Page 49 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

18 LONG COPY AND WHY
IT WORKS

It’s funny. Even people at the self-proclaimed “cutting edge” of
copywriting—the web—turn out to be as fond of myths as their
Stone Age (i.e., print) cousins. Here’s one of my favorites: “Long
copy doesn’t work.” This is usually uttered as an axiom so plainly
true that no evidence is adduced to support it.
Truth is, we will keep reading. If we’re reading something that
interests us. Something that connects with a deep-seated need.
Something that promises to bring our dreams a little closer. (Or
actually within a hand’s grasp.) The medium and the number of
words are irrelevant.

The idea

From an audio system manufacturer
Unless you never read newspapers or magazines, you will have
come across an ad for one of this high-end manufacturer’s audio
systems. From home cinema to CD and digital radio systems, they
have a distinctive look and a niche in the market. And they always
use long-copy ads.
Here are seven things we can see them doing to make their reader’s
life a little easier as they read the ads.
1. Short paragraphs.
2. Opening with a direct appeal to the reader’s self-interest.
3. Plenty of bullet points and cross-heads to break up the page.

40 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS