A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells - The Copywriter's Handbook

Easy to read, but very dated information. Some of the guidance given, for example, regarding email marketing, has been made irrelevant due to laws written after the 2002 publication date (and apparently have not made their way into later editions of the text).

Seriously, one of the very best guides to copywriting out there! Bob Bly is a pro who shares insights and experience that are pure gold. I purchased the first edition in 1990. This latest, in Kindle version. Besides this book - only one of many gems - I highly recommend you sign up for his email newsletter. Just go to bly.com. Promise, you won't be disappointed!

Always insightful, Bob Bly's books are always packed with wisdom (not just information) in helping others become better in the world of copywriting. It's an easy read. Grab your pen or highlighter because you'll definitely want to go back and review many of his gems of the trade. This book's a keeper

This book sets up the guidelines and principles required for effective sales oriented writing. I used this to help me write product descriptions which were instrumental in creating many new sales opportunities for the business.

Amazingly wonderful book for beginners on all the how-to's I needed to hear about copywriting any kind of copy. I for surely added this book to my references for further research and insights. There's about a good 70 to 80 tips, rules, guidelines, techniques, for easy to follow directions on how effective content is writing. This book is old, but experience comes with age, sound good.

Bob Bly presents an excellent resource for anyone interested in copywriting and lays out all the basics to get your started. This book is well-organized and a tool I use often in my day to day writing assignments.

This book is essential for any copywriter's collection.

The other night I was looking through my bookshelf for a book to read, or rather a book to re-read. I chose The Copywriter's Handbook and re-read it for the sixth or seventh time. And once again I came away impressed and inspired. It's not just for writing copy, it's about writing clearly.

I've been writing for money for over twenty years, and Bob's book is the best book I've ever read on the subject. I don't yet have Bob's effortless writing style, but my prose is much tighter than before. The principles he espouses haven't changed for a long time, and if you write a blog or create copy for a commercial web page you'll find plenty of help here.

So, this is one of the few books I recommend to anyone interested in writing well. It's sad to thinks that Strunk and White [[ASIN:B0058I7TFI THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE (UPDATED 2011 EDITION)] is held up as the best book for writing when it was first published in the 1930s when bad writing was commonplace. Bob's book will do more for your writing than Strunk and White ever will.

So just get it. You'll be glad you did.

The principles Robert Bly elucidates have applicability not just to copywriting but to nonfiction writing in general. Whether one is writing ad copy, appeal letters, how-to articles or books, social or political commentary, or philosophical or scientific treatises, one is in the business of selling one's ideas. Bly shows you how to do this how to do this in the most effective way. This book is must reading for anyone who is a writer and who genuinely wants to share his or her ideas with the reader.

This book is mainly geared towards people wanting to learn hard sell direct response advertising. Sales letters and web advertising are its main focus. There are chapters on other forms of advertising such as brochures and white papers, but IMHO there are other more effective books on soft sell methods.

As for the comments dinging the Bly on his comments about creative advertising... Yes, there is a place for creativity in advertising, but the creativity should never obscure the main purpose of advertising, which is to sell products. As a copywriter, your job is to write the words that get people to pull out their wallets and buy. Are there ads that are both effective and creative? Of course. However, for a copywriter, effective should always come before creative. Never forget that you're playing with other peoples' money, and advertisers want the best bang for their buck.

Note that there have been some revisions for the 3rd edition. The section on computer equipment have been removed. No big loss there, since by definition the technology would be outdated by the time the book went to print. The chapter on freelancing has also been omitted, since Bly devotes an entire book to freelancing, Secrets of a Freelance Writer.

Do you know how many kinds of brochures there are?

Well... this book tells you (on pages 176 to 177)

Do you know how to crawl under your prospect's skin, connect with them at the core and make your copy so irresistible they feel helpess to resist so they buy from you at "hello"?...

Well... this book tells you (on pages 82 to 90)

Do you know how to get a job as a copywriter?

Well... that's what the whole of chapter 13 is for (I especially love the insights on page 338, "Client Side: Where The Jobs Are")

Usually, when a book says "step-by-step guide for (insert any craft/skill)" you can bet your most expensive suit that it's going to cover the bare minimum in order to give the illusion of being a "step by step guide"

But Bob's classic copywriting Bible does the OPPOSITE!

He gives you MORE than just "step by step" he goes at least 2 levels deep on EACH topic he talks about.

On connecting with your prospects, not only does he reveal studies which back up his talk, he reveals a simple formula you can apply to your sales materials right now to boost the "I feel like this guy knows me" factor.

If you're thinking about getting a "ginormous" course by someone else......STOP...... get this book first, not only is it affordable it spills the beans on writing superb salesletters and copy that sells. Period.

Want to be a Copywriter? Looking to learn the sales copywriting craft for your own business? This is the place to start! If someone approached me personally inquiring where or how to start, my answer would be only two words...Bob Bly!

Bob Bly is a man who is without a doubt a modern day Copywriters...Copywriter. A copywriter who is considered by many today to be a living legend in this business.

Now you have the opportunity to learn Copywriting from one of the Masters of this industry with his newly revised edition of...The Copywriter's Handbook. This definitive guide has been the first step in learning copywriting and the lucrative copywriting business for countless writers for over 20 years. This newly revised edition is better than ever! This modern up-to-date version is a great step-by-step primer that will give you a solid foundation of writing, style, and essential sales copy elements. You also gather valuable insights on the copywriting business too!

Do yourself a favor and avoid all the confusion of..."where should I start?" Even if you're a Pro, this is one book that should be in every copywriter's library!

Bob Bly is the master of showing beginning copywriters how to write compelling copy. He also knows all there is to know about the copywriting business.

If you're just starting out in this business, you must buy this book and any time Bob updates it, buy the new one.

He helps you know what to charge. He guides you in the rules of the road in a way you'll understand. Reading this book could be the ticket to a great career for you. So pick up your ticket and enter the world of copywriting.

Highly recommended --- especially for beginning copywriters or those who need a handy everyday reference to refer to when they have a question.

Great beginners guide to copywriting! Bob Bly is one of my idols. He really does a fantastic job of outlining the various forms of content from traditional ads to press releases and how to optimize these for maximum conversion. I particularly appreciated the sections of his book that addressed headline tactics and ways to make your copy more digestible for the user. I think it would be really interesting for him to update this book with a section on the whole "Is Content King" debate. Quality content has always been Google's mantra. But is quality content worth a dime if it's not read or viewed by enough people? I think with advances in Social Media, content promotion needs to be another key pointer for beginner copywriters to seriously take note of. Here's an articles worth reading if you want to research further [...].

From the opening line: "A copywriter is a salesperson behind a typewriter." Mr. Bly shows how sales, marketing and copy are related in a fast-paced and fun-to-read book that deserves to become dog-eared and highlighted and kept close by.

This book, the Copywriter's Handbook by Bob Bly, is one of the best books ever written on the subject of Writing Copy that Sells. He covers the range of sales materials from headlines and advertisements, to brochures, to public relations statements and he gives examples at each turn.

My favorite part of the book starts on page 79, and is titled "Getting Ready to Write". You can improve the effectiveness of your sales writing by 1000% if you will just take the information in this short twenty page chapter to heart and do the simple things that Mr. Bly recommends.

This is a classic and deserves every one of the 5 stars I have given it.