In order to sell online, you'd want your potential customer to
read your page to where link to the order form is reached.

First, you need a good compelling headline and you don't want
any distractions like links to other pages, especially above
the fold. But there's one detail many copywriters overlook:

Many computer users have observed that the size of the vertical
scrollbar button is inversely proportional to the length of the page.

You've read many times about how long copy outperforms short copy.
but how long is too long? "Am I gonna have time to read all this?"

People who can afford to buy what you are selling, are generally
busy people. Time is nagging them. They really don’t like spending
lots of time reading lots of pure sales rhetoric. When the button
on the vertical scroll bar looks like a tiny horizontal rectangle,
your readers might do one of three things…

- scan down the page to get a glimpse and idea whether this is worth reading.
This is the reason why you use subheads, illustrations, and other devices used to keep readers interested.

- scroll down to the bottom to see the price or postscripts.

- bookmark the page to look at it later. Chances are good he’ll forget about it.

Why some pages come out too long and what you can do about it.

Writing style: Some writers, particularly if they're college educated,
tend to be verbose. They use five words where three will do. They also
use a lot of big Latin derived words.
Try using more basic English words, and avoid using too many adjectives.

Too many details: ramble on telling their personal stories, the history
of the company, the science behind the product, numerous university
research studies,etc.

Keep the customer in focus and make sure everything closely relates to the
customer's problem and the solution you are offering. Remember the adage,
"What's in it for me?" Don't wander off course.

A good copywriter should know the audience and have a clear idea what
a typical individual in that market understands. Sure you might want
to explain things which some readers might not understand.

Explaining everything in detail directly on your page will make your copy
too long and likely too boring. Put these in click-up windows - small browser
windows that appear like a popup when you click on a link.

Items like testimonials and quotes from reliable sources should be placed
in outlined tables known as "Johnson Boxes" so they appear distinct
from your main body text. The reader can easily gloss over these and
continue reading your main text.

After you finish writing your page, close your editor and open
your page in your browser. Maximize your browser window. If the vertical
scrollbar button is less than a square (instead of a vertical rectangle)
your page could use some serious reworking.

There is a click-up development kit you can download for free from
Articles for Marketers and Copywriters
You will see the full version of this article, with links to good,
effective-length page examples as well as examples of pages that are too long.

So, basically you're just saying that long copy should be shorter?

Or that we should learn to hack the scroll bar =-).

Chris...

I was thinking the same damn thing! I couldn't find the "moral" of the story.

But somehow hacking the scrollbar so the letters don't appear so long... Now that I'd like to know how to do.

About "Hacking the Scrollbar" one way I've seen it done is to split the letter into several pages, usually two. I don't recommend this because I believe most readers want to see the letter again in its entirety or when it comes to deciding to click the link to the secure order page, and having to use the browser's "back button" might not be convenient.

Once again, I'd say the best way to hack the scroll button is to put selected details, especially those which not all your readers need, like product labels on nutritional supplements or definitions of stock market terms in click-up windows.

Create a margin, also known as a sidebar, to the right or left of your main body text, to put your testimonials, quotations, endorsements and anecdotes in smaller type over a light color background.

And, of course, after you finish writing, go a couple of passes over your writing and see what sentences can be simplified and what can be deleted altogether. I myself am amazed how much "superfluos stuff" I get rid of after I finish writing.

Francis,
I went to your page and had to scroll down.

So what "is" too long for you... four inches, five inches, six inches? (mine borders on nine, but we won't go there).

One of the pages you list on your site is from a dude (Russell Brunson) who probably makes more in one month than most people make in a whole year.

So should we take what he's doing to earning a living as gospel or yours? Hmmm... I think I'll go with the dude in the wrestling leotards.

No offense Francis, but you really should check out some of the "long versus short copy" threads on this board...

I think a good guide would be that the vertical scroll bar button is not yet a square. More like a vertical rectangle no less that twice as tall as it it wide.

I still maintain that if the vertical scrollbar button is excessively small you need to go over your page and make sure everything you've written is purposeful and that you don't use a style that's too verbose but more conversational.

What prompted me to start this thread is that I've been getting lots of excessively long sales letters linked from emails and was apalled at all the reading I had to do. This really takes too much time and I really do think most people are busy and leisure time precious. For certain products, like investing and trading, people are generally accustomed to doing a lot of reading. Some financial services pages are quite long.

As with everything, there are no hard and fast rules. Some writers have such a style that makes them oblivious to the size of the page. And somthings are so important that you cannot do enough reading about them.

For someone who writes copy that is more like content and is in itself valuable information, long is good. People love to read good magazine articles. But I still think most people don't want to take too much time out of their busy schedules to read lots of pure sales rhetoric.

Francis

I agree about time constraints, but this is where subheads, testimonials, and PS's come into play...

If you can help move them along and give your hyperactive readers enough content in these other areas (and you can convince them to take action), you've got a great sales letter.

By the way... I read through your main page and you've got some great subs.

I wish you much prosperity!