Pretty provcative title, huh?
It’s also the title of Richard Armstrong’s report on the same subject.
Never heard of him?
Not surprising. He doesn’t advertise himself much.
Can’t blame him really. As one of America’s top copywriters, he’s too busy quietly making millions for his clients.
Anyway, I’ve got an excerpt from that report of his for you here.
Enjoy…
Someone once tried to tease the tall and lanky Abraham Lincoln by asking him how long a man’s legs should be. With scarcely a moment’s thought, Lincoln fired back with a reply that probably answered the question for all time:
“Long enough to reach the ground.”
Perhaps the most commonly asked question in the world of direct marketing is how long a direct-mail letter should be. And the typical response to this question is some variation on Lincoln’s tautology: “Long enough to do the job” … “Long enough to tell the story” …
“Long enough to sell the product.” Or my personal favorite: “Long enough to reach the customer’s wallet.”Amusing, yes. But not much help if you’re really looking for an answer.
Implicit in this question – especially when it’s asked by people outside of or new to the business – is a certain skepticism about whether long letters really work. “Why do direct-mail letters have to be so darn long?” is what I’m often asked at cocktail parties when I’ve told someone what I do for a living. Clients who are new to direct marketing usually don’t pose it in terms of a question. They tend to make flat-out pronouncements: “People don’t read long letters,” they insist, or, “Long letters don’t work.”
Well, maybe people don’t read them. But they definitely do work.
When I first started in this business in the mid-1970s, the vast majority of direct-mail letters were one or two pages long. Back in those days, when I got about halfway down the second page of a letter in my typewriter, I’d hit something equivalent to what marathon runners call “The Wall.”
I couldn’t write a three-page letter if my life depended on it. But nowadays, I can’t even say hello in less than three pages. The notes I leave to my wife about being out of cornflakes can run to eight pages or more. Based on casual observation, I would say that the average length of a direct-mail letter these days is six pages, with many going to eight, ten, or even twelve pages in length. (I’m not even talking about magalogs, which can run into dozens of pages long.)
What caused the change?…
Want the rest?
Go to Richard’s site – www.goddoesntshootcraps.com (not an affiliate link) – and click on the button marked “Free Gift for Copywriters” to get a full copy of the report.
There are others there you may find interesting. I did. That’s why I’ve got them all.
Best,
Rezbi
The Copy System
www.directmarketingcourse.com
www.hotbuttoncopywriting.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com
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