Top Copywriting Books... Ever

[serrac]

Someone mentioned Brian Keith Voiles in relation to swipe files.

His Ad Magic course was one of the original "high end" copywriting courses, but... apparently he didn't realise what he was doing when he sold someone the master resell rights...

So now Ad Magic is all over the internet (+ebay) for as little as $27

Maybe not "cutting edge" anymore but certainly worth the dollar cost and effort to work through.

Also check out the excellent interview Michael Senoff did with BKV at hardtofindseminars.com - truly inspiring.

Regards

Serrac

[Blazer2007]

All the books and information in the world will not make you Take Action.

Trust me! I have purchased most of the books listed above.

The only thing that helps best of all...

...taking winning copy and writing it down on paper.

When you read information that shows a sample advert - write it
down to understand the inner workings - just copy that puppy down
by writing it on a piece of paper.

This is not for you to read and show your friends, family or wife how great you copied a
winning ad on a sheet of paper - but to build retention in your mind about
how to write winning copy that sells.

Copy the masters in this way and you will soon be thinking like one.

A little action goes a long way. Books are not taking action.

Not knocking books - but they turn into educational entertainment,
if you never apply your new found knowledge.

I know writing things down is not Internet like/digital, but think about it, neither are you.

Digital 1s and 0s are there one millisecond and gone the next.

Learning how to write good copy is a skill that last a lifetime, does not require electricity and may one day save your life!

[Robert Boduch]

Lots of great books listed above.

Here's one that may be a little difficult to get, but it's a gem nonetheless.

It's called: How To Write Advertising That Sells by Clyde Bedell

If you can find it, grab it.

[Matt Jutras]

Originally Posted by Robert Boduch

Lots of great books listed above.

Here's one that may be a little difficult to get, but it's a gem nonetheless.

It's called: How To Write Advertising That Sells by Clyde Bedell

If you can find it, grab it.

I've also been recommending the books in your sig, too

[Robert Boduch]

Thank you Matt! Much appreciated.

Here's another one worth reading if you can find it:

Ads That Sell by Bob Bly.

It's out of print, but I did find a copy on ebay a while back.

Cheers!

Robert

[Bill Jeffels]

Originally Posted by Maximillion_Z

Ok, so there are some of us who'd like to learn the art of copywriting, but cannot afford the prices of the top-end courses out there.

For that reason, it would be great to generate a thread with the top (affordable) copywriting books and/or resources to at least get us started - or perhaps cover everything that is needed?

Here are some I know of, some I've not read, but I'd be happy if those pro's out there would add to the list:


"Scientific Advertising" Hopkins,

"Tested Advertising" Caples (4th edition or earlier only),

"How I Raised Myself from a Failure to Success in Selling" Betger,

"How to Write a Good Advertisement" Schwab.

"How to Write Sales Letters That Sell" Drayton Bird (Just ordered my copy - looking forward to it )

Great books. Right now I am in my office looking at the copy books that have helped me. Here are a few.

The Ultimate Sales Letter--Dan Kennedy
How To Write A Good Avertisement-- Victor Schwab
Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich-- David Garfinkle
Magic Words-- Ted Nicholas
Advertising Secrets Of The Written Word--Joe Sugarman
Robert Collier Letter Book-- Robert Collier
How To Write Sales Letters That Sell-- Drayton Bird
Breakthrough Advertising-- Eugene Schwartz
Tested Advertising Methods--John Caples
My Lif In Advertising/Scientific Advertising-- Claude Hopkins

Theres many more great ones out there too.

Bill Jeffels

[jayguy]

You will have to let be know how Drayton Birds book is - I bought Commonsense Direct/digital marketing and it is meticulous in its approach. I hope "How to Write Sales Letters That Sell" is as informative as his other books.

[Hesster]

I picked up The Do-It-Yourself Direct Mail Handbook by Murray Raphel and Ken Erdman from the library, and it's really good. It was published in 1986 and focuses squarely on mail, but a lot of the information is applicable on the web also. Amazon says there might be an updated version published in 2000, but if so, I haven't been able to find any copies.

There's a section where they asked a whole bunch of different copywriters what personal systems they used for their sales letters that I found particularly valuable.

[Shaka]

I consider Ted Nicholas to be the Crown Prince of copy. I have followed him for close to twenty years ands although Halbert, Carlton, Sugerman Kennedy et al. are very good. In my opinion he is without peer.

