Does length really matter?

One of the things that many businesses struggle with is the length of copy—particularly for direct mail letters; follow-up sales letters or for information accompanying quotes and even for some websites.

Is short and concise the way to go? After all, most of us are time-starved. Do potential customers want lots of facts and figures? Or will that simply put your audience to sleep?

The real answer to the ‘length of copy’ dilemma is: “How long’s a piece of string?” or “It needs to be as long as it needs to be”. And if you’re like me, you’ll find that answer less than satisfying. It gives no insight, no definition and no clear direction.

So let’s look at the general guidelines that professional copywriters follow:

• Grab the reader’s attention.
• Be conversational and friendly.
• Identify with the problems your potential customers face.
• Describe how your product / service provides the solution to their problems.
• Create a desire for your product / service.
• Identify any reasons they might for not buying your product / service.
• Dispel those ‘objections’ with facts, figures, case studies or testimonials.
• Ask for the business by advising the customer on the next step they need to take, i.e. the call to action.

If you’ve accomplished all of the above, your copy should contain all the information that the buyer needs to make a decision or act. Yet that can amount to a lot of information. Will people really read it? Good question. Well, consider this fact: if you’ve given a potential customer all the information they need to make a decision, then there’s nothing left to do except ask for their business. Isn’t that saving time for you and your potential customer? Doesn’t it also demonstrate that, since you fore-saw their questions and concerns, you do, indeed understand their point-of-view?

Consider also that people will read veritable books on things they find interesting. I don’t think anyone can dispute that; it’s precisely what we do whenever we read a novel, or in fact, a non-fiction book on a topic we find fascinating. Perhaps the difference between topics which fascinate us and sales copy is that sales copy isn’t always interesting.

Another differentiating factor is that most books come in chapters. Each chapter has a heading and there’s an index at the front. That means you can simply skip to the section that interests you the most. Much sales copy is just words—many times in a teeny tiny font size (or am I showing my age?).

So, let’s add to the copywriting guidelines above:

• Make all the information interesting to your potential customer.
• Include headings that break-up the information and let the reader skim to the sections that are relevant to them.
• Highlight important phrases or key words (usually by bolding) so that they leap out at a skimming reader.
• Use a type size that is appropriate for your readers.

Once you’ve written your copy, give your ego a pre-bruising pampering, and ask someone with little knowledge of your products and services to give you an honest opinion. Or better yet, ask the potential customers and customers for their thoughts and feedback. What an excellent way to start building a customer relationship!

I was jogging down my street the other day when I saw a man walking with his canine friend. The little dog pulled his human companion to the left-hand side of the path so he could bury his face in a bed of purple flowers.

As I was also on the left-hand side of the path, this meant we were on a collision course.

Seeing this, the dog’s human friend moved to the other side of the footpath. The leash became taut as the dog struggled to stay within smelling distance of the flowers.

Having just started my run, my legs were fresh enough to change direction so I moved to the right-hand side of the path. The owner slackened the leash and his little canine companion went back to smelling his beloved flowers.

As I jogged passed, the dog’s human friend said, “He likes to smell the flowers”.

He made me think. Do we make the time to savour life’s simple pleasures?

How often are we pulled away from the things which bring us joy and fulfillment?

What makes us abandon things that are important to us, simply for another’s convenience? Imagine that little dog in winter; dreaming of the first buds of spring that will bloom into the flowers he loves. Now it is spring. It is his time to smell the flowers.

Saying to soar by

He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you have any article ideas or requests, please email them to mandy@talkingturkey.com.au

Email: mandy@talkingturkey.com.au
Web: www.talkingturkey.com.au

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