Comments on: Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even When You’re the Only One Home?

By: Harry Potter

Harry Potter — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:19:43 +0000

greetings fellow wiz,

i, harry potter, am going to tell you whether i close the door when i’m home alone when i am in the containing room of the restroom facilites. in my spare time i prefer to take long broom rides down the hogwarts castle and glisten my beautiful boot-um, unlike some ba*****ds who make fun of my likings and decide to shoot paintballs at me. as you know, i am a star in many movies, called HARRY POTTER etc. . . i am currently working on my 6 movie, and yes i am only 17 years of young age. i do give out free autographs, opposite of Britneyt Spears who charges 10 cents per letter, oh jee wiz. well back to my main subject, peeing with or without door closed. as you know hogwarts is a very large campus in which us ‘wizards’ have a dorm room, i have a door room, and if the whole floor is empty i do, indeed, have the door open just a smigde of wizzy wartons dust.

By: Krista Johnson

Krista Johnson — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:07:26 +0000

Bob,

Thanks for your advice. I agree that reading is not dead. Your piece was helpful, it provides my readers with another point of view. Thanks again!!

By: Sheri Cyprus

Sheri Cyprus — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:29:02 +0000

SpongeBob — Yes, the lack of any type of tracking or testing is quite foreign to me and I really can’t understand it! I know direct response and advertising can be different worlds in that regard, but I agree with you that even advertising clients should have at least SOME way of tracking their results. Isn’t that just good business? And yes, personally, I would love to write something in 150 words! I’m analytical and like to put things in a nutshell like advertising concepts. I love headlines just for that reason — you can sum up benefits and about 2,000 words of copy in a good headline.

By: SpongeBob Fan

SpongeBob Fan — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:27:12 +0000

Hello, Sheri — No disagreeableness implied or intended. Guess I’m sometimes jealous that I often only have a smaller space and (a few!) clients who think 150 words is more than anyone will “ever” read. I have wished there was more “real estate” in the formats I tend to write for (newsletters and ads mostly) but the form is what it is. If A to A tests show long copy pulls better, who would do anything else? That test-ability is unique to the various forms of direct response, tho’. I’ve often begged clients to put some sort of tracking thing in their ads, but many times they can’t and/or won’t even ask a person whose name appears in an ad to keep a log of the calls they get — that’s something I will n-e-v-e-r understand!

By: Sheri Cyprus

Sheri Cyprus — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:48:06 +0000

SpongeBob: I don’t write 15 pages because “I have the space” or because I’m “getting paid a whole lot to write it.” Yes, because I’m paid by the page, I do get a lot more for a 15 page letter than a shorter letter, usually. But, as Bob seems to keep having to point out, longer copy usually seems to test better. My client has found that it does test better so he has me write 15 page letters. Copywriting really is about the $$$$money$$$$ result for the client, so why would the client pay me to write a 9 page letter if his ROI would be much more profitable if I write him the 15 pages?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 03:49:54 +0000

Not to self-promote, but I did a post about long vs. short Internet copy on my blog recently: http://catalystblogger.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-people-read-online.html. Anyway, the gist is that there’s a new Poynter eyetrack study that suggests people actually read online more than anyone realizes. In the study, people read over 20% more of articles (they were using newspapers) online than in print. It’s interesting, and it explains a little bit why those long letters pull: people do read the whole thing, when they’re interested.

By: SpongeBob Fan

SpongeBob Fan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:43:08 +0000

Anytime, Bob. Anytime!

(In a serious vein, I have wondered if sometimes DM writers write more than they really need to because, A) They often have the space, and, B) They’re getting paid a whole lot to write it. I ABSOLUTELY know there is more to DM writing than “poundage” and I HATE the tons of p*ss-poor advertising I see. So this IS NOT DM vs. advertising. At all! It’s just that if DM writers got paid the same amount for writing 150 words that they do for 15 pages, who’d ever do the latter?! And again, the pay IS NOT the same. I do know one woman, tho’, who gets nicely paid for writing the world’s simplest press releases and sending them out. Is that alone gonna’ make her a millionaire? No way? But it is v-e-r-y e-a-s-y money.)

By: Bob Bly

Bob Bly — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:39:08 +0000

Steve, what works in my experience is to write a long copy page … but place order buttons throughout the page, not just at the end. Whenever the prospect has learned enough to make a purchase, he just clicks on the button and buys. You could test your idea of 3 versions to choose from, but I do not think it will work: it adds complexity and another layer of decision making, whicih usually depresses response. Sponge: will your company give me a staff job? I’d love to get paid for writing 150 words!!

By: Steve Yankee

Steve Yankee — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:52:45 +0000

When writing fairly technical copy for the Internet, I’ve often considered writing three versions of the assignment, ranging from very complicated to very simple…and then giving the reader a choice: Click here if you know a lot about , Click here if you know a little about , Click here if you’re brand new to . I’ve been tempted to interrupt my long online sales letters with strategically placed buttons that read “I want to cut to the chase. Show me how much this is and how I can order it.”

By: SpongeBob Fan

SpongeBob Fan — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:18:38 +0000

Diana - I agree about not being able to find the price. And it may well that we’re a little more sensitive to “the sell” because we’re in the biz.

Bob - Obviously if someone sends both long and short letters and the long pulls better, that’s an A to A comparison. I know I used to read all through that training company’s emails when I first discovered the group. Now I’m totally sold on them and would pretty much buy from a 3-liner … What, When, How Much?

I do find myself more likely to read long actual letters … possibly because they’re easier to handle and it’s always very easy to find the offer.

Good question.

(BTW, in the advertising end of the business, we get paid for writing shorter copy. Sometimes I do only have 150 words … and it’s hard work getting everything in there and making it work. It’s not top-DM writer $$$, I want to be clear about that. But it’s only 150 words. )