"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.
So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
"This porridge is too cold," she said.
So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.
"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.
Goldilocks. What a brat, amirite?
But, what if she was onto something.
There is a special skill in getting things juuuust right. But what does just right look like in terms of content length?
Spoiler alert: it all depends on context.
Let's assess a page together
Today, rather than send you a page of Sarah's opinion, I wanted us to look at an example and decide if we think it's good or bad, together.
So, here it is: https://www.amyporterfield.com/lbl/
Yes, for those of you who know your marketing celebs, I'm tacking THE Amy Porterfield. Who do I even think I am?
From first glance, I hated this page with a passion.
- Too many text styles
- Italicised serif fonts that are hard for me to read with the size blown up and my glasses on
- And it's the longest page known to man
But, I had to check my over-opinionated ego. Because all the marketing stats in the world will tell you that this page works. In fact, the longer the sales page (apparently) the better the results.
Why do people advocate long pages?
One argument is that a long page can suit every single personality type.
You're selling to ENTJs, INFPs, ESTJs and ISTPs. Everyone is going to read the page differently, and use different decision -making processes.
Now, I honestly can never remember what those letters mean. I think I'm an enneagram 4 but that also just seems depressing. In numerology someone once told me I was a 3. Between the number of personalities and the number of personality tests, I find that argument just a little overwhelming.
And is it really a solid case for presenting people with 5763 words (yes, I checked). That's 25+ F*CKING PAGES in Google Docs.
I believe that the difference between great writers and ok ones is understanding your audience.
And I don't mean at a Myer Brigg's level.
I mean at a level where you can have empathy for their situation, and through that empathy, can step into their shoes and give them the exact information they need to take action.
When I plan out any piece of content, I want to understand the questions sitting in the front of my audience's minds.
Different audience's will have different questions. Therefore, if you have one very clear audience, you might find that your content needs are less complex than if you have multiple audiences.
So (stop preaching Sarah) - if we believe the assumption that long pages work better than short ones - what makes this page work?
It answers every single question a person could possibly have.
The concept of a page like this is a that it stands alone to keep your focus on one action. You can't click back through a website and get more information. Everything - and I mean everything - should be answered on this one page.
While it is long, it is broken by design elements and headings that are fairly meaningful. You can read the heading and guess what might come in the section beneath, making it easier to scan.
Do I recommend it?
No.
I find it wholly overwhelming and impenetrable. I think that's intentional. It builds on the anxieties that lead you to the page in the first place and makes you feel totally overwhelmed. You need a way out. You need to sign up.
For this reason, and others, I also don't think it's very accessible. Which is always a big no in my books.
I also think there is a cultural thing at play here. I don't think Australian's love big, preachy, sell-y things.
But I could be wrong. Tell me if I am!
What do you think? Long sales pages, short ones or something juuuuuust right?