This is not a catalog copywriting books
… But these books have been recommended and used by the best copywriters in the world like Gary Halbert and John Carlton. The best copywriting books have been written a long time ago, because copywriting only is about one thing: good salesmanship.
The Robert Collier Letter Book. I remember Gary Halbert son telling me Gary was having cases of these in the garage, great book to read and to give to your friends. The author of over a dozen books, Robert Collier was decades ahead of his time in writing down ways for man to improve his lot in life. He wrote “Secret of the Ages” (The Wisdom of Robert Collier – Including: The Secret of the Ages, Secret of Power AND Secret of Gold) during an active and successful life developed upon basic ideas which opened up new vistas of living for countless multitudes of people. Brought up to be a priest, he worked as a mining engineer, an advertising executive and a prolific writer and publisher.
A book for the business man who already knows the theory of letter writing but is looking for more effective says of putting it into practice. It shows successful ways of selling all manner of products through proper advertising and copywriting.
As Ken McCarthy told “ I’m surprised this book hasn’t been reviewed yet. Collier’s classic Robert Collier Letter Book is THE guide to direct response copywriting. Right now as I write this, there’s a used copy online fo $1,009.95 One friend who’s paid five figures to write sales letters says he wouldn’t let his copy go for $10,000 if he couldn’t get another. It’s pretty remarkable that this book is back in print at such a reasonable price. If you intend to make money from your advertising, this is a key book to read, study and master.”
Scientific Advertising, by Hopkins Claude Hopkins, the father of modern advertising techniques, believed that “Advertising is salesmanship,” and as such it should be measurable and justify the results that it produced. In Scientific Advertising, he explains precisely how to do that, and the principles he discovered and documented are as true today as when they were first written. This business classic covers mail-order marketing, headlines, psychology, strategy, budgeting, and more advanced subjects like negative advertising and how to test an advertising campaign. Whatever advertising medium you use, from print to the Internet, the fundamental principles of Scientific Advertising are universal and timeless. Newly designed and typeset for modern readers by Waking Lion Press.
James Sadler once said about this book:
Scientific Advertising
All the modern giants of advertising still swear by this book. Ogilvy even claimed it changed his life (in advertising anyway, but who knows, advertising is Ogilvy’s life). The book is amazing in both its simple and direct approach. It’s relatively short, yet packed with information of use to anyone interested in advertising.
Hopkins essentially invented many of the concepts that so many advertisers take for granted today, chief among them what seems like a simple idea: the coupon. And even today, many advertisers fail to get results when they stray from his teachings.
One of the most famous examples of failing to follow his teachings: the “Got Milk” campaign. Sure, it seems clever and it’s definitely high profile, but from a marketing standpoint, it’s a flop. Milk sales have not moved upward at all despite the fact that milk producers are now several years into the campaign. Want to know why it failed? Read Hopkins’s book.
Whether you are an individual considering a career in advertising or an businessperson trying to figure out how best to market your business, start with Hopkins and then move onto the rest.
All advertising before “Scientific Advertising” flows into it; and all advertising after “Scientific Advertising” flows out of it.
You can also buy it bundled with his biography My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising… Claude Hopkins.
Edward B. Driscoll, Jr. (San Jose, CA) told Advertising man Claude Hopkins (1866- 1932) was one of the true pioneering masters of direct response marketing.
How much of a master was he? Hopkins routinely earned close to $200,000 per year (this was in the 1920′s when $200,000 was a lot of money. Come to think of it – it’s not exactly pocket change today!)
Hopkins invented many of the direct response techniques that my firm teaches our clients. He was a master at testing headlines for the best response. Heck, he invented the test marketing of ad campaigns doing small, controlled tests with a limited budget to make sure a campaign worked before spending large sums of money.
Hopkins was a master (and major proponent) of writing, clear, simple copy that anyone could read. He feared that too-clever copywriting would detract from the only function of advertising – selling!
(How many of today’s ad pro’s on Madison Ave. remember that advertising is supposed to sell a product, not build an image, not “get a company’s name out”?)
Hopkins wrote two books. The first was 1923′s “Scientific Advertising”, where he lays out his theories on copy writing, headlines, test marketing, the appearance of direct mail and space ads, the importance of mastering mail-order advertising as a precursor to advertising anything else, and other key strategies.
In 1927 he wrote “My Life In Advertising”, which is (obviously) his autobiography. While this book isn’t as important a work as “Scientific Advertising”, both have been out of print for years. In 1995, they have been reissued as a two for one book by NTC Business Books of Lincolnwood (Chicago), Il.
What’s amazing is how undated the books are, especially “Scientific Advertising”. If you want a quick primer on direct response marketing, you could do far worse than reading Hopkins, and employing as many of his strategies as possible in your marketing efforts. My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising… Claude Hopkins.
And a free copywriting Ebook: Effective direct advertising; the principles and practice of producing direct advertising for distribution by mail or otherwise (1921)
by Robert E. Ramsay (Paperback – Jan. 3, 2010)
(~716 pg)Read Online or Buy it at Amazon:
Effective Direct Advertising; The Pr…
Robert E. Ramsay Publisher: New York, London : D. Appleton and company Publication date: 1921 Subjects: Advertising Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. Better read it online with illustrations at Read Online
Tested Advertising Methods, by John Caples is according to John Carlton the book he always refer to first.
A legend in advertising for more than 60 years, John Caples still serves as a guide to generations of creative marketing people. Now his classic work on how to create successful advertising has been updated by respected advertising consultant Fred Hahn. It retains all the clarity, candid analysis, time-tested experience and invaluable award-winning ideas from the original, while bringing it right up-to-the-minute on the many new changes in the field.
Adam Khan review: It is so good because Caples was in the mail order advertising business for forty-something years, and that’s one of the few kinds of advertising that gets real feedback. Ads can be tested and the results can be compared. So Caples gives you FACTS rather than opinions about what works in advertising.
The book is very informative and also very interesting because Caples will show you two examples of ads he ran as a split-run and says “one sold three times more than the other; can you guess which one?” Then he’ll tell you, and tell you WHY.
Tested Advertising Methods
John Caples, Fred …
Not only that, but the book is extremely readable. I’m the author of Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I’m an expert on putting the most useful information into a readable form, and this book is as good as it gets. As David Ogilvy says in the introduction, “This is, without a doubt, the most USEFUL book about advertising that I have ever read.” No more endorsement than that is needed!
related book :
How to Make Your Advertising Make Money… John Caples
Simple to read and well-organized. Examples of chapter names include; “303 words and phrases that sell”, “12 ways to find advertising ideas” et cetera.
~ Victor O. Schwab (Author)
Victor O. Schwab
This book, though it seems a little bit old in writing style, is very good value. It starts with a list of the 100 best headlines ever written and explains why they were so. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book!
This book goes into “why” not just “how” so you can learn how to do it yourself.
You’ll find chapters on understanding the emotional triggers, using facts, using proof, getting people to take action and much more.
The examples are incredible, all the way through the whole book. Every point made comes with an example that proves the point.
Its not quite a Tested Advertising Book however as a book to put on your shelf that you’ll open and read many times I recommend it. How to Write a Good Advertisement
The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches Joe Karbo and the updated version that I don’t recommend Roadmap to Riche$ reviewed by Robert Marble
Last but not least is the book that inspired million of people and made many of them rich
Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill: The No.1 Selling Book of the Century on Personal Wealth and Lasting Success (Paperback)
The mastermind group concept from Napoleon Hill is one of the most valuable concepts to create accountability, and creating you a huge advantage, it is a concept you must use.
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