In today's blog post I'm answering the frequently asked question, "Long copy versus short copy. What works better?"
Look, this debate has been going on forever, between marketers and copywriters. Some people say that long copy definitely works better than short copy. Other people say that no one has time to read long copy, therefore, shorter copy will work better too. So, what's my opinion?
Well, my opinion as a professional copywriter with over 15 years experience, is it really depends. It depends on many factors. There is a time to use long copy and there is a time to use short copy. In this blog post I'm going to help you understand when you should use both.
When to use short copy
When your brand is already established, when it's already well-known in the marketplace.
If you look companies like apple.com when they came out with the iPad or even the iPhone, they didn't need to use long copy. And that's because consumers are already aware of apple.com. They trust the brand. And therefore if you look at their landing page for either the iPhone or the iPad, you'll notice that they don't use a lot of copy. They don't need to, because consumers already know, like, and trust the brand.
When what you're offering is free.
If you're offering a free gym membership, or maybe a free digital lead magnet, such as a video course or white paper, an eBook, or even a checklist, then you don't need a lot of copy to justify, and to sell, something that's free. In that instance, I think short copy can work really well.
When your product or service, or whatever it is that you're offering, is simple and straightforward to explain.
When you don't require a lot of copy because it's so easy to understand​ what you're selling, the benefits and the problems that it solves, you don't need a lot of copy to sell it.
When to use long copy
When you're new in the marketplace, and you need to establish your brand, your products and services.
See, when people don't know who you are, then you have more explaining to do. And that's going to justify using longer copy, because you need to build trust, you need to build rapport, you need to gain people's trust in the marketplace, and long copy allows you to do that because you have more room to say what you need to say to build your trust.
When what you're selling is complicated, difficult to understand, or even expensive.
Just look at some of the products or gadgets for sale on kickstarter.com. These are completely new products. Often they haven't been created yet, they just have a concept or a blueprint for the product. And what they do is they use a lot of copy on the product page on Kickstarter, in order to what the product is, how it works, the manufacturing process, and all that information, and questions that potential buyers might have.
There you have it. Long copy versus short copy, the debate rages on. But at least now you have an idea of when you should use short copy and when you should use long copy in your marketing.
If you enjoyed reading this blog post, then please like it and share it with other people. And if you'd like some help with either writing short copy or long copy, in your blog website, business, or online marketing campaigns, then definitely reach out and get in touch with us over at copywritingcrew.com.