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But yet I get a constant stream of emails from people saying they desperately need help caring for their widgets and can I email or call them with personal advice.
I'm unclear why they would take the time to write to me yet not take the time to actually read or try any of the tips on my site. They obviously know how to read and write because they often send very well written emails.
What do they think would be in a personalized email that I would have not already put on my my site?
Why don't they just read the information on the site?
Any thoughts?
This is exactly what I'm trying to launch now, based on my expertise in widgetology. People will have the opportunity to book the time slots and for an hourly fee they will be able to ask me via IMs, phone, webcam, whichever channel they are comfortable with :)
That way others can help in asnwering questions as well.
How old is the audience reading and asking you questions?
Alternative see if they would like you to present a seminar on your topic :o)
If so, you just have to accept that people are lazy and want all the answers handed to them on a plate.
You can catch a few of them by using a contact form, and checking the input on it for the most frequent obvious questions.
Do you have a FAQ and a search function, and do you link to these very prominently above your contact details?
Yes, I have all that, plus a note right before my email address that states that due to time constraints I'm not able to give personal advice.
If so, you just have to accept that people are lazy and want all the answers handed to them on a plate.
I guess what I don't get is that it takes more effort to write an email and read the reply than just to read my site.
Often people are willing to pay for such advice as they are buying peace of mind. In these cases it's not the actual value of the advice that you give that's important to them, it's the fact that they can be confident of not making a mistake.
It's up to you what you do, stay free or take a fee.
It's up to you what you do, stay free or take a fee.
That's not something that would really interest me or most likely be cost effective compared to adding more articles to my site.
Why not redirect them to an online forum about the topic, you can make on on your site and it will attract people interested in your topic.That way others can help in asnwering questions as well.
I'm not the forum owner type. It is too much work for me. I like having informational sites I can leave alone for months at a time if I feel like it.
I did this to get goodwill and to minimise time wasting calls. Now I get people calling me up to say that they really appreciated the information on my website and asking me how much I charge for widgeting.
I sometimes spend 30 minutes talking to them then they close by saying, "Well, thank you very much for the information. If I decide to go ahead with this I'll definitely get back to you". NOT!
It is a bit of dilemma because the calls can also lead to new clients. What to do?
Some people are not confident in their own research abilities and 'need' to be told what to do by someone they see as an authority.
I think that is most likely the reason for the emails. I have a hard time relating to that way of thinking.
It is a bit of dilemma because the calls can also lead to new clients. What to do?
I don't sell anything or have any clients so it is a bit easier for me. I usually just delete these emails or respond with a form letter. It is kind of sad though because some of these people sound so desperate. If I was in a desperate situation I'd try everything I could think of to help myself, especially if I read about some really simple, easy, low cost, low risk solutions. Yet so many people seem to respond like a deer in headlights.
[edited by: Jane_Doe at 7:39 am (utc) on July 31, 2007]
If so, you just have to accept that people are lazy and want all the answers handed to them on a plate.
Spot on, and to add, they don't like to read.
Products page:
"3 blue in stock"
"1 red in stock"
"6 green in stock"
<bottom>
"Description updated 05/07/07"
Phone call: "Do you have blue ones in stock? It says it was updated in MAY."
If you find this kind of interruption engaging and enjoyable, don't complain and accept it for the merry humor it adds to your life. But if it really is annoying, do what puts their priorities in order - charge them. In my wife's retail biz, people call up because they "don't want the put their credit card into the Internet."
The $5 phone order surcharge gets them off the phone and the order comes in within minutes. We've never actually had to charge for a phone order. :-)
"Description updated 05/07/07"Phone call: "Do you have blue ones in stock? It says it was updated in MAY."
Are the widgets your site is about somewhat unusual? If so, maybe these people just want to talk to someone who shares their hobby or whatever. If so, get them in touch with each other!
There are already many forums on the topics on my site. I never post in them personally, but I actually get a lot of traffic from them because people post URLS to my site and discuss it in their threads.
"Do you have blue ones in stock? It says it was updated in MAY."
This is like the folks who go into these "Everything £1.00 ot $1.00" stores, pick something up and then ask an assistant, "How much is this?"
If the contact you (on a hope and prayer) option is easier to 'initiate' (not necessarily complete) than finding/reading or understanding additional information then it may be more frequently used as it is the easiest, shortest option.
There is a book out there about usability that I enjoyed reading recently that helped me understand more about this topic. It is called "Don't Make Me Think!" by Steve Krugg. I think you are dealing with 'human nature' but understanding the likely paths it might take could give you design changes that help ease it off.
Well that's my two cents anyway. Hope the book recommendation isn't seen as a plug or in breach of some rule or other. I genuinely think it applicable to your question.
Regards,
Matt
If it is a large percentage then agree with Matty....
