They are the questions that have plagued humankind since the beginning: "How long should my on hold messaging content be?"..."How do I know how often to update that content?"...and "Does this woolly mammoth pelt make my hips look big?"

We'll focus on the first two questions for now. Here are a few guidelines.

If your customers call frequently (once or more per week) or if you have longer hold times, consider using 8-minute productions and updating them 6 to 12 times per year. If you have fewer callers and/or shorter hold times, your marketing needs may be served with 4-minute productions that are updated 2 to 4 times per year. (Say hello to our friendly Hold Time Calculator here.)

There's no one answer. Each company has different calling patterns, hold times and marketing needs, all of which determine the length of your production and how often you update it. The bottom line: 1) make sure your on hold messaging content is current, and 2) that it's changed often enough so your most important callers don't hear it more than 3 or 4 times.

The folks at MarketingProfs send out a sweet little newsletter on email marketing called Get to the Point. This issue refers to a blog post by Lauren Vargas. She says 1984 author George Orwell may be able to teach us how to write more effectively...if only he were still alive and prone to offering free advice, that is.

Actually, Lauren says we can apply his examples when writing marketing copy, including
on hold messaging.

In a nutshell, she and George suggest the following: 1) avoid cliches, 2) use shorter words,
3) cut unnecessary words, 4) use the active voice, and 5) don't use foreign phrases or technical jargon when plain, everyday English will do. Check out the details here, but try not to gasp aloud at the picture of the scary man.