Why Faster and Shorter Isn’t Always Better

Storytelling standout Bill Mueller shared a tale recently about a critic who told him “I don’t read emails with long copy.”

Said the critic: “98% of the people who open email give you 3 seconds of their time.” 

That caught my eye…

…because I write…

…ummm…

…you know. 

Still with me? 

Depending on your reading skill, I assume you’ve been reading for 10-15 seconds. According to the critic, that makes you VERY UNUSUAL. (You’re not.) 

Anyhow, Bill delivered a systematic take-down of the critic. 

Here’s the knockout punch from Bill’s email, more powerful than a Mike Tyson uppercut: 

“There’s nothing wrong with sending short emails.  I’m not claiming you EVER have to send a long email.  But I will say that an email can’t be too long — it can only be too boring.” 

Boom! 

That reminds me of something wise AND funny I heard Rory Sutherland say. He’s Vice-Chairman of advertising giant Ogilvy Group. 

In a 2012 TED talk called “Perspective is Everything,” he offered a different way to think about the Eurostar – the high-speed train that connects England and France.

“Six billion pounds spent to reduce the journey time between Paris and London by about 40 minutes. For 0.01% of this money, you could have put wi-fi on the trains, which wouldn’t have reduced the duration of the journey but would have improved its enjoyment and its usefulness far more. For maybe 10% of the money, you could have paid all of the world’s top male and female supermodels to walk up and down the train handing out free Château Pétrus to all the passengers. You’d still have five billion pounds in change, and people would ask for the trains to be slowed down.” 

And there you have it. 

Faster/shorter doesn’t always mean better. 

Slower/longer doesn’t always mean better, either. 

But…

…captivating & entertaining
is ALWAYS better than
“blah-blah-blah” / boring.

Better as in – lead attracting, prospect-engaging, and sales-generating. 

I’ve read short emails that are captivating and entertaining. 

I’ve read long emails that are captivating and entertaining. 

If you’re feeling stuck on the blah/boring side of content creation…

…and if you’re serious about doing something about it (as in attracting more leads, engaging prospects better, and generating more sales)…

…we should talk. 

I’m offering a complimentary content review to people who are serious about creating better emails, web content, social posts and more.

Shoot me an email that says, “I want a content review,” and I’ll send you details.