How to Compete in the Attention Economy

Published by Ben Sibley, Compete Themes founder


Can I have your attention?

I don’t know if you’ve been creating awesome content for decades or a few days, but there is one thing you need to know about publishing online.

And it’s very, very important.

Your greatest challenge yet

I’ve been making themes since 2014, and during this time I’ve watched the web change a lot.

You’re probably aware of these changes because you’re living it, but here are a few examples:

  • The average person gets 94 emails per day
  • Americans get 45.9 push notifications per day on average
  • Businesses will spend $300 billion on content in 2019

The emails, the content, the notifications – we’ve never had more distractions in our lives.

Companies are spending billions every year on content and new ways to reach you and they’re doing it all for one thing.

Your attention.

Welcome to the arena

Do you want lots of traffic and followers for your site?

Well, I’ve got some tough news.

You’re competing for the same attention as all those billion-dollar brands. It’s a modern day David and Goliath tale.

Now I’m not saying this to frighten you, but I want to get one idea across very clearly…

When someone visits your site, you need to make the most of it because their attention is the most valuable and scarce thing in the modern world.

If you create compelling content, we can help you capture your visitors’ attention and keep them coming back for more.

Here’s how.

No distractions

Minimalism is trending for a reason.

Discard every distraction and non-essential element from your site so visitors focus on what matters – your content.

Your site should direct each visitor’s attention to your work. That’s why you wanted them to visit in the first place.

Seamless experiences

When a website is slow, do you wait patiently for it to work?

What about when it’s hard to read on your phone?

Nope. You ditch the site and go somewhere else.

You can’t succeed even with amazing content if your site is loading slowly and doesn’t work well on mobile devices.

Your visitors should be able to start an article on their phone while commuting home from work and pick up their iPad to finish it later on the couch.

Remember, they could be watching Netflix! Don’t give them a reason to go somewhere else.

Simple customizations

You didn’t make a website so you could fiddle with settings.

WordPress is an endlessly customizable platform, and for someone like me who loves to write code and tinker with it, it’s awesome. But I understand that’s not the same for everyone.

Our themes have a carefully selected set of customization features so you can personalize your site quickly and get back to publishing content.

Do more with less

Our goal at Compete Themes is to help the little guys succeed.

With a distraction-free site that works great on mobile and desktop devices, you can capture and hold the attention of your visitors. That’s how you create fans and build an audience.

Keep visitors focused on your content and get a theme that helps you focus on it too.

My shameless pitch

Since you liked what I had to say enough to make it this far, let me give you a straight pitch.

Visit the theme collection, pick out a theme you like, and install it on your site (it’s free). Load the site on your phone, really check it out and see what you think.

If this is your first time creating a WordPress site, start by following our step-by-step tutorial on how to create a WordPress site. You’ll learn how to get your site online, install any theme, and customize your site to perfection.

And one more thing, our themes are free! If you find a theme you like, use it on as many sites as you want for as long as you want.

Browse the themes →

If you have any questions or reservations you can reach me, Ben, at  and I’ll be happy to help however I can.

Benjamin Sibley

Ben Sibley,
Founder