There’s no doubt that long form sales content sells. It’s just really, really annoying.

Whenever I receive traditional sales content via email or (increasingly rare) letter – you know, the ones that go on forever with testimonials, case studies and reasons why I MUST BUY NOW – my inner writer winces for my profession.

It just all feels so… dirty…

Yet, if a client asks me nicely, of course I’ll create something similar for them. Because, even though attention spans are steadily decreasing, this kind of copy still outperforms short sales copy for most brands.

Even though, if you did a quick vox pop on any street, most people would say they hate this kind of marketing.

Why does long form sales content still work? 

I kinda understand why long copy worked in the heyday of print media.

When a product has a hefty price tag, as a copywriter you need to craft a compelling reason why customers should buy – and this often just can’t be done with short copy.

Long sales content still works because customers sometimes need a lot of benefit-driven information to help them decide on a purchase. Some won’t read much of your copy before they click buy. Others will take the time to read every word – twice.

It’s about catering to as many buyers’ needs as you can in one fell swoop. Address every pain point or deterrent you can think of to buying and your conversion rates will go up.

But it still feels icky…

Enter hybrid copy…
So you’ll understand my little leap of joy when I received this amazing infographic from CopyHackers in my inbox. It’s a fiendishly simple guide to the new long/short hybrid copy revolution. 

I think hybrid copy is the perfect solution to the heated long form/short form sales content debate. It’s got all the persuasion power of long copy with none of that sinking feeling. 

In fact, I’m going to print it out now and post it up on my office pinboard for future reference – and to remind myself there are effective alternatives to long form writing.

And I’ll definitely be sending this on to clients, colleagues, basically any one who will listen.

Thanks CopyHackers for making my day.

PS. If you’re a copywriter or a start-up and haven’t checked out the CopyHackers website yet, you really, really should.

PPS. Download your own version of this great graphic here.

Or find out how to write your own sales page using our best tips here.