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Debate: Short or Long Web copy???

Linda Buquet

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Anyone that know me knows how much I hate those long hypey ebook sales pages.
Today's 5 Star blog had a good article.

Short copy or long copy? Which converts better? That is the question.

<img src="http://www.grokdotcom.com/wp-content/themes/grokdotcom-by-contentrobot/images/grok/grok-alien.gif" alt="conversion experts" align="left" hspace="10" />
The best answers come from the conversion experts from <strong>FutureNow</strong> over at their <strong>GrokDotCom</strong> blog.

Bryan Eisenberg writes about <strong><a target="_new" href="http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/06/08/gr8t-web-20-copy/">Gr8t Web 2.0 Copy</a></strong>.

<blockquote>"For years, my stock answer about copy length has been that it's not about length but relevance. <strong>I'd explain that it's the lady's skirt principle: copy needs to be long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to be interesting.</strong>

AdWords, Twitter (microblogging), social media, text messaging, and the continual assault of data on our senses is raising the bar. My brother Jeffrey observes, <em>"The skirt just seems to be getting shorter and shorter."
</em>
Before you label me a short copy advocate, let me say that <strong>if it were as easy as just writing short copy, then all the Web's short copy (including all those short AdWords/AdSense ads) would convert like a winning slot machine.</strong> <a target="_new" href="http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/06/08/gr8t-web-20-copy/">More</a>..."</blockquote>
Go read the rest, then come talk about it.
Do you like long skirts or short skirts, errr... I mean web copy???
:p
 
Long copy vs. short skirt.... copy.

I think it depends of the level of commitment involved by the purchase. If you sell fast moving goods, short copy might convert better than long one. But let's say you sell a training program which lasts one year and costs me a quarter of my yearly income, then I want to know lots of details before joining. So here long copy may convert better. Anyway, marketers can test different copy versions, see which ones convert better and stick to them.
 
I like reading short copies. I get easily bored with long ones... :rolleyes:
But above all, it depends. There are some that are "must read" copies, where I need to read from the top till the end and could really give me knowledge and interesting facts. If that's the case, then I'm sure I won't mind reading long copy articles... :eek:
 
I think they both have their place and specific uses.

A lead generation page needs to get to the point and grab the lead, then let human interaction close the sale. This is short copy.

If you look at the long copy format it is set up with several closes throughout the copy. There are always several places down the pitch to go ahead and purchase (sometimes called a trial close). And sometime the visitor needs more information before he/she will make a buying decision.


They both have their place and when used properly they are verry effective.
 
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