Forget About "Opinions" When Writing Your Advertising

How much writing should go in an advertisement?

This is one of the conversations I have with my clients on a regular basis...

Client: Will people read all that writing?

Me: Direct marketers have proven over and over again that if you grab someone's attention, that YES, they will read all that writing. And long copy sells more than short copy!

Client: But I've shown it to my friends/brother/wife/sister/partners and they say that they would never read it - and it doesn't look very good.

Me: The way people buy and the way they browse is very different. Of course you wouldn't read all of that writing if you were not interested in the subject, but if you were a homeowner and you were looking to get your carpets cleaned - and you had paid $6,000 for the carpet - you can bet your bottom dollar that you would be happy to read that writing.

It's a conversation I have over and over again with my clients. And, it's true:

How many times have you read about something and thought, "that looks interesting," then put it down, and thought, "I'll come back to that later"?

And how many times have you done nothing about it? That's the reason why you need to do everything in your power to entice, to persuade, and to encourage your reader to call you NOW!

Long copy doesn't look as good. People won't read it if they are not interested.

But let me refer back once again to the words of Rosser Reeves:

Yes, I am going to keep reinforcing this until it sinks in. Why? Because long copy looks ugly. Many advertising agencies will argue against it, your friends will tell you it won't work, but LET YOUR AUDIENCE BE YOUR JUDGE.