The Big Red Fez: Zooming, Evolution, and the Future of Your Company [Paperback]

For those trying to make their Web sites profitable in the lean years, Internet marketing sage Seth Godin, author of Unleashing the Ideavirus, has written a practical guide to making sites more attractive to browsers. The Big Red Fez: How to Make Any Web Site Better offers simple but frequently overlooked design tips (avoid inefficient pull-down menus, don't ask for the same information twice) that will keep impatient users from ditching your site before they buy whatever it is you're selling. Godin's primary mantra is to limit information on each page and offer clear incentives for clicking to the next screen. Each of his concise points is illustrated with an image from an actual Web site, making the book itself a model of simplicity that will be appreciated by busy entrepreneurs and Web designers.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

While the average computer book is as thick as the unabridged telephone directory to China, Godin's new Web marketing manual is so slender you'll actually want to read it. Geared primarily toward those designing, building, or owning retail Web sites, the text encourages us to picture the would-be shopper as a monkey (wearing a red fez) whose attention will wander if he can't instantly find a "banana": a simple objective on each page that leads to a reward. (The author insists the comparison is not demeaning, saying we're all monkeys once in a while.) Though he may be part of the insidious gang that seeks the best way to part us from our hard-earned cash, he is also a de facto consumer advocate; it turns out that what we find most annoying in the online world--Flash sites, crappy search engines, Spam--are the very things that cut into revenue. Imagine! After this brisk and humorous read, even a monkey would agree that this is how business ought to be done. Keir Graff
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Business Week Seth Godin is the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age.

YOUR WEB SITE IS COSTING YOU MONEY. IT'S ALSO FILLED WITH SIMPLE MISTAKES THAT TURN OFF VISITORS BEFORE THEY HAVE A CHANCE TO BECOME CUSTOMERS.

According to marketing guru Seth Godin, a web site visitor is a lot like a monkey looking for one thing: a banana. If that banana isn't easy to see and easy to get, your visitor is gone with a quick click on the "Back" button.

In this supremely practical, cut-to-the-chase book, Godin identifies what it takes to create web sites that satisfy visitors and keep them coming back for more. And he's at his prickly stickler best using real-life examples to illustrate the essential truths and ridiculous fictions about how a web site should work. Packed with his inimitable wisdom and compelling hands-on applications, The Big Red Fez is a must-have tool for anyone working on the web.

Seth Godin, Vice-President, Direct Marketing, Yahoo! Inc., is responsible for Yahoo!'s direct marketing, permission marketing and Internet promotions. Godin joined Yahoo! in 1998 from Yoyodyne, where he served as president and CEO. Yahoo! acquired Yoyodyne, a recognized leader in Internet-based interactive direct marketing, last year.

Recognized as the pioneer of Permission Marketing, Godin is a sought-after speaker on the conference circuit, having presented at the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference, Jupiter events, and ICE, as well as international marketing forums. Last year, Godin was one of the highest ranked speakers, among 403 presenters at Internet World. He is a featured speaker at Fall, Spring and Summer I-Worlds. Godin is also the recipient of the 1998 Momentum Award, honoring outstanding Internet industry accomplishments.

Godin received an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School in 1984. Prior to graduating from Tufts University in 1982 with a degree in both Computer Science and Philosophy, Godin co-founded and ran one of the largest student-run businesses in the coutnry. From 1983 to 1986 he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software, where he led the team that developed the first generation of multimedia products, working with such forward-thinkers as Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton. He managed 40 engineers and introduced more than 60 software and video products to the marketplace.

Godin is the author and co-author of a number of top-selling business books, including E-Marketing, the first book ever published on how to do business online; The Guerilla Marketing Handbook, part of the best-selling Guerilla Marketing series; The Information Please Business Almanacm, a ground-breaking business reference book; and Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Freinds, and Friends into Customers.