Copywriting: Long or Short Copy? What’s Right for You?

Long copy? Short copy? Clever copy? Informative copy? What turns on the 2007 catalog shopper?

If you were, for instance, to look at a catalog like Chico’s, a women’s apparel marketer, you might think that the less copy, the better. But, if you look at electronics cataloger Crutchfield, you’d see plenty of long, descriptive copy.

So, what’s the right copy formula that’ll make customers do what you want them to do — that is, buy your products?

Copy Differentiates

Along with getting your prospecting and customer catalogs regularly, your customers have access to so much on the Web. The Internet has become an odd kind of shopper’s paradise. But along with accessing sellers like you, customers also can access sellers of substandard products who may under-price — then under-deliver.

Your challenge is to show customers you’re a better choice; to compete with your catalog and your Web site, add one more piece to the puzzle — brand! Determine if the visual treatment of your catalog is the thing that best supports your brand, or whether it’s the nature of your copy — its length and its voice — that attracts good customers. Then determine how to tell time-impoverished shoppers that your catalog is the one they want to look at now.

Another key attention-getter is the use of your catalog’s cover. Most catalogers don’t use the outside of their catalogs effectively. It’s a great opportunity to highlight product choices and help prospects and customers see that yours is the catalog they should spend their limited time with at the end of a busy day.

Tightly written teasers are key on both the front and back covers. And a great teaser isn’t just the name of a product; it’s also inspiring messaging that excites and invites customers to see you and your product in a new way.