, maybe Apple and Apple things shouldn’t go together,” observed my young daughter after watching the iPod Shuffle disintegrate into a bubbling mass of flaming plastic 10 minutes after plugging it in.

Luckily, we were present when the iPod decided to iCombust and were able to quickly extinguish the flames. We tried not to think about what might have happened had the Shuffle decided to meltdown the night before, positioned on the dresser next to photos, brochures and other kindling. (And, fortunately, it wasn’t in anyone’s pocket — check out Hot Pants, another crazy scenario.)

The MacBook Pro seemed completely un-phased by the event (kudos to its aluminum casing), but we hesitated to plug in any other components without having a fire extinguisher handy.

This experience didn’t seem to support Apple’s core values of good design and compatibility.

iPod Shuffle Goes for a Swim

Fast-forward three years. Returning home from the gym, I stuck my current iPod Shuffle in my pocket so I wouldn’t forget to charge it. I got home, tossed my clothes in the wash, started the ‘standard’ 59-minute warm/cold water cycle, and headed to the kitchen to blend a protein shake.

A couple hours later, I realized my iPod was missing. I looked in my gym bag, my car, my home office — and then it hit me. Sure enough, I found the music player in the wash with my freshly cleaned track pants.

I sighed, removed the earphones, placed the player on my desk, and let it sit for a few hours. That night, I tried to turn it on. No light, no response. I tentatively plugged it in its dock to charge. The power light came on. I waited a few more minutes, plugged in the earphones and violà — Foster the People’s Pumped Up Kicks came through loud and clear.

Today, thanks to the wash cycle, my faith in Apple has been restored. I wouldn’t recommend dumping your Apple devices in the laundry, but by all means plug them into your laptop (maybe keep an eye out, just in case). Long live Apple.

Webcopyplus recently stole a moment from Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneurial legend, celebrated author and former chief evangelist of Apple (he was one of the employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh back in 1984 — enough said). We shot a few questions at him, and you might — or might not — be surprised to learn what brand he’d like to work with.

1. When did you first fall in love with the Internet?

My first exposure to anything online was CompuServe and AppleLink. Those were the days — email was simply magical. And CompuServe enabled people to connect with others around the world in a fast and free manner.

2. What buzz word should we kill? Why?

“Strategic.” Nothing is strategic. Everything is tactical. “Strategic” has come to mean “bull shiitake.” It would be very strategic to eliminate that word from our vernacular — see what I mean?

3. Which brand would you like to work with, and why?

You may find this astounding, but Apple is a brand I’d love to work with more. But, lucky for it, it doesn’t need me.

4. What book should every marketer read?

Forget books. Every marketer should see the movie Never Say Never. You’ll learn more about marketing in that movie than any book.

5. Who are your Twitter must-follows?

I follow about 300,000 people — basically, I follow anyone who follows me as an act of courtesy and so that they can “direct” me. But I never look at the timeline of the people I follow. I only react to “mentions” and “directs.” So in the spirit of what you’re asking, I don’t have any “must follows” that I’m sitting on the edge of my seat to see what they tweet.

6. The secret to your success?

I’m willing to grind it out. In fact, I enjoy grinding it out. I don’t consider myself particularly smart or insightful. I’m just willing to pay the price.

Guy Kawasaki is the author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the Web, and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures.  Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki is the author of nine other books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules For Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream and The MacIntosh Way. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Our copywriters recently caught up to Scott Goodson, Founder and Chairman of StrawberryFrog, “the world’s first Cultural Movement agency,” with offices in New York, Amsterdam, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. Pushing innovation and brand building boundaries for over a quarter of a century with agencies based in Canada, Sweden and the US, he’s helped brands such as P&G, Heineken, Pepsico, Starbucks and Daimler Benz, to name a few. So we felt compelled to ask him about everything from when he first fell in love with the Internet to what he cherishes most about designers.

1. When did you first fall in love with the Internet?

“I was an owner of an ad agency in Sweden in the early 90s. We were working on Ericsson Information Systems. I had a meeting with the clients and they were playing on the net. Then we started using something called email. Wow…that was cool. Oh, and the piloting games, too.”

2. What buzz word should we kill?

“Social media.”

3. Which brand would you like to work with, and why?

“Any brand that wants to challenge the status quo of their industry.”

4. What book should every marketer read?

“Well I’d say Purple Cow, Nudge, Drive, and okay, okay a plug for “Uprising,” my new book that will be published later this year.”

