A world-class copywriter can instantly tap into a target audience’s frame of mind, pull at their emotions, bring them on a journey, and inspire many of them to take action.
Using nothing else but words on the screen. Or paper.
It’s a foundational skill in business and will take you to any level of success that you could want.
1. Read all the Classic Copywriting Books
If you want to become good at something, you can either:
- Do the thing
- Read about the thing and then do the thing
The same idea applies to copywriting. Some of the best sales, advertising, and direct response copywriters were at some point beginner writers who weren’t shying away from churning out a few duds long before they became masters of their craft.
After going through the proverbial wringer and learning the hard way, these authors have put their experiences, setbacks, and wins down onto paper and wrote some of the most compelling books on how to write persuasive copy and make people buy whatever you’re selling in droves.
Here are the seven most influential books on copywriting from some of the greatest minds in the marketing and advertising industry you can start reading today.
The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
Gary Halbert, of The Gary Halbert Letter fame, is considered by many to be the pioneer of modern-day direct response copywriting, a champion of persuasive writing, and a master of sales. Throughout his prolific career, Gary wrote hundreds of direct-mail letters in which he outlined his tactics, formulas, approaches, and methodologies to captivate an otherwise disinterested audience and convert them into loyal customers at the turn of a dime.
This book, however, is more personal. In the Boron Letters, Gary composed a series of letters to his youngest son Bond in a way that transcends boardroom meetings and goes beyond mere run-of-the-mill and sterile copywriting advice.
On many levels, the book reads as a manual for life itself. It will teach you how to navigate its hurdles, overcome many of its challenges, and come out the other side as a wiser, more compassionate copywriter whose newly acquired skill will make a tangible difference in the marketplace.
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
Donal Miller is an experienced marketer, salesperson, and acting StoryBrand CEO with a strong penchant for using the right words at the right time. In this book, he emphasizes the importance of cutting through the noise and reaching your target audience before a competitor has a chance to do exactly the same and steal your sale.
How? By appealing to the predictable psychological incentives of the human mind. Donald advocates for growing an emerging brand via telling stories, and he identifies seven universal story points shoppers positively respond to.
He also mentors business owners, marketers, and copywriters about the real reason behind why customers make purchases, offering key insights into bringing a unique value to your existing and new customer base.
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden
Marketed as the ultimate handbook for how to succeed in the cutthroat world of a modern-day corporate setting, this collection of marketing essays by Paul Arden extends from bite-sized tips on creating a punchy slogan (The Car in front is a Toyota) to memorable advice on turning the conventional wisdom on its head (Getting Fired Can be a Positive Career Move).
With unconventional chapters such as “It’s Right to be Wrong”, “Do Not Seek Praise, Seek Criticism”, and “Have You Noticed How the Cleverest People at School Are Not Those Who Make It In Life?”, Paul dances on the edge of wittiness while offering indispensable nuggets of wisdom from his time as a creative director of one of the biggest marketing agencies in the world—Saatchi & Saatchi.
Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy
David Ogilvy, also known as the “Father of Advertising”, presents his case in a more down-to-earth and candor-like approach than some of the other entries on this list. He talks about how to get your foot in the door in marketing, the secret behind effective advertising, and how to write an effective copy that your prospects will actually want to read.
Once called “the most sought-after wizard in the business” by Time magazine, David Ogilvy’s book will take you on a trip down memory lane of early-day marketing while giving aspiring marketers a real incentive to learn the craft by starting with the basics of copywriting.
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman
Joe Sugarman puts great copy at the crux of every marketing campaign and extends practical advice, tips, and tricks on how to have your message read by millions of people and convince them to buy your product or service. He also reverse-engineers the practice of writing persuasive copy and delves deep into the emotional triggers of a customer who is primed and ready to buy.
Over the course of the book, you’ll encounter numerous examples of stellar copy that you can use alongside your drafts to improve your writing. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook is free of industry jargon, offers a compelling narrative you can easily follow, and provides practical copywriting tips for professionals coming from all walks of life.
Ultimately, Joe’s work is a great companion piece for both rookie and seasoned copywriters willing to use actionable language in order to close a sale.
Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards
As a newer entry on this list, Jim’s guidebook focuses on systematically deconstructing the process of selling in the digital age. Specifically, the author considers copywriting through the lenses of social media ads, funnel hacking, and ecommerce selling, teaching readers the forgotten skill of the so-called “street-smart” copywriting in a world of constant market disruptions.
