This post, which borrows from an Ivan Levison newsletter, is about how to figure out the best length to make your landing page. (For those who don’t know, Mr. Levison is a Bay Area-based direct response writer who truly rocks that category and is a fount of wisdom on all things writing related.)
These days, we content creators have probably been tyrannized by the concept of short attention span. Over and over we’re told that readers have very little time they’re willing to spare our ramblings. That we’d better get to the point and do it fast. That infographics are king because they don’t demand much of the reader. That our craft is less and less important as time goes on.
Well, Mr. Levison begs to differ. (And so do I.)
Here’s what he says about his a vendor he watched during trip to the famous Petticoat Lane market in London’s East End:
“ … a fellow who was selling one of those ‘Veg-o-matic’ type kitchen gadgets … let me tell you, this guy could sell! … He was fabulous, and his pitch ran for a good fifteen minutes … Why did he have us in the palm of his hand? … Because he always had something new to show us. He was always engaging.”
And there you have it. Mr. Levison believes (and so do I) that “The page isn’t too long if it holds the reader’s interest.” He adds, “Believe me, long copy on the web can work as I’ve proven time and time again.”
So the next time you’re tasked to create a landing page—or any other type of copy, for that matter—consider going longer if you have something to say. Think hard about the tidbits of information that would cause your audience to click through or pick up the phone. If you think they might spark conversion, then use them. Even if you’re adding a couple of extra sentences or more.
No less a personage than Andrew Ogilvy has endorsed this point of view, though perhaps a touch cynically. His wonderful, seminal work “Ogilvy on Advertising” offers any number of examples of long ad copy. Even today, even a touch dated, these examples read wonderfully. As he puts it, “I believe, without any research to support me, that advertisements with long copy convey the impression that you have something important to say … “
So, don’t go on and on. And subject your stuff to rigorous editing (of course). But don’t be afraid to go longer than conventional wisdom says you should. And (of course) because this is a data-driven world, do some A/B testing and see if longer is really better.
leshkasmok / 123RF Stock Photo
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