Internet Marketing Strategies

Okay, you’re ready to write the ad of a lifetime. The one that will pull like crazy and leave them begging for your product like Somalians for food. So, do you whet their appetite with a short and sweet ad? Or write a long-copy ad that’s stuffed with information?

The 80-20 rule says 80% of the people only read the headline (and maybe a caption, if you have one). But the fact is, readers will read a long-copy ad. One McGraw-Hill study looked at 3,597 ads in 26 business magazines. What they discovered was that ads with 300 or more words were more effective that shorter ads in creating product awareness, inducing action and reinforcing the decision to buy.

Another ad for Merrill Lynch crammed 6, 450 words into a single New York Times page. It pulled over 10,000 responses even without a coupon! The truth is, the reason people read ads has nothing to do with copy length.

Nobody reads long ads and other urban ad legends

People shun too many of today’s ads long or short because several misleading myths have stubbornly remained with us. Things like negative headlines are a downer since people want to feel good when reading your ad. Or show the product or they’ll never know what you’re selling. Then there’s the stuffy axiom, there’s no place for humor in business advertising. Or the ubiquitous saw, all your ads should look the same, blend in or be swallowed up. (more…)

Copywriters often disagree on whether a short sales piece with lots of white space is better or whether long and detailed is the way to go. The long and short of the debate is this what type of buyer are you targeting?

There are basically 2 kinds of buyers.

1. The Impulsive Buyer
This is the kind of guy with places to go and people to see and not a whole lot of time to do it in. Typically, he’ll skim the headlines and subtopics, glance at the photos and captions, and make a snap decision.

2. The Analytical Buyer
This group of buyers believes that the proof is in the details. They’ll read everything including the fine print.

It stands to reason that successful copy will address the needs of both buyers regardless of length. Let’s look at what you need to do to reach both buyers. (more…)