Is short copy the way to go? Or is it “the more you tell, the more you sell”? It’s time to call in the experts’ verdicts on long copy.
Although it stands to reason that readers can only absorb short bits of information as they plod through a sea of daily advertisements, some of the biggest names in marketing swear by the effectiveness of a lengthier approach.
Research has proven that audiences will read long copy – as long as the content is interesting. No one understands this better than legendary ad man David Ogilvy.
David Ogilvy (1911-1999), founder of Ogilvy & Mather, felt so passionately about the subject that he penned two books on this debate: Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963) and Ogilvy on Advertising (1983).
In Confessions of an Advertising Man, he dismissed universal beliefs that people don’t read long copy, saying, “Nothing could be farther from the truth.”
According to Ogilvy, “Every advertisement should be a complete sales pitch for your product. It is unrealistic to assume that consumers will read a series of advertisements for the same product. You should shoot the works in every advertisement, on the assumption that it is the only chance you will ever have to sell your product to the reader—now or never.”
His research demonstrated that readership dwindles up to the 50-word mark, but decreases very little between 50 and 500 words. Meaning once you’ve got them hooked, you’ve got them hooked!
“Long copy sells more than short. I believe, without any research to support me, that advertisements with long copy convey the impression that you have something important to say, whether people read the copy or not.”
Ogilvy then highlights a very important observation: since when do adverts have to look like adverts anyway?
“They have inherited graphic conventions which telegraph to the reader, "This is only an advertisement. Skip it. "If you make them look like editorial pages, you will attract more readers. Roughly six times as many people read the average article as the average advertisement. Very few advertisements are read by more than one reader in twenty.”
“Long copy sells more than short copy, particularly when you are asking the reader to spend a lot of money. Only amateurs use short copy.”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1933 – 2013), another long copy advocate, was a Creative Director at Leo Burnett and author of one of the best selling Marketing book series of all time - the Guerrilla series. In Guerrilla Marketing Attack (1989), Levinson highlights consumers’ main pet peeves, “Of all the things people dislike about marketing, ‘lack of information’ comes in second. [‘Feeling deceived’ is first.]” When the purchasing process is in motion, people are likely to go for products and services with readily available information, versus those that let buyers’ imaginations run wild. If insufficient information is available, consumers are more likely to object to advertisers’ sales pitches.
John Caples (1900-1990), the master results-oriented copywriter at advertising agency Ruthrauff & Ryan, discusses certain potholes of short copy in his book, Tested Advertising Methods (1931).
He claims that short copy is “usually employed by advertisers who are unable to trace the direct sales results from their advertisements.” Not everyone will read the finer details of a given advert, but the people who do are the ones most compelled to buy your product. Successful copywriters understand the need to provide justifications and reasons for purchasing, highlighting the necessity for longer copy.
Victor O. Schwab (1898-1980), another Ruthraff & Ryan staffer and a pioneer in copy research, claimed an astonishing connection between ad effectiveness and numbers of words used. In his book How to Write a Good Advertisement (1982) he coded coupon ads testing copy appeals, lengths, layouts and split runs of ads throughout his career. He discovered that the longer you can sustain readers’ interest, the more likely you will convince them to take action.
“It’s amazing how much copy any person will read, willingly, if you continue to point out these consumer benefits. Continuously interesting presentation of strong consumer-benefit sales angles justifies and rewards the use of longer copy. Yet many advertisements virtually say little more than “Hello—Our product is wonderful—Good-bye.”
Schwab felt that advertisers are almost conditioned to use short copy believing it to be more appealing to consumers, noting, “Long copy doesn’t scare away readers the way it scares away advertisers.” He encouraged copywriters to use long copy based on the overwhelming findings of his research.
Craig Huey (1950- ), renowned direct marketing guru, expresses his thoughts about long copy in his book 2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success: Long copy works (1998).
“The reason ads don’t do as well as direct mail is you don’t have the space to tell your story as strongly. In just one study, McGraw-Hill reviewed 3,597 ads in 26 business magazines. It found that ads with 300 or more words were more effective than shorter ads in creating awareness of the product, prompting action, and reinforcing a buying decision.”
So there you have it – straight from some of the biggest names in marketing: long copy works. The next time you’re tempted to run with a punchy 50-word blurb, think again. Take some advice from the masters and win hearts and minds by presenting the full, unabridged director’s cut. After all, we’re not just selling products – we’re selling stories.