William Muldoon Uses Long Copy

How often have you heard it best to use short copy or long copy for Internet marketing. Some proponents advocate short copy, some advocate long and some try to strike a middle ground. It seems everyone has an opinion though. One person who believed in the use of long copy for selling his services was William Muldoon. Muldoon was the Greco-Roman World Wrestling Champion until he retired to become a personal trainer.

Muldoon’s first great success was training John L. Sullivan for a bout with Jake Kilrain, his most formidable opponent. Sullivan was hopelessly out of shape until Muldoon took over his training. Sullivan beat Kilrain in a bout lasting 75 rounds. Muldoon went on to train many athletes and celebrities.

The crowning jewel of his efforts was his health farm in Westchester County, New York. At Olympia, he trained celebrities who needed to get back into shape as well as politicians and business men dissipated by their duties. To attract people to his health camp, he hired Robertus Love, a writer and part time journalist to write advertisements to be placed in newspapers throughout the country.

The newspaper advertisements were written to look like news stories within the paper. Love began by asking the readers if they were experiencing a series of maladies. He then described the success that Muldoon had in curing these maladies with his unique training methods.

Muldoon was a proponent of medicine ball training, which is still popular among combat athletes today. He also put many of his charges through long walks and daily horse back riding. His nutrition regimen was odd but diet is more of a modern science.

Besides John L. Sullivan, President Theodore Roosevelt sent several of the members of his government including Secretary of State Elihu Root to Muldoon’s Olympia. Due to overwork, the men were suffering from poor health. Muldoon was summoned to get them back into a healthy condition.

Muldoon was in his fifties at the time but did the same exercises that he recommended. He remained active in physical culture until his death at 81 anni. Here is a copy of one of the advertisements from the September 4, 1907 edition of the New Ulm Review. New Ulm Review Sept 4 1907

After reading this article/advertisement, I think compelling long copy will work but it has to be compelling. Love’s journalistic approach makes the copy seem more topical or important. If it had been poorly written or too repetitive, it would be easy to dismiss. I am much more likely to read a short post than a long post unless it is really good.

What do you think? Do you prefer long or short copy? Which do you think is more compelling? You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Pagina Facebook, Profilo Twitter e Google page.

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