He claims to have sold $4 billion worth of goods and services during his 40 year career. He has written many books which can be found on his website. Here are two excellent titles he has written:

Magic Words That Bring You Riches
How to Turn Words Into Money

[JohnB23]

I'll add My Life in Advertising/Scientific Advertising.

Just reading Scientific Advertising is too dry and too short for most people to really "get". My Life in Advertising gives you more context and basis. Probably a bunch of people out there that have seen Scientific Advertising online, like in a pdf or in a free ebook and think...this is considered a classic? But there's nothing there.

But the truths in Sci Advertising are profound.

Robert Collier Letter Book....I admit is too hard, I bought it maybe 6 months ago, 9 months ago. After seeing it so many times on these must buy lists. But then I get it, start reading it, and think...oh my god! Too hard, lol. Put it down after 20 pages. Some books you might click with, some you might not.

[Jeremy Morgan]

Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time by Maria Veloso

The last decent copyrwriting book I've read.

[jayguy]

Check out Drayton Bird Asscociates website it has loads of examples on it about some of the copy they have utilized in successful campaigns. The amazing thing is that really subtle differences such as text font can make a difference in a letters success.

[ARSuarez]

Hey Warriors,

Kinda surprised. I think I've noticed one of the best books - recommended by countless gurus, including Sir Gary of Halbert - is missing.

I think it's one that everyone getting into copywriting should read. Personally, I think several readings is essential. It deals specifically with one of the most difficult, and important, parts of writing copy.

The author is famed for selling such a high volume of items in his industry. An industry which strives to achieve such a goal as a career objective.

This book is The First Hundred Million by E. Haldeman-Julius.
If you want to understand the arts of writing and testing compelling headlines, you need this book.

All the best,

Angel

[ideapro]

David Ogilvy's "Ogilvy on Advertising" and another of his books "Blood, Brains and Beer" are perhaps all the talented young copywriter need to develop his skills. I read them in the 1980s and used the techniques he outlined to build an advertising agency based on scientific, proven principles that actually work and work amazingly well.

Using the ideas he discussed, my clients sold billions of dollars in computer hardware in the 1990s. They competed against the richest, most powerful companies in the world. And, they won.

Ogilvy's short and easy-to-understand books are worth a thousand times their weight in gold... a million times.

Others have written their books, but nobody beats Ogilvy when it comes to clear, concise, inspired teaching of the basic advertising techniques for aspiring young writers and creatives. Nobody has done it better. Nobody has done it as well.

You can read the other books, but read Ogilvy first.

[Tom Vo]

@ideapro: Can you tell me more about "Blood, Brains and Beer"? I have "Ogilvy on Advertising" and "Confessions of an advertising man", books that are considered by many as the foundation of any copywriting (or advertising) library. I love both books, but so far I never heard anybody recommending "Blood, Brains and Beer". So, I`m just a little curious.

Tom VO

[dontono7]

Thanks for the tip on "Web Copy That Sells" by Maria Veloso, I was going to ask that but saw two people that think it's a great book. Ok, now I need to buy it...

[Maximillion_Z]

Originally Posted by dontono7

Thanks for the tip on "Web Copy That Sells" by Maria Veloso, I was going to ask that but saw two people that think it's a great book. Ok, now I need to buy it...

I think you'll find that not everyone agrees:

YouTube - Bad-NLP The Worst Example of NLP You...

[Loren Woirhaye]

I agree with Harlan about Veloso's treatment of NLP issues -
she merely grazes on a deep topic and paints subtle methods
with a very broad brush.

She just put out a new edition however and she may have
either eliminated the NLP part or improved it.

Veloso's book, actually, among just about every book on copy
I have, is one of just a couple that even mention NLP or
embedded commands.

Do you need that stuff to write effective copy?

I don't think you do.

I suspect Veloso's book is responsible for the rash of
websites out there with hamfisted attempts at NLP
persuasion in writing (I'm not claiming expertise in NLP,
but I can spot a stupid persuasion attempt from about
100 feet).

Anyway - Veloso's book is not a bad blueprint if you are
new to writing copy. It's a quick read and it touches
on a lot of relevant issues. As you get deeper into the
literature of copywriting I think you'll find much of the best
stuff was written for direct mail, not the web - but of
course you'll have to take those direct mail concepts and
adapt them to web usage, which is another layer of
skill to acquire.

The best material on copy, in my experience, comes from
seasoned direct mail pros. There are quite a lot of excellent
books out there you can learn from. Many of them haven't
been mentioned here due to being out-of-print and uncommon.

