“The Big Red Fez: How to Make Any Web Site Better”

by Seth Godin
Reviewed by Pamela Biery

Think of this book as Cliff Notes for profitable web development. Seth Godin uses web site examples in pictures, with concise explanation, providing memorable snapshot summaries of key ideas. Topping out at 110 pages, this is an informative, evening read.

“There are two definitions of what happens online.

There’s the engineers version, which is that smart people, with plenty of time, who know precisely what they want . . . are able to make a considered decision with access to all the data. . .

Then there’s the marketer’s version. This version says that people are busy, ill informed, impatient, not very thoughtful and eager to click on something right now. Marketers also believe that if you don’t give a prospect the right thing to click on right now, he’s going to hit the “Back” button and leave.

The second version is the one that’s backed up with all the data and all the successful results.”

To help us to remember what we’re trying to do with a web site, Godin suggests we think of a monkey in a Big Red Fez. What is going to get and keep his attention? This monkey is always thinking “Where’s the banana?”

Seth Godin visits many sites, showing clear successes, blatant failures and many memorable, well-intentioned misses. His common-sense dictum keeps it simple: “The web is a giant direct-marketing machine, and the best tactic is to use direct-marketing thinking to create a site where your margin per relationship is greater than the cost of that relationship.” Take an evening and find the banana for your site.

Since 1979, Pamela Biery has owned and operated her own firm, Pamela Biery/Marketing Communications. She holds a Certificate in Marketing and Public Relations from UC Davis and a BA with an emphasis in Communication from Dominican University.