I read something interesting last night: Sales letters can never be too long, they can only be too boring.
There’s some truth to that statement. Long doesn’t necessarily mean boring. While I’m usually going on about how short and concise follows today’s split-second attention span needs, it’s quite true that if something is interesting, I will read it from start to finish regardless of it’s length.
What snags my interest enough for me to read something I know will be long is a good, catchy title and a great introduction that has a little bit of suspense in it or makes me think. Photos help, especially interesting photos that draw me in or ones that mildly disturb me for some reason or another. I tend to have difficulty reading long text displayed on a monitor, though, so anything printed has a good chance that I’ll pick it up to read.
A good example of a long text that usually always catches my eye and intrigues me from having just the right combination of the above are magazine articles. They always have great titles. They usually have a fantastic photo; at least, the upscale magazines do. They always have the perfect introduction to catch my eye and keep me reading.
But a sales letter? Interesting? Big, brightly colored fonts; poor-quality pictures of people; testimonials; copy that pushes me to buy, buy, buy! No. Sorry. There isn’t anything interesting about that at all. Shoving something down my throat is no way to get me to swallow. The copy isn’t even interesting. I don’t learn anything, I’m not entertained, and I don’t finish the text with the sense of having discovered something new. All I feel is badgered.
Give me an article that someone has taken the pains to craft interesting material that intrigues me without even knowing who I am. Give me a writer who believes I have an IQ over 40. Give me someone who wants to make a mark with words and not from beating me with them to sell a product.
There are ways to sell and convince people without leaving them with the sense of being forced. Words can nudge, push, and manipulate in all sorts of ways. Don’t scream at people with copy. Lead them, guide them, and place them just where you’d like them without them even noticing.
