I have a client who loves long copy.
I have a client who loves short copy.
The other day, I saw an ad looking for a writer. The post set out the job details as, “a long sales letter of about 3 pages.” Is that long copy or short?
Which works better? Well, they both work. They work – perform the intended and desired job – because both of these clients have a clear understanding of exactly what they want from the copy before I write a single word.
The client who wants short copy works in the offline world of direct mail. He is looking to get a sale as quickly and efficiently as possible. His product is a consumer product that is more of an impulse buy. His price point is usually less than $30.
This client starts every discussion with, “Peter I need sales.” But the next sentence is often, “Peter, I have a budget of less than $1 per piece mailed.”
So I know before we start that he needs less than a four-page sales letter, a simple order form and maybe a lift note. He has no room in the budget for a ten-page letter or a full-color brochure.
He needs about a 2-minute commercial! So, let’s look at that. One million years ago, before computers and Facebook, I worked as a radio news reporter. As a reporter, I had about 45 to 60 seconds to tell a story to listeners. I needed to get in all the facts, and if required, all the emotion of the story. (A good report writes the story to match the emotion: a house fire with five dead is very different in style than a report on a politician’s speech or a labor negotiation.
As a rule, most people speak at a rate of 3-words-per-second. So, a 120-second report is about 360 words. (For comparison’s sake, most blogs are about 450 to 700 words. That’s 2.5 to 4 minutes reading.)
So, for this client, four pages is “long copy” and three is perfect!
My other client wants a long copy sales letter for a seminar. He sells business-coaching services. I asked the usual, “How long?” question. He told me, as the letter would appear on a web site, I could make it as long as I wanted… just as long as it did the job (generated sign-ups.)
So, I started to write… and write… and write.
I ended up with about 12 pages of copy!
(Naturally, I used all my secret copywriter’s tricks: a Johnson Box, a PS at the top, an early response opportunity…)
The client said that’s fine. Because for him, his needs, his budget and his medium, the length simply did not matter. It was more about getting the job done, no matter how long it takes!
But, I still needed to get readers to respond.
So, I guess the answer to the question, “Do you need long copy or short?” is simple: that depends!
But the decision should come at the beginning of the process. Both of my clients here knew exactly what would work for their budget. They had goals in mind before I sat at the keyboard.
So, before you ask your copywriter for a sales letter, determine exactly how much you need first.
(And if you are going to write a single-page website to promote your offer, don’t tell the writer, “As much as you think to make it work.” Because I’ll ask back, “Can your visitors afford the time investment to read a 16 or 24-page sales letter?” It might work, but until we test, we’ll never know.)
I hope this generated some brain activity on your part, either as a writer or a direct marketer, to look at your plan of attack BEFORE you start writing and determine the best length for your needs and your budget!
Thanks!
Peter T. Britton
Idea Generator. Wordsmith. Resultant.
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