Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale: What You Need to Know Explained Simply

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Vickie Taylor emphasizes repeatedly in her book "The Complete Guide to Writing Web-based Advertising Copy to get the Sale: Everything you Need to Know Explained Simply," that the keys to writing effective web-based advertising copy are brevity and clarity.
She provides the role model for her recommended approach in this "How to Guide" geared towards freelance copywriters and business owners. Taylor writes in a straightforward and conversational style that is both concise and informative.
Her purpose is to provide suggestions and advice on basic design guidelines for improving copy appearance and developing quality web content so one can increase sales, and she does so in a clear, efficient manner.
Taylor shares tricks of the copywriting trade from successful professionals in the business, which provide not only real-world examples, but practical advice and tips from experts who have been through the growing pains and know what works and what doesn't.
However, Taylor doesn't sugarcoat the copywriting business and is up front with her readers concerning its challenges. "The creative world of advertising is tough stuff," Taylor writes, which she follows later with, "writing copy is not as easy as it may seem."
You can tell from the myriad quotes she incorporates into her work from other literary minds that Taylor has a writer's sensibility: her wide-ranging references to authors include Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Truman Capote, Sun Tzu, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Johnson and others.
She dispenses good advice throughout, emphasizing a diverse background and diverse experiences to help inform copywriting and reminding copywriting novices that being effective ("words drive the sale") is more important than being creative.
Taylor includes helpful sections such as a "Day in the Life," a contrived, but pragmatic scenario where you imagine a day in the life of a typical consumer in your target market so you can learn how they operate and how to best reach them.
Also useful is a sample creative brief she develops for a fictional company called "Guac-n-Rock" guacamole which presents a relevant example to business owners seeking to reach their target audience.
Although her focus is writing advertising copy for Internet media, she explains how to write for different types of media and various types of ad web copy such as e-mail marketing.
Taylor even includes a section on blogging and new media that describes how incorporating blogs into a business allows you to have an interactive site that connects with consumers on a more personal level.
While the book does contain some extraneous material (the section on "Creative Aerobics" can probably be jettisoned) her overall message is consistent and novice copywriters or small business owners should find it valuable.

This is not a horrible book, if you look at it as an introductory marketing book.

It's not about copywriting. The writer doesn't even know what copywriting is (it's sales copy, not blogging or editorial). That's not an opinion. THAT IS WHAT COPYWRITING IS.

This author is a graphic designer who has written some content.

If you're looking for a basic marketing book, it's passable.

If you're looking for a book on COPYWRITING, you should look for something by Bob Bly, Hershel Gordon Lewis or another copywriter.

This is a common mistake, but it is very frustrating to buy a book and find out it's not even about what the title says.

This book is really useless. It has not been written by a real copywriter and its content is very superficial. Here are some suggestions from the author:

- Use a telephone number on your website so that customers can call you back
- People don't like websites with lots of text
- Some facts about men as a demographic; they make quick judgements, they like sex, they like sports and technology

And she continues her useless generalizations about gays, hispanics and other groups. Then, there are some real grammar errors in this book and in no way it gives you any advise on copywriting, other then some general talk that any serious copywriter cannot relate to or learn anything from.

It's a shame that I had to pay any money for this crap. I wouldn't have taken it, even if it had been offered for free!

To summarize the poor quality of this book: on page 285 there is a picture of the author which is upside down! I mean , does she know anything about quality control or proofreading????????

To finalize it; this book is full of so called "expert advise" of some so called "copywriters" that give their advise. I guess they put it in just to fill the pages, because it has no value at all.

What do I care about a copywriter telling me how his first job was and if he was excited? Come on! Tell me something about copywriting!! I bought this book to get some advise on how to write content for my website but now I have to shop for another book, since this book (if it can be called a book) lacked in ALL departments.

Please spend your cash on other books. Don't buy this!

I can easily recommend Vickie Taylor's book Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale. Taylor did her homework and her book is packed full of great tips and info. There is so much great info that the book can almost be treated like a school textbook or reference book. While reading, I found it helpful to keep a notebook beside me, making sure to write down Taylor's important and useful check lists and ideas. Also, I thought the interspersed "case studies" of professional copywriters were very helpful. It didn't hurt that Taylor was interviewing people who can write well. Their answers were wonderfully informative and clear.

