Websites are like movies—they need plots and characters

Grab some popcorn because I’m about to take you on a trip to the land of the silver screen.

I used to be an aspiring screenwriter. Maybe I will be again some day, but I’m taking a break from it for now. I’m lucky that skills I acquired can be applied to persona design as well.

Think of your website as a story with a beginning (entry to website), middle (looking for information), and end (conversion). How compelling is your story? Do people stay in the theater (retention) until the end, or do they get up and leave a few minutes into the movie (attrition)? You may have enticed them with a cool looking movie trailer (banner ad) but fail to deliver. What makes a movie good? Well, it’s a mix of story (persuasion architecture), characters (personas), and dialogue (content). Does your movie have all three? Do you use Flash? Does it add anything? Some people love cool camera moves (Flash), while others want Socio-Realism (plain HTML á la 1996). Oh, and then there’s the Tarantino of the web world, Ajax. Someone thought of the brilliant idea to mix old stuff to create something that feels new.

But back to your personas. They should not be boring two-dimensional stereotypes: they should be believable, and you should be able to empathize with them. Make them three-dimensional and realistic. Write like you’re creating characters for a movie. Even when you don’t agree with a persona, try to understand him (or her). I like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, because it doesn’t suggest that some personalities are superior to others. It just tells you what different personalities are like. For inspiration, have a look at Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Belbin Team Inventory, Four Temperaments, Enneagram, Psychological Types, Big Five, Personality and Individual Differences, More-Personality and Rendahl.

Oh, and go watch some movies.

I found a gem of a movie this weekend. It’s called Life as a House and I completely missed it when it was released in 2001. Watching it and getting to know the characters was great. It didn’t take me long to understand them and be interested in them. I was happy to find a bonus feature on the creation of characters. Why not add a screenwriter or two to the list of blogs that you read?

Another cool thing about your movie is that it can have numerous beginnings, middle parts, and endings. In fact, every moviegoer will see a slightly different version of your movie. Make as many of them as possible enjoy it and come back to watch it again!

I also have an interest in photography, so I will give you a lesson from that world as well. Less truly is more. Instead of trying to capture everything, focus on the details that matter. Find the beauty in chaos, zoom in, and focus on it.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and become the next Spielberg, Eisenberg, or whichever berg you want to be!

PS: My temperament is NF and my type is Plant according to Belbin. The latter “is the teammate who comes up with strange and innovative solutions to problems.” Do I? Remember that people are more complex than general descriptions of personality types.



Soundtrack: Lazlo Bane - Superman

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