I have dozens of books on copy and they are all useful reading.
I've read a few ebooks which were just awful though... and
gave really ignorant advice.

My advice is to read (and re-read) the classics. Read new ones
people mention here (ie. Ca$hvertising, which is 1st rate) - and
read stuff on selling, direct marketing, psychology, and persuasion
as it comes you way. I picked up a shabby paperback called
"The Hidden Persuaders" recently at a book sale. I learned from
it... so keep your eyes open for any material you suspect might
make you a more well-rounded writer and salesperson. The
effect is cumulative.

[balamasti]

newbie here want to know is it possible to get the E-book versionog those books

[CDarklock]

Originally Posted by balamasti

newbie here want to know is it possible to get the E-book versionog those books

Some of them have e-book versions. You have to go looking for them, though... I found "Scientific Advertising" somewhere as a free download, and I've seen some of the others offered as bonuses with other products.

[jjjroy]

Get a copy of "Million Dollar Mailings" by Denison Hatch.

It's all about Direct Mail, but includes loads of examples showing headlines, bullet points and lots of successful sales copy.

Some of the samples are pretty small, so be sure to wear your reading glasses ;-)

[JezH]

There is a huge amount of free copywriting resource on Clayton Makepeace's blog makepeacetotalpackage.com called The Total Package and I can also recommend Ben Settle's "Copywriting Grab Bag".

[John Hamel]

Here are some of my favorite copywriting books:

1. My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
2. Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples
3. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
4. How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab
5. Magic Words That Bring You Riches by Ted Nicholas

[Sarah_Lyle]

What about Ralph Ginzburg? I've just had a sales email about his stuff is it worth a shot? he looks kind of weird!

[davesanclemente]

Try reading "The Wizard of Ads" trilogy by Roy H. Williams. Fantastic stuff.

[Nelson Clements]

Some of my favorite copywriting books are Making Ads Pay by John Caples How to Write a Good Advertisement by Victor O. Schwab. Try out these books and they are easily available on amazon.

[Steve Baker]

I was training a new copy writer a few months ago and I asked Ted Nicholas for some advice which he openly gave me and I'm sure he won't object to me sharing.

Bear in mind he may be a little biased to his own work - and rightly so.

Here's Ted's reply;

Hi Steve,
There are no shortcuts to becoming a first-class copywriter.
It requires 500 to 1,000 hours of study. And lots of practice.
But it's well worth it for any serious person who applies themselves.
Numerous of my students have become millionaires once they master their skill.
A case in point is Matt Furey who spoke at my Tampa seminar in February.
Matt started studying my materials in 1995, beginning with a $317 Ted Nicholas course.
In the last few years he's sold $30,000,000 worth of information products on the internet.
There is lots of valuable help available at very reasonable cost.
Here is a minimum suggested program for your colleague. The first step to becoming a great writer is to become an enthusiastic reader, for at least an hour a day.
1. Study three of my books, MAGIC WORDS THAT BRING YOU RICHES, HOW TO TURN WORDS INTO MONEY and BILLION DOLLAR MARKETING SECRETS.
2. Acquire the best copywriting course in the world, MILLION DOLLAR COPYWRITING BOOTCAMP.
3. Join the Ted Nicholas Mentoring Program.
4. Read my (free) E-zine, The Success Margin.
5. Build a success library. At minimum include these books:
ü Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
ü Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
ü Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
ü Making Ads Pay by John Caples

6. Attend a Ted Nicholas live seminar ASAP.

You could make all the above possible (except a live seminar) for less than $1,000.

Warm regards,

Ted Nicholas

[amig]

good thread!
did a search on google for hopkins "scientific advertising" and there is a free pdf version on the wiki page.

[Ross Bowring]

For a modern take on the timeless principles of direct response you can't go wrong with Drew Eric Whitman's Ca$hvertising.

Another often overlooked book is Luke Sullivan's Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! Although it's geared more for agency copywriters, you'll find great value in the brainstorming exercises he suggests for coming up with hooks.

[CDarklock]

Originally Posted by Pnigro

I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO START

The Gary Halbert letters.

Untitled Document

Costs nothing, and there's a boatload of great info there.

[IWebGirl]

Hello,

That would be great if you said which top priority books to start with.

I have the Veloso book. I find it too sketchy. All of points are covered but not in depth. I like the sales letter blueprint though.
I find the Ultimate Sales Letter way too boring and off target (not for selling on line).

