Advice to New Research Groups

First off, I wanna say that I'm certainly NOT picking on any group out there. I know there are a lot of great groups doing a great job. What I wanna talk about is your web presence.

I've been doing a lot of surfing lately checking out other groups websites. I came across many good one's... but honestly, the majority of the one's I browsed were, well... not so great. What I mean is that when I landed on their homepage I was greeted with things like skulls, flaming text, scary music, spinning or stationary pentagrams, flying ghosts, coffins that open, a skeleton hand coming up from the ground, R.I.P. signs and more. Now like I said, I'm not picking on anyone, but I personally think these type of sites are actually gonna discourage people from contacting you.

Think about it: A paranormal event that one experiences is very personal and to most, it can be frightening, especially if they're a non-believer. They're most likely shaken-up, confused, stressed and sometimes even embarrassed to speak of it. If they're seeking help, the last thing they want to see, especially after a frightening experience, is a website that screams horror. Think about it: when you were younger and watched a scary movie, did you want to see a picture of an evil face before you went to bed? Of course not. Why? Because you already had a scary experience. Same thing applies to people seeking help. These people want to be comforted and find the help they need. If your website promoting your group is basically a toned-down halloween horror site, chances are you're not gonna have too many clients. Having far less clients then you can handle simply translates into less people getting the help they need. And remember, we're here not only to research the paranormal, but to offer a helping hand.

Another thing to keep in mind is your layout. If it's difficult to navigate, they're gonna leave as fast as they arrived, as I did with many of the sites I visited. This is the same basic principle that applies to all site designs.

• Have an obvious "Help" link somewhere, or at least an obvious "Contact" button.
• Don't get caught-up in the ghost pic and video hype. Having some pics and videos of alleged paranormal phenomena is fine, but don't overdue it.
• Don't claim all your pics and videos are ghosts... because 95% of the time they're not. Post them with an explaination of when and where it was taken and your thoughts, then let the viewer form their own opinion.
• Keep things as factual as possible. Everyone knows there's no exact science in this field and there are NO experts: don't lead people to believe it.
• DO NOT get sucked-in by these so-called classes that provide you with a certification. I mean, a certification of exactly what? A certified "Ghost Hunter"? BULL! Don't waste your money on these rip-offs. There are NO experts and there are NO real certifications. People that claim they can certify you are just out for your money. Turn and run away!
• As mentioned before, ditch the scary music.

These are just my recommendations. There are already enough skeptics in this field: don't provide them with more ammo. We're trying to prove the existence. Keep your site as professional as possible if it represents your group.

Happy Hunting!

Chris