Divine Write Copywriting Forum

Hi Glenn
Personally I hate these "squeeze pages" and, coincidentally, just posted to my blog - - about them yesterday. If it's selling anything I'm remotely interested in I just scroll down to find the price and ignore the copy.

With regards to the length of written communications I read somewhere that one of the large agencies in the US did do research to find out how long a direct mail letter had to be before the responses dropped off and it was quite large - more than 20 pages. Sorry I can't remember details and don't have the time to check it out. If I find it I'll post the details.
Cheers

The name they seem to give it these days is Emotional Direct Response advertising, or just Direct Response.

It's primarily a tool for selling information products.

I have mixed feelings towards EDR. If it's selling something in which I have no interest then it always looks a bit shonky. On the other hand, if I'm in the market for whatever it's selling I don't mind.

EDR specialists always advocate giving a money back guarantee. Statistics show that this results in a much higher conversion rate. Also the longer the period in which refunds can be claimed, the higher the sales rate.

On occasion I've bought and then asked for my money back. Never been disappointed yet, so it's hard justify a holier than thou attitude. In effect they're offering stuff on a suck it and see basis.

Why do so many people take exception to EDR? Perhaps because a 20 page letter exposes the thought processes and tricks of the copywriter so much more than a couple of words beneath the Marlboro Man.

All things considered though, the guy selling 'How You Too Can Teach Your Labrador to Bark in Arabic, Swahili and even Welsh in Under 30 Days or Your Money back' comes out well ahead of the voice of the Marlboro Man.

Are 20 pages necessary? I've read that this kind of length has been arrived at through fairly rigorous testing. But like one of the other readers here, I tend to skip 90% of the blurb and just go looking for the price.

Do they bore their audience into buying? I don't think so. Saying the same stuff over and over in different ways with different sub heads is great for the skimmers. Also, it conveys a sense that the writer really means it and the product is substantial.

Emotional Direct Response has been widely used since the 1920's. Love it or hate it, it works really well for the right product. Some would say it's an art form too.