Don’t  Let Them See Such a Small Button
on the Vertical Scroll Bar

By Francis Ardi

Paying attention to this ‘small’ detail could mean 
more people will likely read your pages.

    If you want your web pages to sell and earn you money,  you’d want anybody to read your page to the end or to where the Order Today link is.

    Obviously you need an attention grabbing headline that moves the reader to start reading, followed by good lead paragraphs that promise the fulfillment of a need or desire the prospect is pursuing.

It is often said that long copy outsells short copy.

     In fact, it's been proven in tests.  Long copy better engages the prospect.  It provides more opportunity for you to state and prove claims of benefit.  On top of that, long copy is less likely to leave potential buyers with unanswered questions about your product and offer. Long copy is fine as long as it's not boring or gets into too many superfluous details.

But how long is too long?

     There’s one thing you could use as a guide.  Something just about every computer user has observed   The size of the vertical scroll bar button is inversely proportional to the length the web page.  When someone starts looking at your page,  they might notice a small vertical scroll bar button and wonder “Am I going to have time to read all this?”.

     Now I’m not sure whether it was designed this way on purpose or is it because of some immutable law of computer science.  What’s important to us is that a shorter button on vertical scroll bar indicates a lengthier document.

People are often short on time.

     The individuals you are trying to reach, the ones who need and can afford what you are selling, are generally busy people.  Money-making activities consume the greater part of their day.  A lot of them struggle to minimize the number of hours spent on business activities.  

    Time is nagging them.   Most people who buy things want information but they don’t like spending much time reading lots of sales rhetoric. Should your readers notice a tiny button on the vertical scroll bar, they 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.  The reader might balk for lack of justification of price, having not read the main contents of the page.
   
• bookmark the page to look at it later.  Chances are good he’ll forget about it.

These things make it less likely that the page will bring potential customers to the point of sale – all because of that tell-tale small button on the vertical scroll bar.

Besides, people tend to read slower on a computer screen.

   Studies have shown that for a document of a given word count of 2000 or more it takes noticeably longer to read it on a computer screen than on paper.  This is probably one reason why paper books and magazines are still popular.   Five hundred page books are common in bookstores but 500 page equivalent-length ebooks are rare.

An example of a web page that not many might read to the end…

http://www.dotcomsecrets.com/homestudy/ - is a shining example of a long web page  that generates such a small vertical scroll bar button – and makes the reader wonder if there’s time to read the whole page from headline to postscript.

…and an example of really potent copy that’s effective in small doses.

http://www.copywritingexpress.com/ is an example of powerfully persuasive copy that makes best use of every sentence to create a burning desire amongst members of its target audience.  Notice the button on the vertical scroll bar is a not so small vertical button.

Sure enough, even if you become totally engaged in the script, you’ll get to the order link in less than ten minutes.  This page was written by John Carlton, a big name copywriter who charges a low five-figure fee for a typical job.

Another “Compare and Contrast”  
between Excellent and Excessively Lengthy

http://www.mikelitman.com/life.html  presents an example of an excellent online sales letter, or landing page as they are called.  It uses an adaptation of a classic headline, excellent lead or hook as the opener, the false close (present the price then go on telling about bonuses) and just enough (only three) testimonials to make the case.  Notice the size of the button on the vertical scroll bar… you’ll instantly go on reading this letter.

http://www.monthlytemplates.com   Good headline, good subject matter, but look how tiny the vertical scrollbar button is… pretty scary, isn’t it.  Sure enough, it is a pretty long document.  You start reading, you get interested, then you get to where there is one testimonial after another, (including some well-known marketers, complete with photos, which adds credibility) but you keep scrolling down and down and wonder when it will all end.  

There are twenty testimonials in all – strung together in series.  And still looking at the scrollbar, you’ve only covered like one quarter of the page.   This page needs some serious reworking.  Not more than ten testimonials and at least ten click-up windows.

Considering how important it is for your pages to be read to the end,
it would behoove you to do whatever you can do not to let them see 
such a tiny button on the vertical scroll bar.

    Once again, it’s true, long copy is less likely to leave readers with unanswered questions.