In Jim’s words, great copywriting leads to a comfortable lifestyle, inner satisfaction, and financial freedom. On the flip side, poor copywriting amounts to nothing much in particular except wasting away the increasingly fewer productive hours we’re left with each day. Meanwhile, Jim puts concepts such as the reader’s attention, interest, desire, and action at the forefront of his book, which you may recognize as the main constituents of the AIDA copywriting formula.
The examples featured in the book are expertly organized, carefully explained, and easy to follow so that even those without a copywriting background can understand and apply them in their upcoming campaigns.
The Fortune Cookie Principle by Bernadette Jiwa
Touted by Seth Godin as the “one book you should immediately and urgently read”, The Fortune Cookie Principle by marketing thought leader Bernadette Jiwa is a game-changing framework on brand-building, communication strategy, and business storytelling.
In the book, the author warns about overthinking what new businesses should do to attract and retain customers, demystifying the copywriting process and encouraging both aspiring pupils and experienced alumni to think simple, think smart, and, to borrow a certain phrase from the pantheon of tech advertising—Think Different.
This way of thinking parallels the entire concept of the fortune cookie and why it’s popular. The cookie doesn’t taste very good, but customers are still excited about the fortune it contains inside once you break it apart.
In other words: the fortune cookie’s appeal is the message it carries, not the breakable shell that surrounds that message.
2. Work For a World Class Copywriter
With the exponential improvements in technology, automation, and AI, professional copywriting mentorship has fallen out of favor and it has been replaced with systems and spreadsheets devoid of imagination. These systems have been designed to explain any concept, such as the PAS copywriting framework, in a way that appeals to the largest group of people at the expense of originality, style, and personal touch.
In turn, many writers who go through these courses often end up producing copy that looks, sounds and reads the same. Customers can sense this trend and they end up rejecting these tactics because, well, they are smarter than marketing textbooks give them credit for.
This is where mentorship from an experienced copywriter can make a critical difference in taking your copy to the next level. Working under a world-class mentor will build your confidence, positively shape your writing style, and identify your blind spots so you can improve and evolve with each new iteration of your copy.
To consider a suitable mentor, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are they part of a strong network of experienced copywriters, business owners, and other sales professionals who can help you achieve your goals?
- Are they still actively working? What were they doing and who were they working for before taking on their latest role?
- What platforms, including social media and professional networks, are they actively participating in?
- Are their teachings reflected in their work?
- Are they easy to work with? Can they tailor their teaching approaches to your current aptitude and skill?
You can find these battle-hardened copywriters in industries that deal with creativity, persuasion, and effective communication on the daily. These include fintech, ecommerce, SaaS, telemarketing, social media advertising, the entire Google Ads ecosystem, and direct response copywriting.
Lastly, don’t exclude rogue copywriters (Justin Welsh and Tim Ferris come to mind) who’ve managed to build entire empires all by themselves without the help of an organization or agency to back them up. They’re often unconventional but highly qualified mentors who can drastically improve the trajectory of your business journey.
3. Put in the Reps
In the words of indispensable entrepreneur, author, and public speaker Tony Robbins: “Repetition is the mother of skill.” He’s right. The more you practice business writing, the better your copy will read, sound, and look in the long run.
To achieve this, strive to get a job where you’ll be writing direct response copy all the time. Also, make sure your professional environment encourages learning through training and repetition, instead of demanding constant perfection from everyone—including interns and new hires.
Relevant industries where you can regularly ply your writing craft include the finance sector, health and nutrition, and the wider umbrella of SEO agencies, nonprofit groups, and trail-blazing SEO individuals with a strong focus on conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies.
4. Write Copy, Reread the Classic Books, Then Write Your Copy Again
Nailing the tone and structure of your first draft is a tall order, especially for newer copywriters who aren’t well-versed in the complexities of contemporary business copywriting. This is where rereading the classic books sweeps in to save the day.
This concept works great for major copy projects like long-form sales letters. To start, get your first draft out, then reread 1-2 copywriting books that really resonate with you. After getting a good understanding of your draft’s weaknesses, take notes on the most important principles to focus on during your next draft.
Repeating this process multiple times over will introduce a sense of structure in your copy and guide your writing toward a satisfactory outcome. As a result, you will learn from your past mistakes, capture more readers, and make more sales over the long haul.
The only downside of this method is that it’s more time-consuming compared to a conventional writing approach. If you’re reinforcing your knowledge by reading more than a single book, it can take hours or days before you can produce a satisfying final draft.
