A former chief executive of the Fairfax newspaper group liked to compare the newspaper-reading experience to a warm bath. We feel deprived if we don't get some sort of jolt at regular intervals, so we go where we hope to find more stimulation which, on the Web, means web sites. Beware old-style marketers who see the Web as another opportunity to pump a message at a commercial audience. In most media, the marketer hunts the customer down and delivers a broadcast or printed spiel that can be hard to avoid. On the Web, the customer comes looking for the transaction, with a million other sites a single mouse-click away.
Research shows Web users are uncommonly likely to bolt at the sight of an old-style marketing pitch.
A very few good Web marketers, on the other hand, already understand that the message of a commercial Web site must rely on a more subtle link with a brand's values. Indeed, the long-established rules of direct response advertising copywriting often look remarkably like Web writers need to import these direct response lessons, in just the same way that Web interface designers need to understand how to convince users to click on the appropriate screen buttons. Killian could and should have given his readers more insights on issues like these, rather than recycling better-known guidelines. His book does not deserve recommendation. But it's nice to see Web writing getting some of the attention it deserves.