Sales Formats: Long by Design

Here's an interesting idea for sales formats, one that comes from the direct marketing folks: Long copy sells better than short copy, everything else being equal.

While it's true most recipients will not read a lengthy sales letter, it's also unlikely that they're much interested in the message anyway. But, the truly interested (those who plan to buy soon) will soak up as much information as they can. Some direct marketers report that 8 page letters sell more than 4 page letters, and 16 page letters sell more than 8 page letters. With that, some marketers' sales formats now include 32 page sales letters.

Let's be more specific about situations and sales formats. For example, if you send me a sales letter about photocopiers, I probably won't read it, whatever its length. There's a simple explanation: a satisfactory machine sits near my desk. And, I won't be dazzled by new features until I'm ready (and my wallet is ready) for a color copier. So in this cases, the sales formats won't make any difference; I'm simply not in your target market.

On the other hand, if you send me a sales letter about notebook or laptop computers, I would probably read the whole thing, since I'd like to buy a new one. In this case, sales formats matter. What you want to do here is try to convince me that the benefits your computer offers are better than the benefits offered by your competitors. You also want to try to find the triggers that will convert me from a sort-of-interested to a want-it-now prospect.

That last point should help you identify the main reason for a long sales letter - to cover all the potential benefits and buying triggers. The more benefits you list, the more triggers you cover, the more likely I am to pull out my credit card. So now, sales formats matter, and you have to ask yourself how long your long sales letter will be.

By the way, good direct marketers don't use long letters to brag about their products or to talk about their companies. They use the space to list and explain benefits and triggers. Before they even start their letters, they make a list of every single benefit they can find. Then, they explain each and every one, based on the space available.

The more benefits they can list, and the more they can develop each one, the more persuasive their letter for that small but targeted audience. And that's what really counts.

In summary, among all possible sales formats, longer letters generally persuade more effectively than shorter sales letters. The more benefits and the more triggers the letter discusses, the better the chances of a sale.

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