5. What is the quality you admire the most in a designer?

“There are so many characteristics that I love about designers. Stubbornness. Surprise. The ability to create delight. My favorite designer is David Ellis, one of the founders of Why Not Associates, one of the best design firms on the planet.”

6. The secret to your success?

“Patience and a lack of patience. A global soul. Curiosity. Desire to challenge the domination and control of our industry by the big corporate agency networks.”

Take a leap! Follow Scott on his blog and Twitter @scottfrog.

No matter the industry, all creative professionals, and even the left-brained ones, need to look outside of our circles of influence for inspiration. By exploring new ideas, images, methodologies or concepts, we expand our minds and fuel our own creativity. This is how innovation happens, and how new products, business practices and ways of living help us grow as individuals and as a society.

Where do you look for creative inspiration? Here are some awesome locations around the Web where you can bask in the creativity of your fellow humans.

The 99 Percent

www.the99percent.com

@the99percent

The “research arm and think tank” of Behance, a network for creative professionals, The 99 Percent is named for the famous Thomas Edison quote “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Consisting of a website, conference and book, The 99 Percent features instructional articles, videos and other resources (even playlists) that help creative types put good ideas into action.

One interesting recent feature described how mundane routines can produce creative magic. In it, the daily routines of some notable creatives (like filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and architect Le Corbusier) are described. The accounts are taken from Daily Routines, which profiles how “writers, artists and other interesting people organize their days.”

Booooooom

www.booooooom.com

@Booooooom

Booooooom is a Vancouver, BC-based “art and photo blog with a soft spot for hand-made work by unknown people,” meaning you won’t be seeing anything conventional here. Featuring works of art covering the spectrum between mesmerizing and bizarre, you’ll find photography, sculpture, music, drawings, paintings and more creative works from around the world posted daily.

One favourite discovery from Booooooom actually came from its Twitter account, where the author tweeted about an internationally acclaimed painter named Cholla (who also happens to be a horse.)

Bajillion Hits

www.bajillionhits.biz

@Bajillionhits

Alex Blagg, the man behind the brilliantly hilarious web marketing guru spoof Bajillion Hits describes himself in this role the best: “Social Media Strat Guru-Ninja-Genius. Bajillionaire. Webeneur. Techspert. Lord of All Social Media. Intergalactic Master of the Internet.” This guy is basically the inside joke of all web marketing professionals in the world who have ever rolled their eyes at the growing mushroom cloud of people claiming to be social media experts. By poking fun at the tech-speak that runs rampant in web marketing circles, Blagg encourages us to make fun of ourselves, and perhaps find new ways of approaching web marketing that aren’t so predictable.

Check out Blagg’s post I’m a Tech Media Douche for his full (and hilarious) bio.

Illusion 360

www.illusion.scene360.com

Illusion 360 is a partner project of the award-winning online film and arts magazine Scene 360, and features amazing art, design, technology and video from around the world. Features are chosen based on their uniqueness, skill, level of creativity and vision, and can include anything from living grass graffiti to human touchscreen interfaces.

One recent post includes the World’s Smallest Post Service, which sends tiny letters to your loved ones.

Hello You Creatives

www.helloyoucreatives.com

@Hellocreatives

Hello You Creatives is a London-based blog run by a collective of creative people in design, illustration and “everything else,” who work together to inspire, showcase and discuss creative works and creativity in general. Admittedly, they don’t discriminate regarding the quality of works posted, giving exposure to both good and bad ones, and talking to the people behind them.

One recent post featured Unicef’s Dirty Water campaign, which placed vending machines selling dirty water (including diseases like malaria and cholera) in major cities to raise awareness for the lack of access to clean drinking water in developing countries. The campaign, credited to the creatives at Casanova, has raised almost $1 million to support UNICEF’s clean drinking water programs.

Laughing Squid

www.laughingsquid.com

@laughingsquid

Laughing Squid describes itself as “an online resource for art, culture and technology” and is also an independent web hosting company. Blog posts feature a wide-reaching range of subject matter including anything from an avocado ukulele, to an interview with Steven Sasson, the inventor of the digital camera, to a recreation of Brooklyn made entirely out of LEGO.

Le Creative Sweatshop

www.lecreativesweatshop.com

Le Creative Sweatshop is a Paris-based creative studio/agency combining the worlds of design, fashion, contemporary art and architecture, with a focus on hand-made works. The site offers the agency’s portfolio of work, which is inspiring in itself.