Another feature of this book: no matter how complex or advanced the material, Taylor's style and tone created a clear and engaging delivery. Even the newest copywriter will feel at ease with Taylor. Her writing is intelligent and knowledgeable without talking down to the reader. It's obvious Taylor is as curious, inquisitive and capable as the copywriters she's mentoring with her book.

The book's only drawback is its title. The book claims to be about writing copy for the web. The foreword is written by a web copywriter about being a web copywriter, and the bulk of the book does focus on web copywriting. Some sections, however ("online advertising," "meta tags" and "hiring a copywriter," for example) seemed more geared towards a business owner, rather than a copywriter, and the book's focus is subsequently lost in a few places. These extraneous topics could have more appropriately appeared in a book titled "How to Promote Your Business in The Digital Age." Granted, these topics are at least distantly related to the copywriting focus, and, like the book's other sections, are smartly presented. Also, Taylor including a little too much good info--rather than too little--is an easily forgivable misstep that is perhaps merely a result of her being intensely enthused about her subject, which is also a good thing.

This book definitely is a complete guide to writing web-based advertising copy. The amount of knowledge that Taylor provides is immense and thorough. Breaking up the information with interviews gives your mind a break, yet gives incite into the real world of copywriters.

The forward, written by Susan Greene, was interesting but lengthy. I felt that the information about what I could expect to learn from this book and some of Greene's experiences were valuable to know, but the rest should have been left to Taylor. Once I started reading the actual book, I was impressed at how the information was presented. Taylor has a chatty way of relaying information. She provided good examples of what she was trying to explain, and the information was presented in a logical manner.

Since this is a field that I hold great interest in, this book has caused me to actually feel capable of learning this area of writing. Taylor's book would be an asset to a self-taught copywriter who wants to start their career. Her way of writing is easy to read and sometimes amusing. If you were looking for a technically written book, this would not be a good choice. Even so, this book is worth owning.

This book is exceptional; Taylor gives the reader insight on how to compete in the world of copywriting. The author gives the reader lots of information about the copywriting industry with page turning chapters. Taylor goes on to explain what one needs from the clients and how to ensure they get what they want in there advertising needs. The author does a good job of walking you through the creative process of writing copy along with pointers on email campaigns. In this book you will find an abundance of testimonials form experienced freelance copywriters that give insight into the business. When looking through there are plenty of website of companies that will benefit all copywriters. This book is good for anyone who is just starting out in the copywriting business. This book may also be beneficial for anyone who wants a refresher course in the business as well. Following all the information about the business the Author gives insight on how to pursue copywriting jobs via the web. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to break in the freelance copywriting business

***** 5 Stars

This book is excellent! Vickie Taylor reaches out to the reader and pulls them into the world of copywriting. She shares so much informative information about the copywriting industry in every chapter. Vickie explains what you need from your clients and how to give them what they want; she walks you through the creative process of writing copy as well as gives pointers on SEO and email campaigns.
Throughout the book you will find plenty of testimonials from experienced freelance copywriters that give you insight into the business. You will also find tons of website address to other companies that will benefit any copywriter. This book is perfect for beginners and for those that need a refresher course in copywriting.
After learning, or relearning, the informative information in side the first two sections of the book the Author helps you to find your path to copywriting jobs on the web. I recommend this book to anyone trying to get started in freelance copywriting.

Web copywriters are in high demand and web copy is one of the most demanded forms of copywriting. Any who would enter the field will find everything needed to either become a copywriter or use one effectively, making for a top pick business collections will relish. Chapters explain differences between online advertising types, blogging, e-mail marketing and more, and offer business owners overviews of web optimization, strategies and business testing. It's an excellent guide business and computer libraries need.

The content in this book is clear and reasonable, but it is focused on consumer marketing for a small business, with no discussion of the different issues of business-to-business or large corporate marketing. The case studies are interesting and provide a dose of reality for readers who dream of becoming a freelance writer. However, the lack of real-world examples and the very poor index keeps this book from being useful as an ongoing reference. If you are just starting as a writer, read this book once then look for others that will provide more in-depth discussion of the topics. Another caution for freelance writers: the author cites low-pay, competitive web sites as resources, which experienced freelancers avoid. Look at other freelance writing books for better ideas.