They’re some of the most often-asked questions about copywriting.
Long or short copy, which works best? What about headlines?
The correct answer usually drives people crazy, which is…
Whatever works.
Before you start throwing things at me, I’ll elaborate.
But magazine copywriters had to worry about brevity due to space concerns. Studies done from the direct mail industry show that about 50% to 60% of the most effective headlines are eight words or less, leaving ample indication that longer headlines work, too.
Now, here’s an exception that applies online. Perhaps you’ve seen web sales letters or landing pages that have a headline that looks like a short paragraph. These long headlines can’t possibly be working, right?
Well, according to the eye-tracking study released by user-interface expert Jakob Nielsen, webpage visitors read in a “F” pattern, scrolling intently across the top of the page where the headline should be, then making their way back again across the first subhead, then down the left hand side of the page to see if anything else is of interest.
This study verifies the 80/20 rules of headlines. But it
Long or short copy, which works best? What about headlines?
The correct answer usually drives people crazy, which is…
Whatever works.
Before you start throwing things at me, I’ll elaborate.
Headlines: 8 Words or Less, Except …
The traditional wisdom about headlines is that they should be short. There are plenty of exceptions to this rule (including a big one we’ll discuss below). However, reviewing The 100 Greatest Advertisements by Julian Lewis Watkins shows that 95% of the most effective headlines from the early years of magazine copywriting were less than eight words.But magazine copywriters had to worry about brevity due to space concerns. Studies done from the direct mail industry show that about 50% to 60% of the most effective headlines are eight words or less, leaving ample indication that longer headlines work, too.
Now, here’s an exception that applies online. Perhaps you’ve seen web sales letters or landing pages that have a headline that looks like a short paragraph. These long headlines can’t possibly be working, right?
Well, according to the eye-tracking study released by user-interface expert Jakob Nielsen, webpage visitors read in a “F” pattern, scrolling intently across the top of the page where the headline should be, then making their way back again across the first subhead, then down the left hand side of the page to see if anything else is of interest.
This study verifies the 80/20 rules of headlines. But it
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