Why use longer copy? (13 insights)

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Top-o-the-morning, Inbox Hackers. Today is National Get Your Act Together Day. Let me know how it goes if you tackle that challenge. I kinda like living like a free-range human. 

Friday’s Feature Story gives you 13 insights on using long sales copy. This idea was seeded by a YouTuber who did a three-hour how-to on starting a service business. Three hours, son! 171,000 views.

After the Feature comes This Week’s Marketing Wrap-Up.

13 Insights on Long Sales Copy

There’s nothing wrong with short sales copy. Just don’t believe all the TikTokish hype about keeping everything short. Long sales copy has a lengthy history of generating sales and will be around forever (unlike TikTok, which might face a secondary ban for turning brains to mush or whatever’s after mush level).

Off we go….

#1 In a five-way test, the direct mail piece with a long sales letter performed best (nearly 2x the second place piece).

#2 Long sales copy allows marketers to address multiple (possibly all) buyer objections from every angle.

#3 Services/products need longer explanations if they’re expensive or confusing.

#4 It’s good to weed out people unwilling to read, watch, or listen to long sales pitches when it prevents wasting time on those unwilling audience members (not a fit).

#5 Innovative products may be cool but won’t sell if consumers don’t fully understand how they make their life better, easier, or wealthier.

#6 Long copy, even in video form, may need some entertainment mixed in to keep folks engaged (Flex Tape mastered this).

#7 More chances to use storytelling to draw in the audience (including stories of success from your customers).

#8 Longer copy allows you to use multiple storytelling techniques too (15 techniques here).

#9 You can’t list 100 product benefits in a YouTube short, but can in a 4,500-word sales letter.

#10 Long copy doesn’t mean long sentences—they baffle folks. Shorten sentences.

#11 You can drop in tons of quotes, subheadlines, visuals, etc. in longer pieces.

#12 Some people will only see your ad/marketing campaign ONCE. A long sales piece lets you tell them all they need to know at once - with your best shot.

#13 People won’t read sucky copy, whether it’s 301 words or 7,203 words.

Are there challenges to using long-form sales copy? Yeah. Printed marketing pieces may perform better than digital pieces. There are more distractions online versus Floyd sitting in his LazyBoy recliner to read a sales pitch from a financial advisor.

The biggest challenge? 

Making time to create longer marketing copy. And believing in long-form despite all of today’s “indicators” that make it appear bite-sized ads and content are the only option. 

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Now, the news, including that CTA hack…

Thanks for reading and sharing Inbox Hacking with a friend. Have a tremendous weekend.

Shane McLendon, Copy Kingpin - Inbox Hacking

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