Ask any marketer if long- or short-form copy is best and you’re bound to hear… something different? Consider this one of the perpetual disagreements amongst our professional landscape. Some argue short copy’s quick, low-distraction nature as the perfect solution to the fast-moving eyes of modern consumers. Others say copy provides information, and information leads to sales, so long-form is best. 

As a digital agency, we’re constantly weighing the pros and cons of each word in our designs, which means we have a strong answer to this popular question. Should I keep my copy as short as possible or offer additional information? It just depends. 

We’re sorry to get your hopes up, but the truth of the matter is there’s no right answer for all situations. That’s one of the reasons the long vs. short argument continues ⁠— there’s a place for both when talking to your consumers. Since we can’t share the elusive perfect wordcount, here is some of what we consider when deciding how much copy to use in a given situation.

Customer Understanding

It’s important to remember the purpose of copy is not to be long or short ⁠— the purpose is to say what needs to be said, and nothing more. Your copy should never be long for the sake of length but only if there is still more unique information to share.

“You may be as good of a writer as Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, but that doesn't matter so much because literary prowess is useless in conversion copy. Your most powerful writing skill is simplicity. Simplicity sells.”

- Neil Patel, 8 Must-Have Tips for Writing Landing Page Copy That Converts

Always pair this fact with the level of understanding your average consumer has when looking at this copy. When we’re determining the ideal length for copy, we investigate customer understanding through simple avenues such as call reviews and testimonials. Do potential clients have a lot of questions about your product, service, or brand before taking the next step? Extended copy in the form of longer descriptions or expectations blocks may be a beneficial addition to all steps of your sales funnel. Will the reader have to get on the phone with a representative after submitting their contact information? Objections may have been overcome before the call simply by offering more information in your longer copy.

Space and Design

Plain and simple, is there room for lengthy copy? It may seem obvious, but there are areas where a large block of text simply won’t work, like on a postcard, midst an email newsletter, or even on a mobile site. Working on a blog post, a desktop page, or even a product description? Long may work wonderfully. 

For a national client, Full Cup recently tested localization blurbs that offered more information related to that service in that particular city ⁠— and from it we saw up to an 8.44% conversion lift among desktop users. The additional details brought the local aspect potential clients wanted and the design left comfortable room for the copy. That being said, the same location audience with the highest results on desktop saw an 18.32% decrease during the same test on mobile. While technically a mobile landing page could be as long as you want it, it’s important to remember device size when weighing the pros and cons of additional information.

Wonder if that test was a fluke? We’ve also tried the opposite, and it’s no surprise the results are on par with our other copy length assessments. For example, we drastically decreased the existing information on a landing page for a different national client by removing content such as guarantee information and additional points of pride. The result was a conversion decrease for desktop users ⁠— up to 6.4% ⁠— but an increase of 11% among mobile users. Designing for a smaller device? Start short and test from there.

Remember the correlating design also needs to be complimentary toward your copy length. We’re firm believers in all elements of production working together, so we aren’t advocating for copy limited strictly to the number of pixels in the original design mockup; instead, we think it’s important to weigh the aesthetic of the entire project against the end result of lengthy copy blocks. If your business is graphic- or video-heavy by nature, longer copy may look frankly out of place.

Copy Intention

Much like analyzing the space and design, absorb the intention of the copy before deciding if more is worth testing; it may be easier to think of areas where it doesn’t fit, such as punchy, eye-catching promotions. 

It’s critical to also note the audience of this content. Who was this text written for?

“If people are really interested in something, they want more. If they are not interested, they want less. You cannot have too much of a good thing, but any amount of a bad thing is too much.”
- Ira Kalb, Why Short Advertising Copy Does NOT Sell More

For example, a branded search visitor may need less copy than a non-branded search visitor as they’re already focused on your company specifically. Similarly, paid search landing page traffic may appreciate long-form copy specifically about the aspect of your business they searched whereas organic homepage traffic likely needs a broader array of information to cover more topics. 

Optimizing Your Copy

While there is no “right answer,” we aim to start projects with as short of copy as possible and begin testing there. Why? It’s important to remember the goal of the project ⁠— and in our case, that is creating an experience that results in higher conversion for our clients. More copy may be the answer, but the less you start with the easier it is to track correlations between new text and conversion increases or decreases. And even in the case of adding copy, we want that text as brief as possible.

Let’s break this down with appointment expectations as an example. 

Original:

Having your carpets professionally cleaned by the pros is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Simply call our office to schedule your appointment. Before the appointment, you’ll be reminded to move small objects from your floor to a higher surface, such as on top of a couch or bed, so the technician can reach all areas. Your expert technician will arrive within a two-hour window and will work quietly and quickly. Sit back and relax while our pros restore your carpets to their former glory! 

Concise:

Clean carpets are only 3 steps away…

1. CALL: Make an appointment

2. CLEAR: Remove items from floor

3. ENJOY: Let the pros restore your carpet

By transforming a clunky text block into easy-to-digest bullets of information you’re still able to try the concept of additional details without losing the message. Consider it the best of both worlds — or at least an educated starting place.

There may be no golden ticket when it comes to copy length, but key factors can make your decision a little easier. Still uncertain? There is one thing we know for sure: every change needs a test to back it up.

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