One example is the agency’s paper scenography installation for airline operator Transavia, which fashioned a suitcase out of colourful paper and wood as both a work of art and communication support.

Sharing Creativity

By sharing new ideas and ways of doing things, we not only inspire one another to do better work, but we push ourselves to innovate and make the world a more enjoyable place to coexist.

What are some of your favourite creativity boosters online? What is your daily routine? Why not share them with your fellow creative professionals and promote the cultural advancement of our species.

Content and design. Written communications and visual communications. When it comes to creating winning websites, which plays a more important role? Our web copywriters reached out to six experienced agency professionals from the US, Canada and England to get their take.

Web content or design — which is more important?

James Archer
Managing Director, Forty

“At Forty, we view words and visuals as inseparably intertwined; they’re just different manifestations of the same message.

“We always assign both a writer and a designer to every project, and our brand strategy work always includes both verbal and visual direction.

“Ultimately, the viewer doesn’t distinguish between the visual design and the verbal message of a piece. They take in the overall experience, and they remember (or don’t) based on what they feel.

“Because we take the approach of focusing on the overall experience rather than a ‘words first’ or ‘design first’ approach, we find it works best when designers and writers work side by side. Not always possible, but certainly the ideal.”

Follow James @jamesarcher

William A. Beachy
President, Go Media Inc.

“When I was in college, there were two bulletin boards in the lobby of my dorm. The first bulletin board was maintained by the resident advisers and was intended for all of the residents. It was a colorful explosion of photos, event fliers, clip-art, logos and decorative trim. Just to the left of that was the second bulletin board; maintained and intended for the engineering club. On it were plain white 8.5×11 sheets of paper with single-spaced black type neatly hung in a perfect grid. There wasn’t a single image, color or graphical element anywhere on the engineers’ bulletin board.

“So, which one was the superior bulletin board? Well, my answer, as it relates to this question of content versus design is — it depends. It depends who your audience is. It depends what your content is. In this specific case, the engineers’ bulletin board was superior — for the engineers, and probably nobody else. As with any website development project, you have to start with understanding the user. And to use this oft quoted design axiom: form follows function. You have to know what the purpose of the site is. Only then can you possibly answer the question of what’s more important.”

Follow William @william_beachy

Christina Calderon
Creative Director, JB Chicago

“I believe that there should be a perfect marriage between function and form. As a visual person, I am naturally drawn to websites that look good, but as a Creative Director I fully understand the value in content and the written language. Words bring clarity and act as the persuasive element to a message.

“Ideally, there should be a call to action and sense of urgency wrapped around a good, compelling design in order to engage and move the consumer, so any good ad contains a combination of the two. The story that is told through visual means is reinforced by the copy — the tagline seals the deal.”

Follow Christina @cryandesign

Jason Hamilton
Director, Digital Marketing, Acart Communications

“If, by design, we are referring to the visual look and feel of a site, and, by content, we are referring to the information that resides on the site, then content wins hands down.

“When someone visits your website, blog or Facebook page, they do not visit to stare in awe of your beautiful design; they visit for one reason: they have a problem that needs solving. Whether that problem is where to find the lowest gas prices, how to measure social media, or discover Charlie Sheen’s latest crazy stunt, they are looking for an answer. Knowing what your audience is looking for and creating quality content around that is the key to effective Web communications.

“Content is not, and should not be, restricted to the written word; video, audio, and infographics are increasingly popular and should be part of any effective content strategy.

“I am not saying that visual design is not important. It is, because effective design supports and enhances (not dictates) content, whereas quality content inspires and guides design.

“Look at Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Google — three of the most successful websites in the world — and ask yourself why you return to these sites?”

Follow Jason @acartcomm

Ben Harris
Managing Director, New Brand Vision Group

“When it comes to the creation of quality website design, text and images should not be thought of in isolation, as a healthy balance of both content and visual communications is essential for a successful approach.

“To begin with, part of your audience will be more visual, while others will respond more proactively to information, and it is therefore vital that you communicate to both sets of audiences.

“It is also important to recognize that content and visuals provide two slightly different functions on a website. Inviting branding will make your website more appealing and memorable, while the right content will demonstrate thought leadership and improve search engine rankings.

“Bold, attractive visuals are what initially attract a user’s attention; while quality content will draw that user into a deeper level of engagement.

“This psychological understanding of user behaviour is critical to a websites success, and must be addressed in the early stages of the planning process. Knowing where to use content and where to use visuals, and how to effectively blend the two is the key to achieving both aesthetic and ergonomic success with your website design.”

Follow Ben @NewBrandVision

Cynthia Passanante
Director, Design & UI, TRAFFIQ, and Blogger, CMYKaboom

“Can you compare a car to its driver? Likewise, to compare design and content is an irrational exercise, as they each serve unique, vital functions in the digital landscape. When used properly, they are two assets that work in tandem to create a holistic, sublime experience, not forces vying for significance.

“Within the industry the phrase, ‘content is king’ is thrown around a great deal. I would position it more as a lesser duke. The goal of a successful site is not only to deliver unique content, but to do so in a way that is intuitive and accessible to the end user. Design is imperative to accomplish this task. It is the vehicle that drives content to the user — without one, the other invariably falters.

“Don’t believe me? I propose an experiment — take your best content, and type it out in black text on a site with a black background. Granted, this is a rather heavy-handed example, but one that summarizes the subtler problem found on countless websites: no matter how sexy the material, if the interface does not offer ease of discovery then the content will rot on the vine, search engine or no search engine.

“The king is dead. Long live the diarchy!”

Follow Cynthia @CMYKaboom

What’s your take on website content versus design?

Where do common expressions in the English language come from?

Long before Internet memes and hashtags, there were spoken expressions that stood the test of time. Even the best copywriters fall victim to their seduction, citing writer’s block, lack of sleep or general laziness as culprits. Sadly, clichés, idioms and other common expressions often signify lack of creativity, which is not something any writer wants to portray.

Some confusion exists about the difference between clichés and idioms. Idioms are always figurative — their actual meaning is different than the literal meaning, while clichés can be either literal or figurative. Clichés are considered to be overused expressions, while idioms are common, but not irritatingly frequent. When they are, they could also be considered clichés. (Yes, I’m dizzy, too). For example, you might hear someone say, “Those pants fit you like a smack in the mouth” on occasion and laugh, but the frequency of lines like ”I’m gonna leave the ball in your court” might irritate you, especially in business or dating, for example (that’s where it annoys me, anyway).

Fun fact: The word ‘cliché’ itself originated with printing. A cliché was a printing plate cast from movable type, also known as a stereotype. Phrases used repeatedly were cast together as a more efficient alternative to using individual letters.

Origins of Popular Idioms (which might also be considered clichés)

Where do these common expressions come from? I mean, I don’t know much about this hand basket but I sure don’t want to be in it if it’s going to hell.

Going to hell in a hand basket

Meaning: Going somewhere bad, fast.

Origin: This expression has been around since its first documented use in 1865 when I. Windslow Ayer alleged that Judge Morris of the Circuit Court of Illinois said “Thousands of our best men were prisoners in Camp Douglas, and if once at liberty would ‘send abolitionists to hell in a hand basket’.’’ Unfortunately, there is no documentation of its literal meaning.

Let the cat out of the bag

Meaning: Reveal a secret.

Origin: According to reports, this term originated in Medieval times when people purchased live farm animals at local markets and took them home in bags. Some of the less honourable merchants would replace the livestock with less expensive, more readily available cats, which the purchaser would not be privy to until they reached home, thus revealing the secret scam when they let the cat out of the bag.

A piece of cake

Meaning: An easy task.

Origin: One of the earliest documentations of this expression is from a 1936 poem called Primrose Path by American poet Ogden Nash. In it, Ogden states: “Her picture’s in the papers now, and life’s a piece of cake.” Others note that the expression came from the simplicity of eating and digesting a piece of cake.

An axe to grind

Meaning: A dispute that needs resolution.

Origin: This saying has been attributed to both Benjamin Franklin and Charles Miner, who both wrote about axe grinding. Their original uses of the term referred to someone who had been deceitful in order to get his axe grinded, aka he had an ulterior motive. James Joyce later used the term in Ulysses to describe someone with a dispute that needed resolution, although it’s not clear why this change in definition occurred.

A chip on your shoulder

Meaning: Negativity that you can’t shake.

Origin: There are different meanings and origins for this expression, but the one that seems to apply to its most well known meaning is the old custom documented around 1830 in North America. Young boys would place a chip of wood on their shoulders and challenge others to knock it off at their own peril. In other words, the boys with chips on their shoulders were looking for a fistfight.

Short end of the stick

Meaning: The less desirable option.

