Hey guys,

If you could choose only a single book for copywriting what would it be? If the field matters I'm particularly interested in direct sales via snail mail or web sites.

Amazon.com: The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters: Books: Joseph Sugarman

But, I don't recommend one book. Your education is one place where the word "diversity" doesn't have negative connotations with me.

I don't recommend getting only one book. I have yet to find one book that covers each part of copywriting completely.

Here's the two I usually recommend the most:

Tested Advertising Methods - John Caples
Ultimate Sales Letter - Dan Kennedy

Good luck,

Mike

"Cash Copy" by Dr. Jeffrey Lant.

Hi AD1985

First you need the motivation, courage and desire to know
what is in the book you want.

Just getting any old book because all the girls and guys
say Mr. X’s book is the best, is only putting a nothing in your mind.

Find the book what will help get you what you want. Then get it.
Read it.

I’m practicing what Ken Calhoun in a post on this board said:

Read a book three times.

What happens is it’s similar to listening to a tape, cd or mp3
over and over. New things and understanding pop out that
weren’t there the first time you read the book.

So my suggestion is to go pickup a book you want to read. Or
prepare yourself to camp-out on the CopyWritersBoard forums
this weekend and read what interests and speaks to you.

Come Monday…tell us about it. You’ll be AD1985 and thoroughly
super-charged to AD2007 !


Cheers

Jim

The one book...

...on the bedrock principles of salesmanship in print/testing: Scientific Advertising

...on headlines: Tested advertising by Caples

...on creating a persuasive flow using the AID(c)A formula Bedell's how to write advertising that sells.

...on the A-Z process - Dan Kennedy's Ultimate sales letter

...on meeting the prospect where they are and leading them to the sale: Breakthrough advertising by Eugene Schwartz

I have purchased a number of the expensive courses from top copywriters, but have to be honest – for the basics it's hard to beat these resources.

Two exceptions: Bencivenga and Makepeace's mothership courses.

I've only read one copywriting book, so my
recommendation is simple...

John Carlton's "Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets
Of A Marketing Rebel".

After reading that book it lit a fire under me and
I decided it made more sense to just start writing
instead of reading more books.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of the classics on
my book shelf. However every time I try to crack
them open, they bore the hell out of me.

Carlton's stuff is fascinating to read, and holds my
interest far beyond anything else I've tried to dig into.

Here is a book you should have:

7 Steps to Freedom II by Benjamin D. Suarez. Here's why:

After working for Gary Halbert, to learn as much as he could about Direct Response Marketing, Ben started his own business. That was in 1973 (although he had dabbled for a few years before). Today there are three BIG Direct Response Marketing companies and several smaller ones that have come out of Ben's business; Suarez Corporation Industries.

They are SCI, FitnessQuest, Universal Syndications/Patent Health. Combined they have sold BILLIONS of dollars of products via Direct Response. The smaller ones are too numerous to mention, mostly smaller Entrepreneurs who took their knowledge of direct response and downsized it to fit their needs.

With that being said, I agree there is NOT one book that is going to be the Golden KEY. I've got several thousand, and I STILL buy new stuff, even though I don't work that much anymore. Learning Marketing and Copywriting is a lifetime process, much like golf is a lifetime of learning process (so said Jack Nicklaus).

For 10 bux and postage, you can have 7 Steps to Freedom II in your hands in a couple of days...shop at abe.com or google it. It is about How to Start a DIRECT RESPONSE BUSINESS...from concept on...and covers copywriting too.

It is ONE of 7 MUST HAVE books, according to the late, Sir Gary Halbert.

If you don't have 7 Steps to Freedom II, get it today.

Gordon Jay Alexander

If I could only have one book I'd get the Gary Halbert Letters on PDF. They'll set you back less than $30 and I am sure after reading 1200 pages on copywriting you'll know more than most and have more than enough foundation to get started.

Tim

If I could only read one book about copywriting, then I would choose a different line of work. No one book is going to teach anyone what they need to know.

That said, here is a short list of books I put together on an Amazon list. Maybe you will find it helpful. Amazon.com: "Freelance commercial writing 101"