Readers of technical books and products (you folks reading PC world, Which reports, wikipedia) tend to SSS - skim, scan and search. But once they find an article that is relevent - they will normally read it in order to help them solve a problem or to benefit themselves.
Is your web designed to help the SSS?
i.e. are hyperlinks descriptive enough, stand out....are categories well defined....etc, etc?
Jane_Doe what proportion of people are actually writing to you compared to the number that is hitting your website?
It is very small percent, but the site gets thousands of visitors each day so in a month is is still a lot of email to reply to, even with form letters. I actually get quite a bit of normal email for this site, too, with many people thanking me for the information and a number of them have commented on how well organized the site is. So it does seem like most people are finding the information they need without any issues.
I just got another email today that fits the pattern discussed in this thread. Someone desperate for help sent me a detailed email with all of his issues. Everything he wrote about is covered in painstaking detail on my site. There is FAQ section on the topic before my email contact link and a search feature, too. I tested the search feature and entered the key words for his problems. All the right pages came back during my test, so the search feature appears to be working fine, is easy to use and returns relevant pages.
The main problems he mentioned are listed on the home page of my site at the top of the page. Using the search feature would find detailed information on almost every issue he listed in his email.
The main book that would seem to address his specific issues is mentioned on many related pages of my site and can be bought at Amazon for under $10, has lots of great reviews and almost all of the reviewers give the book 5 stars.
The person who wrote didn't buy this book or try any of the suggestions listed on the site, ignored the instuctions on my contact page right next to me email that I can't give personal advice and wrote to me for help anyway.
I just don't get people who seem desperate for help but can't be bothered do something as simple as buy a book or read a few web pages on their own. I used to spend at least a day a month just sending them form letters back, or sending the URLs where they could find the information on my site, but lately I've just been deleting the emails. It seems a little cold hearted but at one day a month that is like freeing up 12 days a year to use for other tasks like going on vacation or writing more pages for my site for people who do take the time to really read the information.
It is very small percent.....It seems a little cold hearted but at one day a month that is like freeing up 12 days a year to use for other tasks like going on vacation or writing more pages for my site for people who do take the time to really read the information.
Not cold hearted! You're forcing them to work it out themselves and become independent. Once they discover your tools they'll try this on other websites. And if they don't discover it - there's no loss!
[edited by: Monkey at 3:56 pm (utc) on Aug. 3, 2007]
[EMAIL SUPPORT - $5 - proceed to payment >>]
[FAQ - Free >>]
The emails will stop almost completely or you will have a recurrent income. :-)
This could be in the form of a reference/attribution ("according to Jane [jane@example.com] who runs a popular widge website...") or actually advice to contact you ("Other places to look for advice include The Widget Site [example.com / jane@example.com]").
Where users are not looking for information before asking questions, the solution is often to force them to do so. Close down your email account (set up an autoresponder) and do everything through form-based email to a new account which you don't publicise.
The subject line of your email form should be a drop-down list of all the common questions you get asked - if one of them is selected, then the user is taken to that page - if you have good programming skills you can then give the a link at the bottom of that article in the form "Did this article not answer your question? Click here to email us directly".
The last item on the initial drop-down list should be 'other' - leading to a text entry box being created for a subject, with advice to 'describe your question topic'. Once this is completed, submitting should bring up a top 3 match from your site search engine for the subject line. Only after those three search result links should you provide a textarea entry box for them to enter a free-form request.
In this way your user has been forced to see some of your relevant content before sending you the email. Not only will this be a service to your visitor (guides them to their answer immediately instead of waiting for your reply) but it will reduce the number of such emails you are getting and the amount of work it takes you to answer them.
Hsve you considered that your email address (or direct link to contact form) may be listed on another website or in offline-publications as 'an expert'
My email address does not appear to be indexed anywhere but on my site. Any links to my contact page would still have the note that I can't give advice and to use the FAQ and the search features for any questions.
Close down your email account (set up an autoresponder) and do everything through form-based email to a new account which you don't publicise.
I just made the part about not being able to give advice more prominent on my site based on some tips from Don't Make Me Think and I've been deleting the rest of the advice request emails. I just got one today that started "I need you to send me information on..."! like I'm some free advice center or something. Not even a please or thank you anywhere in the email. That one was easy to delete.
[edited by: Jane_Doe at 7:15 pm (utc) on Aug. 7, 2007]
People write to me all of the time asking for advice ...
Same here. I get at least one email a day, sometimes several. My approach is pretty self-centered. I only respond to emails that I find interesting. That's around 1 in 10. So I end up answering about two or three emails a week, and I ignore the rest. What are they going to do if I fail to respond? Sue me? Ask for a refund? (my site is free).
So the net effect is that I actually enjoy answering the emails.
off topic ......JD how was your holiday in Britain?.....it's stopped raining now....:)
We had to postpone the trip a bit due to some commitments here but are still looking forward to the trip. It looks like having to delay things will work out for us weather-wise.