Origin: One of the first appearances of this expression can be traced back to 1542 in Nicolas Udall’s Apophthegmes, that is to saie, prompte saiyinges, which stated “As often as thei see theim selfes to haue the wurse ende of the staffe in their cause.” ‘Staff’ has since been replaced with ‘stick’ and the adjective at the beginning of the expression has been known to change, but ‘short’ has remained the most prolific.

Careful With the Clichés!

While language has changed significantly since the origin of some of these expressions, they continue to maintain strongholds on our collective rhetoric. When writing or reviewing the content someone else has written for your website, it’s best to avoid overly used expressions.

Not everyone is abreast of their actual meaning (people with English as a second language, for example) and they signify lack of ability to find your own voice.

Until we meet again… (oh no, that’s a cliché isn’t it?)

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Recent redesign catastrophes have begged the question — how can Web-based businesses that want their brands to evolve avoid harsh backlashes and possible brand suicide?

Most would say the answer is simple — do it right and you won’t have a backlash, or at least you won’t have one you can’t recover from.

But humans are creatures of comfort and often have knee-jerk responses when faced with change, even when it’s for our own good. We don’t want to wake up one day to see that the Facebook features we’ve grown to love have suddenly changed, leaving us to awkwardly maneuver around new structures and functions back to the comfort zone. Just look at the brief stints of Facebook redesign rage that often promise mass exodus, but never deliver.

Even though redesign backlash is common, recovery can be more difficult in some cases than others. The deciding factor seems to be whether or not the user’s interests were adequately considered during the planning stages, and respected during launch.

Here are some recent and notable redesign catastrophes, the aftermath, and what we can learn from others’ mistakes.

Gawker Media

In early February, 2011, Gawker Media — owner of popular sites Gawker, Gizmodo and LifeHacker, among others — launched a redesign of its entire network. Founder Nick Denton justified the changes as a response to the evolving online media landscape. The new design was intended to move away from the traditional blog format, to one that incorporated the convergence of blog, magazine and television.

What Went Wrong

While attempting to cater to the changing online media environment, Gawker seemed to lose sight of maintaining an enjoyable user experience. That is, they put their desires in front of the users’, which is a big no-no no matter what business you’re in. People reported major difficulties adjusting to the new format, claiming they could no longer find what they were looking for.

The Aftermath

Even loyal users were so fed up with the confusing new navigation, they started leaving in droves, and are still lamenting over their bad experience. In a humourous post, Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing claimed that Gawker had basically “designed themselves out of existence.” By Feb. 21, the adverse effects of the redesign were painfully obvious. Gizmodo, for example, saw a 60 to 70% drop in visitors since the launch.

(February Gizmodo stats from Sitemeter – traffic is still hovering around the 1M mark as of March 14)

Digg

In late August, 2010, Digg launched its new design, which was immediately met with overwhelming criticism by its users. Some said the navigation was ruined, others called the new Digg a Facebook clone. Most were pissed off that mainstream publishers were suddenly able to automatically post content on the site through RSS.

What Went Wrong

Frederic Lardinois of ReadWriteWeb said it best: “The launch of Digg’s redesign will likely go down in the history of social media as a textbook example for how to alienate your users.” Ouch. The new design and structure changed some of the unspoken rules of Digg, namely the understanding that one should not post their own content. Digg’s new version allowed for just that, drastically altering one of the fundamental appeals of using the site to find alternative, unbiased content.

The Aftermath

The redesign sparked a rebellion where angered users turned the new design against itself. By hijacking the new rule that allowed for other sites to post their own content, users banded together to upvote every Reddit story automatically posted thanks to new features. Eventually the entire front page of Digg was flooded with stories from the competitor’s site. By the end of September, traffic was down 26% among US users, while Reddit’s traffic increased 24%. Digg founder Kevin Rose responded to popular criticisms of the redesign on his blog, and promised to fix some of the bugs, while justifying other aspects of the redesign.

How to Soften the Backlash Blow

Knowing that redesigning a popular service, site or brand is most certainly going to meet some type of backlash, there are things you can do to prepare that will help soften the blow. Aside from being reincarnated as Zuckerberg or Jobs (who can pretty much do as they please without consequence), you can do your best to research, plan and even time your redesign for better reception.

Think of Users First

Ask yourself, are you redesigning the site based on the direction you believe your brand is heading? If so, you may encounter issues, as seen in the Gawker example. If your website’s main purpose is to deliver content to readers, then your redesign should focus on delivering it in the most intuitive way possible. Otherwise, your quality content, and its writers, will suffer.

