Avoiding the temptation to say it all is a key point in Suze St Maur’s MAMBA e-book, which I reviewed yesterday.

This problem of enumerating too many product benefits easily–almost invisibly–creeps into the creative process. Whether it’s a brochure, a newsletter, a Web page, or a sales presentation, content development gradually turns into an effort to see how many clowns can be stuffed into a Volkswagen.

There are several problems with trying to saying it all.

1. Nothing stands out to capture the attention of the audience.
2. The audience has difficulty discerning which benefit is most important.
3. Forced to remember too much, the audience may remember nothing.
4. Repeating the message in a consistent way becomes quite difficult.

The solution is not to remain silent. Instead, stage content so your message, like a good story, unfolds. For instance–

• An 8.5 x 11 product brochure that highlights a key benefit or two can be supported by a case study, a detailed specification sheet, and a technical White Paper. Some customers will see the brochure and be persuaded right then and there. Others might want to see more detail–if they do, you’ve got more, more and more. Now your message appeals to the shoot-from-the-hip decision maker to the information junkie, and everyone in between.

• An e-newsletter blast that makes a special offer can say just enough to arouse curiosity. Provide a link to a landing page that provides a fuller explanation. From there, customers who want even more information can explore your Web site.

• Instead of a PowerPoint presentation consisting of 40 slides (sure to scare everyone out of the meeting room!), create side-presentations of 4-6 slides to support an abbreviated central presentation. If the discussion takes a particular turn, you can segue into the appropriate side-presentation. If the discussion turns another way, you’ve avoided chewing up time presenting unwanted information.

All this is not to say that short copy is always better than long copy. Long copy (lots of words) can be highly effective–especially when it hammers home one or two key benefits. That is entirely different from long copy that skims over seven or eight benefits.

Bottom line–one size does not fit all when it comes to messaging. Information designed for “first contact” must arouse customer interest. Information designed for further exploration must satisfy customer curiosity.