• by Cynthia Edwards , March 10, 2008

Long copy has been the stock-in-trade of advertising writers since Gutenberg first made type move. Like top salespeople, writers know that given a chance to flex their verbal muscles, they can mesmerize their prospects and close many a deal. "The more you tell, the more you sell" was a mantra of the direct marketers of yore.

Email marketing tends to be focused on the top 300 pixels, giving little play to a longer message. We all know why -- attention spans today are so short, we feel we have to hit the consumer with a short, sharp shock in order to be noticed, never mind read. 

That being said, there are still times when longer emails can outperform short ones, especially when you want to secure the understanding, engagement and loyalty of customers with your emails.

Making a complex or expensive sale. When you are promoting a high-end or very technical product or service, follow up your riveting headline or offer with a story that explains the product's attributes and advantages. Draw in the prospect with problem-solving propositions. Present persuasive facts about your offering in sufficient detail to overcome objections. Be sure to keep your brand positioning in mind as you write.

Sample applications: luxury goods, expensive travel packages, high-end technology. Why? Long copy can help justify higher prices and convincingly point up superior differences in raw materials, manufacturing, service, user experience or longevity.

Building relationships. Email is a letter written from one human being to another. Keep this in mind when addressing fans and customers who have displayed an interest in your organization. Woo them with friendly email communications, which they will read when they have the time, because they like you and want to know your news.

Sample applications: membership communities, entertainment products, cause marketing. Once they have opted in, these highly aligned consumers will enjoy getting to know you and will become more informed and engaged with every newsy communication you send. You can write quite extensive emails to them, such as Christopher Kimball's Letter from Vermont -- it's chatty, it's personal, and it leads the reader seamlessly from his latest hometown experiences back to the kitchens of Cook's Illustrated. Hook, line and sinker, and his readers love it.

Introducing new concepts. Sometimes urgency has to take a back seat to education in email marketing. Bearing in mind that your target audience probably doesn't have time to read every email you send, it's a good practice to repeat your message and explain your benefits more than once. If you are introducing a product or service whose full attributes won't be intuitively grasped by a casual reader, or would require an extraordinary commitment to buy in to, spend time telling them about it. It might require a series of emails to cover the subject adequately and create the conversion response you seek. Be sure that customers know where to find any information they might have missed along the line by providing contextual links to your Web site in each email.

Sample applications: product and service innovations, new financial or investment offerings, or products with a long term of use, such as a retirement community. Long copy can help your target audience better understand your offering, and give them a chance to picture themselves being transformed by it.

Reselling your product. What better way to get a customer to buy more of a product than by demonstrating new ways to use it? Next time you plan to send a coupon by email, spend some time firing up the readers' imaginations with alternative uses as well.

Sample applications: consumer products from avocadoes to laundry detergent can benefit from (reasonably) long copy emails. Be inventive, invite engagement, walk a mile in the consumer's shoes and show you care about making their life better.

In email as in other forms of marketing, let your approach fit the product and the audience, and support your goals. You can leverage email effectively to build brands, change minds, and sell more, both long-term and in the moment.
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