As copywriters, we at Webcopyplus live by this mantra: write for your intended audience, not for your own interests, and they will reward you. After all, people aren’t coming to the site to see how good you are at writing; they’re coming to get the information that applies to them, fast.

The same principle applies to a website’s design. Don’t use a redesign as an opportunity to show off the fact that you have your finger on the pulse of online media (as Gawker tried to do), but do it for the purpose of improving the user experience and making it easier for them to consume your content.

In 2005, on A List Apart, Cameron Moll touched on the benefits of ‘realigning’ rather than redesigning, a concept that’s as true today as it was then. Redesigners, he argued, are often creative types with an inherent desire to refresh and renew a design simply because the old design seems stale. Realigners “cite strategic objectives and user needs as a reason to consider a site overhaul.” The latter approach, Moll believes, is more likely to be met with acceptance than shock.

Remember Where You Came From

In the case of Digg, we can see that fundamentally changing the core of your service can make your users awfully angry. One of Digg’s major appeals was that it rewarded stories people were genuinely interested in by posting them on the front page. The new design compromised the holy front page in favour of self-serving interests, which was great for those interests, but not for the lifeblood of Digg: its dedicated users. In their eyes, the redesign was the equivalent of an artist selling out to get played on the radio, while departing from what made them appealing to their fans in the first place. This, to them, equated to an ultimate betrayal, causing them to react with malice. And, unfortunately, the social nature of the site magnified their ability to retaliate.

How can you avoid this? When planning your redesign, it’s okay to make changes to fix what’s not working, but don’t abandon what does. Discovering what you should keep is as easy as looking at your metrics, or even asking your users what they like and don’t like.

Do It Nice and Slow

One way to muffle backlash is by making design tweaks in stages, rather than springing a full makeover on your users overnight. Facebook is known for redesigning certain features one by one, which appears to work well. Users might react negatively at first, but they’ll be less likely to throw their hands up in frustration and leave altogether. And if you’ve steered the design in the wrong direction, you can respond to feedback in stages, rather than having a monstrous list of complaints to address.

When All Else Fails

Mashable featured an interesting post on dealing with negative brand sentiment. Its author Maria Ogneva, Head of Community at Yammer, described negative online backlashers as ‘badvocates’, and also offered tips on how to best address their complaints, including:

1.)    Figure out the issue – what was their motivation?
2.)    Reach out – acknowledge their complaint.
3.)    Don’t let it stew – address conflict quickly.
4.)    Never make it personal – even if they make it personal.
5.)    Take action, close the loop – communicate to them the resolution.
6.)    Never lose your cool – choose your words wisely.

The Bottom Line

Change is inevitable, but maintaining a desirable user experience should be your number one priority.

In his book, “Then We Set His Hair on Fire,” copywriter and former chief creative officer of BBDO North America Phil Dusenberry revealed how powerful insights propelled his successful career in advertising. He told the story of how one insight helped his team land a $50 million-plus Pizza Hut account.

If You’re Going to Sell Pizza, You Need to Know Pizza

In 1987, coming off successful campaigns for Pepsi, Dupont, Gillette, Apple and FedEx, Dusenberry was given the opportunity to pitch the Pizza Hut account.

Dusenberry and his team hunkered into their offices and developed the pitch. When they presented it to executives, it flopped. The executives pointed out that Dusenberry and his team knew nothing about pizza or the company.

Pizza Hut: Makin’ It Great

Pizza Hut gave Dusenberry one more chance, and he decided on a new strategy. He and his staff would undertake a crash course in pizza. They had 10 days to “get smart about the industry and Pizza Hut.”

Dusenberry dispatched almost his entire staff to Pizza Hut locations across the U.S. They spoke with Pizza Hut employees at every level, in every department. BBDO staff found themselves elbow deep in pizza dough, working side by side with staff and serving customers.

From this came their crucial insight: they needed to sell the “pizza experience,” not just pizza. Dusenberry and his team realized that the communal nature of pizza differentiated Pizza Hut from its main competitors (burger and taco outlets). By nature of being shared from a common pan, pizza has a celebratory element, and that became its competitive advantage.

Dusenberry and his team developed the tag line “Makin’ It Great” and created commercials showcasing the pizza experience. The copywriter won the account and successfully managed it for many years.

Makin’ Your Marketing Great

1987 may seem ages ago in the marketing world, but lessons learned by Dusenberry and his team still hold today. It can be difficult to gain insight if you don’t know much about the product. Sometimes you need to put your hands in the dough and get some sauce on your sleeves.