How Long Should a Letter Be?

Whenever I speak to a group about direct mail, I raise the question, "How long should a letter be?" Almost every time a get a few comments that a letter should never be longer than one page because people will not read more than that. I don't believe it.

I normally then ask the respondent if they have a hobby. Most people do. I comment that if I were to write them a letter that told them how they could be the best at whatever their hobby was...say playing golf...and I got to the end of the first page, would they stop reading? Invariably they say, "no"...they would continue.

That brings me to the moral of the story....there is no such thing as a letter that is too long or too short. There is such a thing as a letter that is interesting and a letter that is boring. Make your letter interesting to those who are reading it and they will keep reading as long as you hold their interest.