12 Books For Beginning Copywriters
Our writing has the power to make us look smart or stupid. It has the power to make us appear amusing, warm, knowledgeable, or trustworthy. But it can also make us appear mundane, disorganized, or plain boring. As I grew my freelance writing business and became a successful copywriter I found these books especially relevant and worthwhile.
That means you must carefully choose your words and write with economy, flair, and real compassion for your customers. And it means you’re giving a whole new meaning to an often-overlooked talent in content marketing: writing and telling a great factual story. That holds true whether you’re composing a listicle, using Slideshare, or reading the words you’re reading right now…
As a consequence, being able to communicate well in writing isn’t just desirable; it’s essential. The following are the books I used to learn copywriting techniques. Some of which were started in the early twentieth century.
Break Through Copy writing
It’s an art form to use written words to convey emotions and feelings to the reader. The author not only gives us clear and straightforward instructions but also templates. An easy read that improved my understanding of how to construct written words to get my desired outcome.
It also clearly caters to the American market, but there are still a lot of good general ideas in this book, and I learned some new things about copywriting that I hadn’t generally understood.
Pitch Anything
Summary of Pitch Anything:
Pitching technique is something that can be learned.
Pitches are sent from the neocortex, a contemporary — and sophisticated — region of the brain.
Both parties should feel satisfied rather than exploited or duped.
Once power has shifted, take command and steer talks in the direction you wish. Power is given and taken. Allow both sides to enjoy the game. It should be thrilling for both parties, not oppressive.
Create desire rather than liking or analysis.
There is an excellent summary on Goodreads here.
Ogilvy on Advertising
It is said that David Ogilvy was who Don Draper from Mad Men was based. Ogilvy is considered the master of the modern advertising agency pitch. He is almost the original pitchman.
Although it would have been even more intriguing if we could read his thoughts on the present condition of advertising, it was an intelligent and completely engrossing read. I really liked his work, and his primary ideas are still valid today. Unfortunately, his prediction that huge billboards and deception in political advertising would become outdated was completely correct.
The Robert Collier Letter book
A book for the businessman who already knows the theory of letter writing but is looking for more effective ways of putting it into practice. It shows successful ways of selling all manner of products through proper advertising.
This book is really old school in advertising terms. It comes from the early 20th century when the techniques of copywriting were first being developed. Lots of wonderful classic ads to read and enjoy. Perhaps more useful as a historical document than a guide to copywriting. Highly technical and very dated examples, this book continues to be a masterwork of understanding human psychology.
My Life in Advertising, Scientific Advertising
This is a great read. Hopkins practically founded modern advertising. He advocated for measuring everything and testing everything and holding advertisers accountable for results in 1927. Before the internet, before big data, before conversion tracking.
David Ogilvy said: “Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life.”
Everybody Writes
This book is a bit repetitive in nature so you may not read the entire thing the first time you come to it. It is a series of helpful anecdotes on writing and writing life. I use this book as a reference when I have trouble getting to the essence of what I am really trying to say. It is a very good reference book for copywriters at all stages of their careers. Some consider this the copywriter’s handbook because there are so many useful tips and tricks in this book.
The Boron Letters
A series of letters from history's best copywriter Gary C. Halbert to his youngest son Bond, imparting secret strategies and elder wisdom. The Boron Letters were were exclusively available as part of a paid monthly subscription, but they have now become a cult classic among direct response marketers and copywriters all over the world. Because they deal honestly with the portion of human psychology that never changes, how to convince and convert people into buyers, these methods, secrets, and suggestions will be useful 5, 10, even 100 years from now.
In conclusion?
Start with the first chapter. This is a classic.
How to Write Copy that Sells
Most business books I've purchased appear to require you to "plod through" a lot of text in order to get to the information you want. With How To Write Copy That Sells, this is not the case. The chapters are simple to read, get right to the point of teaching, and include summaries at the end of each one. This is going to be a book I keep next to my desk at all times. Mr. Edwards, thank you for persuading me that there is at least one business book for people like me out there (and if there is one there are surely more). This is one of the best copywriting books for beginners especially.
Story
A book about story writing may not be the top of your list of books to read that will improve your copywriting, but here it is. This may not be on a lot of peoples radar but it should be. The art of story telling is universal and this book is the one so many scriptwriters use to hone their craft. Copywriters that excel should use this book too. Telling a compelling story is an act of copywriting. Selling your services or your clients is a matter of telling a story well and this book will help you tell better stories.
Finding the Right Message
Jen Havice, a message strategist and customer-driven copywriter, explains how to ask the proper questions to figure out what makes your consumers tick so you can write copy that they can't put down. This second edition of Finding the Right Message is both practical and relevant, with examples, templates, and case studies. You'll learn a method for evaluating what messages your customers require, as well as tried-and-true strategies to improve your copy.
This is the book to get for copywriting and building a copywriting business.
16 Word Sales Letter
With Evaldo's fresh new approach, writing sales copy that creates new clients has never been easier.
You can use this formula to create website copy, sales letters, videos, and in-person sales messages that will generate a flood of new customers, make your customers feel like you're a hero for offering your product, and never make you feel like you're using a bunch of empty hype or being salesy, whether you've been writing for years or are brand new to copywriting.
Copywriting
Many people believe that writing copy is a natural skill.
There are, however, basic ways you may use to quickly create good written content.
This updated, extended edition covers the skill of creating outstanding copy for digital media, branding, advertising, direct marketing, commerce, catalogs, business magazines, and internal communications, with illuminating interviews from prominent copywriters and illustrated case studies of important brands.
More of my copywriting techniques can be found here.