The Power of Three

Traditional fairy tale structure dictates that wishes come in threes, little pigs in threes and blind mice in threes. Certainly Del La Soul agree that “Three is the magic number” and how many times has someone told you to expect to get “third time lucky”?

The rule of thirds turns up a lot in marketing too. Here are three ways to use the magic number to improve your website:

Three-beat commands are more persuasive:

Using three points to convince someone of something adds to your persuasiveness while avoiding the dangers of saying either too much or too little. Apply this to thinking to buttons on your website – here are some examples from the http://dicksmith.com.au website:

“Sign up now”, “1 Hour deal”, “check store stock”, “add to cart”, “click and collect”.

Apply the power of three to your website’s messaging:

Ask yourself “if we can only tell the people who visit our website three compelling, motivating, things about ourselves, what would they be?”. This disciplined approach to storytelling on your site will keep your tone, copy and calls to action focussed. Obsessing about conveying just three core points to your audience increases the likelihood that you’ll be clear and persuasive about your business’ products and/or services. Then once you’ve nailed the magic three points you can look at increasing the breadth of your narrative.

Three points of clarity that build a user’s confidence:

Users to your website need guidance. They need to know (not coincidently, three things): what they can achieve, why they should pursue that goal now and where they are in relation to that goal. Here’s a fictitious example:

1. This website sells the world’s most comfortable socks
2. They are on sale today only
3. You are three clicks away from delivering sock heaven to your feet – get started, click here now.

 

Here’s another example:

1. Wiliam are the experts at designing online experiences that motivate users to action.
2. If you have any interest in growing your business you cannot act fast enough.
3. Call us now so we can get involved early in your digital business and website planning.