Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankesh
I've read and learnt from a lot of awesome folks over the years - everyone from: Eugene Schwartz, Gary Halbert, Robert Collier, Claude Hopkins, David Ogivly, Rosser Reeves, Dan Kennedy, Denny Hatch, Herschel Gordon Lewis.
But if I had to recommend just 3 books on how to become a better copywriter - they would be:
1. Brainaudit by Sean D'Souza
2. Advertising Secrets of the Written Word by Joe Sugarman
3. Accidental Magic by Roy H. Williams et al - The Wizards Techniques for Writing Words Worth 1,000 Pictures
(the book just has 25 pages of information... the rest of it is a collection of pictures and poetry from students. But those 25 pages are the short cut to becoming a much better writer.)
|
Thanks Ankesh for sharing these!
I wholeheartedly agree with you about "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" by Joseph Sugarman. The exact same book has been republished as "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook" - however, with a difference.
The original "Advertising Secrets" meticulously explained many "case studies" in the back - ads where Sugarman had explained the principles to his students using examples. You also get Sugarman's own eye-popping ads (e.g. for his "Mafia Auto Gadget" for example!) - and info on whether the ad was a winner or a flop.
"The Adweek Copywriting Handbook" is the same book, but with all of these valuable example pages ripped out... So where possible, if you're serious about it, get "Advertising Secrets" instead of the "Adweek" one.
I've heard of Sean D'Souza, but haven't checked his stuff out yet. Thanks for the recommendation!
Also, thanks for mentioning the "Accidental Magic" book. I've got the "Wizard of Ads" books, and there's some great stuff there (also pay attention to some of his fascinating design elements)... I look forward to "experiencing" this book too!
Thanks, Ankesh!
Dien