Deconstructing Descriptive Copy

Brian Clark asks (and answers) the eternal question:  Clever vs. Descriptive Headlines:  Which Works Better? According to Brian, descriptive headlines are the clear cut winner.  Not only did the descriptive headlines attract more readers, but they did better with the search engines as well.

While  descriptive wins hands down in the headline category, be careful how far you should go with your descriptions in the content of your copy.    Getting TOO descriptive can actually hurt your response rates instead of helping it.  The Nonprofit Communications blog has a great post on "Are you numbing or inspiring potential supporters?"

Are the copy and images in your nonprofit marketing materials drugging readers into ignoring you and your issue entirely? It’s a process called narcotization.

Ouch!  Yes, it’s actually possible to give too much descriptive information in your marketing materials.  However, one thing about descriptive copy is it is rarely written in the passive voice!

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