I have opted for Cashverting and and the Cialdini's book but the practical one.
I have also added Maximum Influence: The 12 Universal Laws of Power Persuasion because it seemed cool.
I feel that Cashverting will be my top priority book though. I like to read and apply not just read a bunch of books so I read over and over until I get it. That's why I need to pick one main book.

I have also started writing down online sales letter that seemed to be doing good at Clickbank. After all Cickbank tells you which book sells the most. It seems that getting the right testimonials is even more important than writing correct copy though.

I also intend to write down any sales letter that makes me extremely nervous not to buy the product.

I have downloaded many sales letters I felt were great and will write down some of them too.

I saw the Veloso blueprint applied for some of the top selling ebooks at Clickbannk #11 to #20 but it seems you need more than that to make it to the top ten. However it seems to me that her blueprint can help you make the top 40 without years of training but maybe I am too naive. We will see.

[Colin Y.J. Chung]

Method Marketing - Denison Hatch

Why?

Because he trashes a big info-product company like Sub-Zero tears of someone's head in 5 short pages.

He is so brutally honest. I love it. Herschell Gordon Lewis as well.

None of this rah-rah motivation.

And yes. That was a Mortal Kombat reference. Ha.

[raphaelgaga]

Hi,

Just thought I'd share this.

One of my favorite copywriting books that I rarely hear people mention is "How to Write Sales Letters that Sell" by Drayton Bird.

He has other books that are good as well. But this one is a gem.

Cheers.

[Bill Jeffels]

Ya, Drayton Bird is great.

Also Commonsense Direct Marketing is killer. His blog "Bird Droppings" is loaded with great info.

Take care,

Bill

[Bill Jeffels]

Originally Posted by raphaelgaga

Didn't know he had a blog. I know what I'll be reading tonight. Thanks. (And thanks for the PM.)

Yes, great talking to you.

Drayton Bird Bird Droppings

Best,

Bill

[SamKane]

Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm buying his book just because
I read this: Ogilvy once said of Drayton Bird, "Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone else in the world."

[dtendrich]

Stephen King, On Writing

[waihon]

Originally Posted by ckauza

Do you have any tips on how to evaluate someone's copy to tell whether it's "good" or "bad" (other than "Does it produce the intended result?)? I'm asking because I have clients who are asking for evaluation of their copy before they launch (this is in relation to website and email campaign copy).

Web Copy That Sells written by Maria Veloso contains a formula for measuring the selling quotient (a predictor of a website's sales performance) of web copy.

The formula allows you to rate your web copy on a scale of 1 to 100, and the best part is even if a website scores lows, you'll know exactly how to fix it.

I like Maria's book. In fact, I bought both the first and second edition of the book.

[waihon]

Thank you all for sharing your favorite copywriting books.

Here are the copywriting books that I bought and have been learning from:

* The Online Copywriter's Handbook - Robert W. Bly
* Web Copy That Sells -- Maria Veloso
* Web Copy That Sells, 2nd Edition -- Maria Veloso
* Hypnotic Writing -- Joe Vitale
* Winning Website Sales Letters (e-book) -- Robert Boduch

[NyceGuy]

I read "Direct Mail Copy That Sells" back in 2006 and even after bumping on many other ebooks, courses and books that talk about writing sales letters, I think it remains to be my most favorite.

However, it took me a long time to figure the basics, even after reading the book three or so times.

The PROBLEM, however was not the book itself. I was the problem. I wasn't practicing. You got to do it for you to "get" it.

You have to get a arbitrary product and start practice writing a sample copy as if you were actually selling the product.

I am not perfect currently, but I am waaaay better than I was back then. I have sold products using my own sales letters. I only use the "pros" for big ticket items. Not so much though.

My experience, however, is that if you can get serious and practice writing copies, then it will way better than hiring others, coz only YOU know and understand your product better than anybody else, and because of this, you will know the exact emotions to ignite though the copies.

[pikachu]

Also a great book worth checking out - Ca$hvertising by Drew Eric Whitman.

[mph]

Yes, John Carlton's "Kickass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel" is definitely a GREAT book. That guy has a way of hitting the nail on the head - it's a no-nonsense book that manages to teach you the "how"...and it's written in a very engaging tone.

Definitely in the top 3.

[MissEvonne]

These are my 3 favorites with an emphasis on the 1st one.

1. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters by Joseph Sugarman

2. The Copywriter's Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly

3. Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time by Maria Veloso

[rygone]

Several have listed the Architecture of Persuasion by Michael Masterson as a "top" book on copywriting...

It looks like the AWAI is selling it for $24.95...

Is this an ebook or printed book?