    However, assuming that our potential customers are as crunched for time as you and I, we must do our best to empathize with our prospects in this area.

   Some ways you can minimize excessive length of written copy

     Modify your writing style.  Are your sentences and paragraphs excessively lengthy?  Do you use a lot of “big words” without giving thought about your target audience (Doctors are accustomed to big words – truck drivers are not).  Do you write in such a way that you use five words where three will do?   Do you consider your writing style to be educational rather than having a conversational tone?

    The last writing style is one that you can easily modify for the better.  Pretend you are telling someone across the table about whatever you are writing about.  You’d be surprised how much better your writing will look – and shorter your sentences will be.

     Avoid excessive use of testimonials and third-party literature in line with the main text of the letter.  Many readers don’t like to be forced to read lots of testimonials one after the other.   Pick the most relevant testimonials and quotations from reliable sources and place them where they would best relate to the main copy text.  Some writers place testimonials on a side bar.  A side bar is a narrower column to the right or left of the main text.  This area usually contains quotes, testimonials, links, banners and photos.  Other web page writers place these extra items in click-up windows.  I’ll go into detail about click-up windows later.

    Excessive Photos, Illustrations and Graphics also make the page long.  Make sure their use is appropriate for the subject matter.  For example, sites about vacations, real estate and artists’ works are expected to be profusely illustrated.   Nevertheless, make sure your graphics aren’t larger or more numerous than need be.

    Avoid adding irrelevant information -  this is especially true when the author includes a lot of personal stories in the top part.  This is often known as “Welcome to all about me”.  A lot of writers go overboard with “history of the company” and “scientific breakthroughs”.

Ask yourself:; “Why should your reader care about these things.” Try to focus on what the product does for anyone who would buy it.  Whatever about what you’re selling that means a lot to your prospect.  It all goes back to “What’s in it for me?”.

    Technical Data and Explanations :  These are topics which would be of interest to some but not all readers.  For products with lots of specs and technical data, it would be best to add a click-up window or a link to a page containing all relevant technical information that opens a new browser window - or perhaps a downloadable pdf document.

How Click-up Windows can Improve the Functional Appeal of your Pages

    In case you’re not familiar, click-up windows are small, separate browser windows that are displayed when you click on a link on the main page.   These are useful for adding extra bits of information that would be of interest to some but not all of your visitors.  One thing that makes pages excessively long is having to define and explain every new concept and principle behind your product or service. 

     A good copywriter should know what things most of the target audience are familiar with.  For statements and paragraph that would raise questions in the minds of some readers, a link to a click-up window can be inserted on the line below the paragraph.

 Appeal to More Than One Personality Type.

     Prominent copywriter Michel Fortin once described in his blog that prospects can be divided into various types in terms of personality.  A copywriter should know which is the dominant personality in the target audience.

     There are the executive types who expect reasonable assurance that this product will do the job or otherwise fulfill certain needs.  They could care less about technical details.

These include bankers, corporate executives, and government officials.

     Then there are the technical types who require lots of technical specifications about the product like system requirements for computer software, etc.  These include doctors, engineers, scientists, computer professionals to name a few.  Their decisions are based on specifications and other technical data.  This should be made available to these prospects.

     Then there are the emotional types who need a lot of reassurance in terms of quotes from reliable sources and testimonials.

      A good general approach to deal with the different types of individuals who will be reading your landing page is to limit your main page to the essentials, as if you were writing to an executive type.  Add all the extras like technical data and third-party content as click-up windows, pdf documents or links that present additional data in a new browser window.

Summary

   Yes it’s true, long copy generally outperforms short copy.  The higher the price the more likely you’ll need long copy.   Granted, there are prospects who are accustomed to doing a lot of reading, like investment opportunity seekers.  For most people, you need to be more considerate of their time. 

    Once you put your copy into a web page,  read  carefully a couple times.  Note the size of the button on the vertical scroll bar.  Make sure no important questions are left unanswered.   Also make sure that everything written is important and not superfluous. Put it away and read it again in the morning.  See if there are parts you can do without.

Make sure that everything would be of interest to the customer.  Finally, see if there are components that can better be included in click-up windows rather than on the main page.