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With the rise of mobile, are long sales letters still in?

by myattitude
17 replies
I'm wondering if they're still practical with so much mobile traffic these days. Do any of you have any insights into whether long sales letters are still practical online?
#letters #long #mobile #rise #sales
  • Profile picture of the author Matt Goff
    Not every site gets the same amount of mobile traffic, so while mobile traffic is on the rise, it impacts some sites more than others.

    Some people don't like videos, or are in a place where watching one is impractical, for them, regardless of device, a sales letter makes sense.

    Ultimately, though, it's a function of what you are selling and who you are selling it to. Create the best non sales letter page you can and the best sales letter you can, and do a split test, then go on to optimize the winner from there.
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  • Profile picture of the author angiecolee
    It's the question that never dies.
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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      Many people read books on their mobile phones. If the sales page is formatted in a mobile-friendly manner, it will be readable and certainly not as long as Harry Potter.

      Marcia Yudkin
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      Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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      • Profile picture of the author Cam Connor
        Hey, This forum's still alive... kinda.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew Gould
    Now radio's arrived, do long form sales letters still work?

    TV's shortened everyone's attention, do long form sales letter still work?

    No one reads on the internet, do long form sales letter still work?

    Online video's the way to go, do long form sales letter still work?

    More and more people are browsing from their phones, do long form sales letter still work?

    Now we communicate telepathically, do long form sales letter still work?

    Having finally eliminated scarcity, do long form sales letter still work?

    As the sun dies and we enter the last stage of humanity, do long form sales letter still work?

    I'm the last marketer on a dying planet and I've just got one final question, do long form sales letter still work?
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    Andrew Gould

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    • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
      Originally Posted by Andrew Gould View Post

      Now radio's arrived, do long form sales letters still work?

      TV's shortened everyone's attention, do long form sales letter still work?

      No one reads on the internet, do long form sales letter still work?

      Online video's the way to go, do long form sales letter still work?

      More and more people are browsing from their phones, do long form sales letter still work?

      Now we communicate telepathically, do long form sales letter still work?

      Having finally eliminated scarcity, do long form sales letter still work?

      As the sun dies and we enter the last stage of humanity, do long form sales letter still work?

      I'm the last marketer on a dying planet and I've just got one final question, do long form sales letter still work?

      best copywriting post of the year, I actually lol'd...thanks


      My copy's sold millions this last 15+ years (thx to Fortin, Carlton, Makepeace & Kennedy for all they've taught me).

      My answer has always been, "I only use long copy when I want to sell something".

      good q re formatting for mobile, that's why I use 'responsive' wp themes

      -k
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  • Profile picture of the author SMworkcafe
    Originally Posted by myattitude View Post

    I'm wondering if they're still practical with so much mobile traffic these days. Do any of you have any insights into whether long sales letters are still practical online?
    Long or short, the copy has to be great.
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    Cheers!

    - Sana.

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  • Profile picture of the author dmaster555
    If the copy has all the right elements it Will work. If someone doesn't read your copy on mobile then you didn't do a good job making them think it was worth it for them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    I got thinking about what people might read on their phone and thought perhaps they might read the longest form sales letter I could think of...the Bible...

    ...so I looked up some stats.

    According to americanbible.org in a study conducted by the American Bible Society and carried out by Barna Group...

    Among adults who increased their Bible reading, more than half (53%) say they came to understand the importance of Bible reading as part of their faith journey. Another 41% say they had experienced something difficult in their life that caused them to turn to the Bible to search for direction or answers, while another 17% believe a significant life change caused them to turn to the Bible more. One in four (26%) say their increase in Bible reading was because they had downloaded the Bible onto their smartphone or tablet.

    Other stats they quote are the average reader spends between 15 and 30 minutes reading the Bible at any one time.

    Perhaps reading a long form sales letter might have similar stats?
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  • Profile picture of the author RickDuris
    On Android phones with the Lollipop Update, there's a setting for that: Quick Settings --> Preferences --> Long Form Sales Letter



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  • Profile picture of the author Complex
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Here's some stats on webinar attendance.

      Webinars are another format of selling to many.

      All are over 3 hours of attendance and
      the % that remain till the end.

      A point not brought up is the level of awareness about
      the marketer, the subject and price point.

      If the level is low to none on the first two
      and the price point is high, then there needs to be
      a lot of input which means length and time the prospect
      will want to get to a buying decision.

      The length needed and desired by a prospect
      is less when he knows you, knows the product/service and
      the ticket price is relatively low.

      OK, here"s the screenshot of the Frank Kern webinar stats...

      Oh, the lowest drop off day was on Sunday.

      Best,
      Doctor E. Vile

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    • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
      Originally Posted by Complex View Post

      @Oziboomer ... do you know how many people lie about reading the bible?
      No...but I have no interest in knowing those facts unless I'm selling something to that demographic.

      Originally Posted by Complex View Post

      (P.S. Picking up biased research is just bad for business man. Unless you are in the biz of spreading misinformation. Don't you think your source is just a wee bit biased? Thank God real science uses peer review.)
      I personally wouldn't use biased research to support products I was selling but it certainly seems the norm for a wide variety of industries...just think about how the supplements or big pharma go about things.

      One thing is for sure is including statistics in sales copy can improve response as validated by your reply.

      Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Len Bailey
    None of my financial or health clients are asking me to produce shorter sales letters. And yes, they routinely test for performance.
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    Len Bailey
    Copywriter/Consultant
    Feel free to connect on LinkedIn or Twitter

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  • Profile picture of the author Shelles
    I have definitely noticed a lot more copy in short form... I go to scroll down and.. what, it's over?

    Surprisingly, I really don't like looong sales copy... I scroll through and look at the big highlighted text and pictures... you know, the important bits but at the same time, when seeing all the short copy going on, I feel like 'they' haven't told me anything.

    Obviously, this is always going to be down to individual preference... also, the level of hype... and how good the bonus is...
    particularly in the IM/MMO/PD worlds!

    In this case, how much difference does the format (long/short/video) of the sales copy really make? I'm curious, any stats?

    By the way,
    Here's some stats on webinar attendance.

    Webinars are another format of selling to many.

    All are over 3 hours of attendance and
    the % that remain till the end.
    I'm not sure how reliable any webinar stats can be... if you walk away from your PC... or just turn the volume down and do something else for 3 hours it still looks like you remained till the end even if you didn't pay attention,,,
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  • Profile picture of the author RogozRazvan
    While I don't have empirical data, I do read long sales letter on mobile devices.

    It is actually easier to read than on a desktop device. I also tend to believe that the conversion is higher, as there is less multi-tasking.
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  • Profile picture of the author kennethcbrown15
    You have raised a relevant question here, a lot of people are using smartphones these days which is why sites are launching mobile friendly apps. So in this situation, try to make your sales message as compact and edgy as possible.
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