How long should my copy be?

No question ever asked has received more wrong answers than this one: how long should my copy be? If you work as a copywriter long enough, you’ll hear a client say, “no one reads copy any more.” This is usually accompanied by a request to make your copy shorter.

Others with the opposite view will quote David Ogilvy who said, “advertisers know that short copy doesn’t sell… long copy invariably outsells short copy.”

So what’s the correct answer to this question? Should your copy be short or long?

The answer is: Your copy should be as long as it needs to be to accomplish its mission.

No business owner would tell their best sales person to go out there and close the sale, but be sure to only use 4 or 500 words to do it. That would be insane. And yet, they often ask their writers (who are their best sales people) to make sure they don’t go over 500 words or some other arbitrary limit.

Copy should be as long as it needs to be to communicate the message it needs to communicate. And no longer. In some cases that may be two hundred words. In others it might be 10,000. Usually it will be some number between those extremes.

Consider what your reader needs to know in order to take the next step. What beliefs have to change? If they’ve followed an ad for a free download and their product awareness and intent to buy are both high, your copy may be short. If the price is so low, the decision is made on impulse, same thing, your copy can probably be short. The prospect has already decided they want what you have, you just need to write enough to confirm that buying decision. If they’re undecided or unfamiliar with the product, or if the price is high enough that it’s not an impulse purchase and requires some thought, you’ll need to write longer copy.

It often comes down to the buyer’s state of awareness. Low awareness or low buyer intent usually requires more explanation and storytelling. High awareness or high buyer intent tends to require less copy. So the important question is… what does your reader need to know? What information will help them adopt the beliefs they need to take action? How aware are they of this solution and the outcome it promises?

With answers to those questions, you can answer the question: how long should this copy be?

Now that we’ve covered most of the general writing advice, let’s get into the specifics of writing copy.