Recently while reading a blog, I happened across the abbreviation TL;DR. At first I felt the mild sense of panic I assume all 40-somethings feel when they realize their grasp of contemporary language is slipping. Fortunately for me and my fellow Gen X’ers, the Internet came along well before we had to get real jobs, raise children, and become squares. Now when the cool kids start throwing their lingo around, we don’t have to admit ignorance as our parents did. Google spares us the indignity.
It turns out TL;DR is short for “Too Long, Didn’t Read”. As a lover of the written word who views society’s growing reliance on abbreviations as a sign of the end times, I have to admit I kinda’ like this one. It’s not as superfluous as LOL or SMH and it encapsulates what I believe is one of the greatest hazards to good advertising copy.
When you have a great product or service, it’s natural to be proud of it. So proud that you could go on and on about how great it is. And it’s fine to do so in forums like e-newsletters, blogs, or social media. These are all channels in which folks have indicated they are interested in what you have to say because they opted in with a subscription or a Like. If, however, you are trying to grow your audience with advertising, brevity is best.
Think about it. When you take a few precious minutes from your lunch break to read a magazine or visit your favorite news site, you’re after content, not ads. Your prospective customers are no different. Should your ad be good enough to get them to stop scrolling or flipping pages, it had better say only what it needs to say and say it quick. If it takes someone more than a few seconds to digest your message, likely as not they will move on without giving you another thought.