Comments on: Copy Writing: Long vs. Short, Does it Matter?

By: RaiulBaztepo

RaiulBaztepo — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:34:05 +0000

Hello! Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource! PS: Sorry for my bad english, I'v just started to learn this language See you! Your, Raiul Baztepo

By: lazer epilasyon

lazer epilasyon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:01:08 +0000

very good article.. Write as much or as little as is needed for readers to learn, understand, make a decision or otherwise reach our and their goals.

By: güzel sözler

güzel sözler — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:11:11 +0000

I'm not a copywriter, far from it, but I really believe people should write for their audience.

By: Güzel Sözler

Güzel Sözler — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:26:26 +0000

The length of the headline and the copy will depend on whatever works for whatever you are selling. In other words, the only way to know what works is to test different approaches.

By: oyun

oyun — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:41:16 +0000

By: SEO Philadelphia

SEO Philadelphia — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:57:00 +0000

In my opinion, copy Writing is something that both experienced and newbie Webmasters find difficult to master because everyone concentrates on sales rather than creating valuable content. Most small business fail because they miss this vital first step and jump straight in with sales and wait for an income that doesn't come, they just do it the wrong way then unfortunately after a while just decide that the internet isn't for them and miss tremendous opportunities.

The length of the headline and the copy will depend on whatever works for whatever you are selling. In other words, the only way to know what works is to test different approaches. Go for various headlines to see which works best at capturing attention and communicating a benefit. Similarly, test the amount of information you provide. Does more or less work better at producing the desired action? Well the answer will be at your desk once after analyzing these little but ‘vital’ approaches. Ultimately, in the end that’s the only answer that will ever matter to you.

By: Website Optimisation

Website Optimisation — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:56:41 +0000

Hi, very interesting post. If you look at the websites of marketers who sell "information" products on topics such as "how to make lots of money with no effort" they often present the visitor with reams of information. I've never been able to tell if its to hypnotise the reader in to buying or trying to convince them that it actually works by telling them over and over again. I'm not a copywriter, far from it, but I really believe people should write for their audience. Personally I would love it if everything was summarised at the beginning so I know in advance if its going to be worth reading.

By: Heidi Cool

Heidi Cool — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:11:42 +0000

Wayne, Your mention of trimming the article for certain audiences or styling an article to break up the text really speaks to the need to customize the text to the purpose. Short or long, one must simply give the audience what it needs and present it in a manner that makes it accessible to them. This could be a matter of length, format, vocabulary, style, etc. The original question focused more on the short vs. long debate regarding business to business marketing copy—a debate I'd not known of previously, but we also see similar debate when it comes to other types of Web copy. We often hear that online readers have short attention spans, but I've always been bothered by that. I think readers make quick decisions when sorting through the vast array of resources available on the Web, but that they will also stop and take the time to read sites and blogs that fulfill their needs. My blog entries are often longer than I plan, but it is usually because I discover while writing point A, that the reader will also need to know about B and C. So whether we're writing as information providers or as marketers I think similar rules apply. Write as much or as little as is needed for readers to learn, understand, make a decision or otherwise reach our and their goals.

By: Wayne Smallman

Wayne Smallman — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:53:59 +0000

I can only really discuss this question from the point of view of my 'blog, certainly with any degree of certainty about the merits, perils et cetera. In my experience, the question is rather a silly one — and that's not a sleight against yourself, Heidi! The length of the copy really is determined when the needs of the end user (or consumer) are identified, in relation to the product / service itself. Because I discuss a range of topics, the length of any given article may vary. But that doesn't stop Kate (my adjutant of sorts) from constantly calling out the length of certain articles as being too much. My view is, if the article is a "what if?" piece, it's as long as it needs to be for me to communicate the ideas I have. For other articles, I may artificially trim the length to fit the topic and the audience. I might also employ different styling options — such as bullet points, pull quotes, images, shortened paragraphs et cetera — to keep the content visually more interesting. So the length of the copy really is a dynamic thing, not one that's arbitrarily fixed...