Be wary of this notion and try to recognize scope creep when it pops up before it becomes too late. Apart from that, rereading the copywriting classics is the way to go.
5. Copy Classic Sales Letters By Hand
The benefits of writing by hand are not trivial. First, it helps to reinforce the structure of your thoughts, as opposed to practicing the use of phonemes without rhyme or reason. People think structurally, not phonetically.
Second, handwriting helps you focus more on the task at hand. Typing on a keyboard adds an additional layer of complexity to the equation, thereby allocating a significant chunk of your cognitive capacity to solving tech issues instead of thinking about the message you’re trying to convey. With handwriting, the only thing that matters is the content of your copy.
Next, this type of writing improves your manual dexterity and activates different neural pathways in the brain. This makes you less prone to both reading and writing errors and engages your brain to a greater capacity compared to working with printed text.
Finally, handwriting will make you a more accurate speller, which is a big win. When the various AI and spell-checking tools go dark—and it’s bound to happen sooner or later—your experience will kick in to save the day.
So, go ahead and copy your favorite sales letters by hand. Given that nobody is doing it, this practice will help you outthink the conventional copywriting wisdom and produce an original copy that people will be thrilled to read.
6. Steal Inspiration Wherever You Find It
When you stumble across some media piece, you start wondering if the author is even an inhabitant of this world. It’s like their copy speaks to your soul and takes you on a journey of self-discovery, awe, and earned catharsis. The best part? It typically ends with a clear call-to-action (CTA) after which you’re inclined to subscribe to their podcast or become a lifelong paying customer without a second thought.
And good copy doesn’t come easy. For example, some rookie copywriters think they have it all figured out, but their copy doesn’t even come close to reflecting their enthusiasm. After being confronted with the reality of copywriting and how hard it may seem at times, many of them get stuck and never move past this initial hurdle.
However, this isn’t a reason to give up.
If you’re stuck, the best way to get unstuck is to steal inspiration wherever you come across it, including from online ads, visual advertisements, and legacy media primers like an Ogilvy newspaper ad fromthe golden age of print marketing.
Speaking of Ogilvy, the man was a headline genius. Here are some headline examples of his hardest hitters:
- “It’s a mutiny to mix a Gin-and-Tonic without Schweppes!”
- “How Women Over 35 Can Look Younger”
- “At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the New Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock“
But, not everyone can write like David Ogilvy. For the rest of us, it’s a good idea to come up with as many headlines as possible and then run a headline testing campaign to separate the winners from the worst-performing headlines.
Lastly, pay special attention to media sources that have over-the-top copy. Social media ads can be a great starting point to discover punchy and dynamic content. When you get stuck, go there and start looking for inspiration.
7. Work in a Data-driven Environment
The last step towards becoming a better copywriter requires figuring out that most theories on copywriting and direct response are wrong. Some of these theories will even claim superiority over one formula, like AIDA for example, over the PAS copywriting framework. The only way you’ll build a good instinct on what matters is to be in a working environment where you have hard data for which campaigns fail to produce a desirable outcome.
It’s like becoming good at chess. First, you learn the fundamentals. Then, you break them at your convenience.
The most important copywriting metrics you should consider include:
- Return on investment (ROI)—Represents the ratio between your investment and your net income. A high ROI means your campaigns are performing well, monetarily or exposure-wise, for their cost.
- Conversion rate—Represents the number of people that convert, such as buying your ebook, divided by the total number of interactions on your page times a hundred. In something like a link-building campaign, the conversion rate will be the number of live links over the total number of emails sent expressed in a fixed percentage.
- A/B testing results—In copywriting, A/B testing focuses on the rate at which one variant outperforms another variant, such as a differently worded headline or a differently colored CTA button.
- Click-through rate (CTR)—The total number of users who click on a link to proceed deeper into the sales funnel. CTR can be applied to email newsletters, search engine results pages (SERPs), and other campaigns in the ecosystem of online search. Also, CTR highly correlates to user intent, which explains how well users can find what they’re looking for after performing a search query.
- Bounce rate—The percentage of website visitors who click away from the original website after visiting only a single page.
Whether it’s a mentorship program, a position in a non-profit organization, a stereotypical office job, or a promising internship, do whatever it takes to work in an environment like this. It’s much easier to grow into a top-tier copywriter when the structure of your copy is in large part driven by hard data.
