The
Biggest Marketing Mistake
Museum Websites Make
They may forget what you said,
but they will never forget
how you made them feel.
- Carl W. Buechner
I've been running across a lot of museum websites
lately whose marketing copy sounds like a grant application or
a "don't touch" sign.
You know the kind of copy I mean. It makes you feel like you
should whisper and stand up straight while you read it. Or you
half-expect to find a little blurb on each page that says, "This
Site Best Viewed With a Museum Studies Degree." (But, darn,
they never remember to include the Download it Here button.)
I'm exaggerating, of course, but the fact remains that a lot
of museum marketing copy on the Web does sound like it was written
mainly for museum professionals or unruly sixth-graders. And
that can make it miss the mark -- or even alienate the potential
donors, volunteers and corporate partners it should be trying
its best to cultivate.
A few examples and the reactions can they can evoke:
-- Facility rental pages that cut right to the chase, concentrating
only on the things renters aren't allowed to do. What happened
to the part where they woo me with a tantalizing description
of the facility? They must have forgotten to upload that one.
-- Pages describing speakers bureaus as being "Part of
our Community Outreach Program." Hmm. I'm not sure the members
of my business association realize that they need to be reached
out to. But thanks for trying to save us from ourselves.
-- Solicitation pages written from an entitlement perspective
-- stressing that the museum has needs, not that it fulfills
needs. Just in case that doesn't tell me everything I need to
know about an institution's attitude, this one clinches it for
sure: "We accept major gifts." How generous of them.
And then there are the volunteer recruitment pages. I know
I'm supposed to feel honored that the XYZ Museum might allow
me to volunteer but, geesh, couldn't they act just a little bit
happy to have me? And while we're at it, what exactly is
a docent anyway?
You get the picture.
Effective website marketing copy is welcoming, upbeat and
positive. It's persuasive, not patronizing. And it's written
from the reader's perspective, not the museum's.
Even though a website might be reaching millions of people,
it's speaking to one person at a time. And since most of the
people it's speaking to aren't museum professionals, insider
terms should either be defined in laymen's language or left out
of the copy altogether.
Understanding that the Internet really is a one-to-one medium
is the secret of good online copywriting. A somewhat conversational
tone and a write-as-you-speak style is what allows a site to
make a genuine personal connection with its visitors.
Yet many writers can't get past the millions-of-people aspect
of the Web. The fear of being judged by all those eyes reading
what they've written causes them to churn out copy that's stiff
and overly formal -- often sounding more like an academic treatise
(or the aforementioned grant application) than a marketing piece.
That type of writing may impress colleagues, but it doesn't do
much to motivate potential members, donors and volunteers into
taking positive action.
The trick to writing accessible and successful website marketing
copy is to pick one person in your ideal target audience and
write as if you were talking just with them. (With them,
not at them being another important key.) What would they
be asking you? What concerns would they have that you would need
to address? What would they be particularly interested in knowing?
What resistance might they exhibit that you would need to overcome?
What museum terms might they not understand that you would need
to explain? And how would they stand to benefit by giving, or
joining, or volunteering, or renting, or signing up, or subscribing?
Answer those questions, let your enthusiasm for your "product"
shine through, and you'll be well on your way to producing website
marketing copy that connects with visitors and gets good results.
Copyright © 2001 Katherine Khalife All rights
reserved.
For reprint permission, please e-mail info@museummarketingtips.com
Katherine Khalife is a writer and consultant specializing in
museum and Internet marketing, customer service and heritage
cultural tourism. See the Services
section for information about her workshops and other services
or e-mail her at kkhalife@museummarketingtips.com
