The trend is to use minimal copy in advertising. Rely on a catchy image, a clever headline, and minimal text. But that does not always work for technical products. In fact, the more time you can keep a prospect reading your ad, the more likely he or she will take a positive action.
The big secret is that you have to grab the attention of qualified readers, and then never let them go until they understand the benefits of your product. Here is a recent example I admire:
And here is an example I wrote:
Both examples use strong headlines, break the message up into negotiable chunks, and provide graphics to support the pitch. If the reader is interested in productivity (in the first case) or performance (in the second case), he or she will feel compelled to read to the end. They will understand the benefits, and will take action.
To those who still doubt that long copy works in the age of 140 character Twits, I point out that trade magazines still publish features that run from 1200 to 5000 words -- and their subscribers actually read the articles. Length is not a deterrent if the content provides value to the reader.
The big secret is that you have to grab the attention of qualified readers, and then never let them go until they understand the benefits of your product. Here is a recent example I admire:
To those who still doubt that long copy works in the age of 140 character Twits, I point out that trade magazines still publish features that run from 1200 to 5000 words -- and their subscribers actually read the articles. Length is not a deterrent if the content provides value to the reader.