Sales Copy - Longer or Shorter?

What length of sales copy do you prefer longer or shorter? -Seth

Check this ad out and tell me what you think - "They laughed when I sat down at the piano, but when I started to play!" -SalesGuy

That was one long ad. stcktng; -Marcus

They don't write ads like they used to. ;bg -Calvin

That maybe because we are all so busy that we dont have time to read such long prose. Everything these days is about speed and instant gratification. -Julian

Long and effective. thmbp2; -Jolly Roger

People are bombarded with messages all day every day and they don’t take notice because they filter things out.

IMO more imagination / creativity in order to catch their attention is the key. -Tony Dunne

Yes filters are in play. The messages that capture attention and get noticed are the messages that are tied to the personal interests of the prospect. -Liberty

sn; Longer. Vic Schwab explained in his How to Write A Good Advertisement that longer copy pulls more orders or inquiries. -Wonderboy

Was there an overwhelming reason for this Wonderboy? I can see how longer copy would be a great qualifiier since only the people who are really interested would bother to read the entire ad. -Liberty

An ad's headline is a screener. The (well-written) body, as you suggested, is mainly to build interest, desire and get action from the right audience (which the headline selects). -Wonderboy

IMO - the Creativity in grabing the desired Demographic for your product is met when hit with frequency and creativity.

It is one thing having a longer however the frequency can be higher when you have a shorter Sales Copy providing that you have a direct hit with your desired audience. -Snowboy

People who are truly interested will soak up as much information as possible before making the decision to buy. -rogerbauer

I agree Roger,
But also a short Sales Copy could spark the buyers interest to do their own research before making their buying decision. All Advertising is, is getting the customer/client interested. -Snowboy

Be a customer for a second. Imagine that you are interested in a particular product or service. What would you want to know about it in order to be satisified and able to make a decision? If it is something you are definitely interested in then you would want to know . . . . . everything there was to know. That sounds like long copy to me. -helisell

I thought this thread was about sales copy not ad copy. There are various selling tools that require copy. Sure there are ads but there are also brochures, info sheets, emails, direct mail pieces, websites, etc. Generally you want to get to the point depending on what type of medium you are working on.

I like to take a layered approach where I provide a bit of information at a time and always having them interested for more info. Different customers require different amounts of information to make their purchase decisions.

As a rule of thumb use the least amount of text to get the job done and where you can use pictures/diagrams/charts so convey the same information graphically as opposed to verbally. -Andrea

I believe the rule goes that long copy works better than short copy every time and short copy works better than no copy every time.

When someone writes a 32 page sales letter for a product, for example, they are covering all the bases. Not everyone will sit there and read all 32 pages (99% of people won't!), but you have to cover all your bases by making sure you give plenty of details to be able to satisfy your prospects. Some people want a good story telling the emotional benefits. Some people want to focus on the numbers and how X product will change their lives. You have to understand also that the more expensive a product is, the more attention and care needs to be taken in the sales process.

Hope this helps.

Mike Mangus -mikemangus

100% Mike and...........those who say 'use short copy', 'get to the point' presumably mean...'leave stuff out'.

If that is true then....what does one leave out?
And what if the bit that got left out was the exact bit that WOULD have persuaded customer x to make the purchase.

Generally 99% will not read it all...in fact it may be just ONE sentence that swings the deal.......so.......EVERY sentence has to be in there.

Also...if you leave out just ONE selling point and it happened to be the one that was of most interest to the reader....you just lost the sale.

I should know.....I spent years doing it the 'short' way.........but my actual measurable results tell me that long copy is best.

Go through any copy you have now and enlarge on the main points...include a few seemingly insignificant details...increase the amount of 'conversation'....and you WILL see better results.....just try it. -helisell

That triggers a thought that I think is worth sharing.

When we examine and try to decide between long and short copy, it's very easy to have a tendency to believe that long copy will be rejected by some people. In other words, none of it will be read--an illogical assumption. However, it's very possible that even a partial reading of long copy will be more than a comprehensive reading of short copy.

To me that means that we have to put some real meat into the first part of long copy. -Gary A Boye

It depends on the personality of the reader.

For some, if the main message doesn't jump out in less than ten seconds, the message is discarded. The bottom line is the critical issue and no amount of detail makes any difference.

For others, it is the character and trustworthiness of the seller is the most important thing. These people need a dialogue and it can be created in a long sales letter.

Others are only interested if shiny originality and pzazz leaps from the headline and first paragraph.

Then there are those who must have the facts, all of the facts, and then some.

Writing for the the chosen, known, and understood reader makes a difference. -Clive Miller

Makes sense but can you elaborate on "understood" reader? -Gary A Boye