Which is better, long or short copy?

At least someone reads long copy (if you make it worth their while). This example is by another copywriter, whose name I don't know.

There’s a never-ending debate amongst copywriters about short versus long copy. Some of the things I’ve read have prompted me to jump in and add my bit.

So how much copy will make your communication effective? I think that depends. The important thing is to engage your readers. Then keep them interested until they want to buy your product or find out more.

Entertain, surprise and inform, and they’ll lap it up

People will read your copy if you reward them with interesting facts and stories. (If you’re the advertiser, please remember that what you find interesting won’t necessarily interest your customers.)

Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, at least in urban areas, you can now take your reader from a poster, press ad or DM piece directly to more information on the web. Consequently, effective DM can be more succinct than it was in the past. You simply need to whet the reader’s appetite and send them online for the main course.

Feed your copy-hungry customers online

Once you’ve got a prospect on your website, it makes sense to give them lots of information. That’s what they’re there for. The beauty of a website is that you can feed readers lots of copy without it seeming like too much. Just make sure it’s easy to read, scannable text, in what I call “bite-size chunks”, ending with links that take readers deeper into your site.