Long letters can and do outpull their shorter counterparts.

Some years back, a Washington, D.C., firm mailed an 11-page letter to 500 prospects. Devoid of art and minus the usual brochure, the letter pulled 161 replies in the first 40 days, for a 32% response. And the business produced by
the letter totaled 45 times the cost of the mailing.

Another famous long letter was Ed McLean’s free-test-drive offer for Mercedes-Benz mailed to top-management executives in business and industry. The mailer contained a single 8-page letter. McLean’s appeal attained its goal of 1,000 cars sold. Four out of five who accepted the test offer by mail bought a car.

Recently, a 4-page sales letter, created as a new-subscription package for The Illustrated London News, pulled an 8% response—beating the control package by nearly 3%.

Remember, copy is never too lengthy as long as it continues to interest, excite and sell. A well-written appeal must answer every question and meet every objection. Otherwise, the sale is lost. Tests have shown that a 2-page letter expanded to 4 pages will almost invariably increase response.