For as long as copy has been written, there’s been an argument about length. Obviously, if it’s longer than a few dozen words fewer people will read it. Stands to reason.
Well, obvious or not, it’s wrong.
If all you’re trying to achieve is a modest uptick in, say, brand awareness, and you’re looking for the maximum number of people to read it, then you might have a point. But if you’re looking for measurable response, long copy wins every time.
Why?
If your copy is short, it might have enough in it to create some interest, but it won’t have enough to get the sale (or the donation). And it suggests you don’t really have that much to say. That’s a big risk to run, given you’ll have spent your marketing budget on whatever medium you’re putting your short copy in. There’s nothing to be gained by economising on the length.
But what if not everyone reads it? Not everyone will, however riveting your story is. I’ve commented before about focussing on that small group of people who are most likely to respond…and that you can comfortably ignore the majority who for whatever reason simply won’t respond anyway, no matter how smart your targeting.
Even if you’ve done that, long copy still won’t get read top to bottom. People skip around, picking the bits they’re most interested in. So long copy gives them plenty of entry points; and that’s also why you need to break up long copy with lots of subheads, bold bits, short paras.
And long copy doesn’t cost any more than short. No copywriter I know charges by the word, sadly. As I said above, if you’re paying a medium to carry your message, then you might as well fill it to the brim. Somewhere in all that copy will be the word or the promise that will tip your reader over the edge.
But, of course, all this depends on how good your copy is in the first place. As the legendary John Caples said: "Don't be afraid of long copy. If your ad is interesting, people will devour it. If the ad is dull,short copy won't save it."
Who’s John Caples? Look him up on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Caples