Is this the SAME content as in the AWAI course?

Anyone have any reviews of this book?

Is it available for sale used (cheap)?

[TPL001]

Not all (the below are) necessarily on copywriting, but Halbert's list is great (I think this is similar to what Maximillian stated Halbert recomended). Abraham's lists are just as good. (I have not read all of those on these lists, but I am working through them.)

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joe Sugarman is apparently the same as Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, only cheaper.

Being Direct by Lester Wunderman. He is Mr Direct Marketing, and he tells the story of his development of direct marketing in the US. This is direct marketing in action. He laid such a great foundation. Joe Sugarman's Success Forces is also good.

Jay Abraham reckons he has read Scientific Advertising, by Claude Hopkins, many times. (Was it 30?) David Ogilvy reckons you should read Scientific Advertising at least seven times (and something to the effect that he would not hire anybody unless they had). This reminds of Warren Buffet's statement, that he had read Benjamin Graham's Security Analysis about 11 times.

These men know the value of reading the classical literature in their field; they know that they need to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before them. Even Dan Kennedy reckons you should listen only to those who have walked the talk, and not just spoken about it (e.g. Robert Collier). Okay, I know it is not relevent to this post, but it is to my point. If you want to understand economics, and can afford to read only one book, read Human Action by Ludwig von Mises. A simpler introduction is Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.

Gary Halbert_hands_on_experience
•Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins
•The Robert Collier Letter Book, Robert Collier
•Tested Advertising Methods, John Caples
•How To Write A Good Advertisement, Vic Schwab
•The Gary Halbert Letter (all back issues), Gary Halbert
•The Boron Letters, Gary Halbert
•The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches, Joe Karbo
•Breakthrough Advertising, Eugene Schwartz
•7–Steps To Freedom, Ben Suarez
•The First Hundred Million, E Haldeman–Julius
•My Life In Advertising, Claude Hopkins

Books recommended by Jay Abraham on website
•Reality in Advertising, Rosser, Reeves
•My First 65 years in Advertising, Sackheim, Maxwell
•My Life in Advertising, Claude Hopkins
•Communications on Advertising, Burnette, Leo
•Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy
•Your Money Back, Eicoff, Alviin
•The Albert Lasker Story as He Told It, Lasker, Albert
•With All Its Faults, Cone, Fairfax

Books recommended by Jay Abraham in Stealth Marketing pp. 114–5
•Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill
•The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of all Time, Hodgson, Dick
•Direct Mail and Mail Order Handbook, Hodgson, Dick
•How to Make Money in Mail Order, Melvin Powers
•Secrets of a Successful Mail Order Guru: Chase Revel, Ron Tepper
•Successful Direct Marketing Methods, Bob Stone
•How to Make Your Advertising Make Money, John Caples
•Writing that Works, Roman & Raphaelson
•Direct Marketing Success: What Works and Why, Gosden, Freeman
•Maxi–Marketing, Rapp & Collins
•Taken at the Flood, John Gunther

Books recommended by Jay Abraham in his book, Getting Everything…
•How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
•The Seven Habits of Highly Effective people, Stephen Covey
•Out Of Crisis, Edwards, Deeming
•Managing in a Time of Great Change, Drucker, Peter
•Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten, Harvey Mackay
•Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters
•A Technique for Producing Ideas, Young, James W
•The art of scientific investigation, Beveridge, William
•Language in thought and action, S.I. Hayakawa

Glad to see "The Ultimate Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy is recommended here. I read a few pages and was pretty impressed. I'm gonna nab this one for sure.

Will have to add "The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of all Time " by Richard Hodgson to my list.

You can never have too many weapons in your arsenal.

[mhartmann]

Originally Posted by mph

Yes, John Carlton's "Kickass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel" is definitely a GREAT book. That guy has a way of hitting the nail on the head - it's a no-nonsense book that manages to teach you the "how"...and it's written in a very engaging tone.

Definitely in the top 3.

I've heard great things about this book. John Carlton's story is very interesting, too, having come up the way he did and shifted the paradigm and standard of advertising in niche magazines.

[ShaneJohnston]

Not really Copywriting books, but along the same psychology of persuasion as Cialdini's Influence, some of my recent reads/recommendations are;

Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
Sway, The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

I would also second the vote for Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point.

[Bullett]

If I had to pick one that has had the biggest impact over my freelance career, it would be Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz.

It's hard to really understand but if you can "get" it you'll create grand-slam promos.

[bulldawg13]

Stephen King's "On Writing" and Bob Bly's.