Customer Reviews

The Everything Guide To Writing Copy: From Ads and Press Release to On-Air and Online Promos--All You Need to Create Copy That Sells (Everything: Language and Literature)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first book I read by Steve Slaunwhite, "Start & Run a Copywriting Business" won my deepest admiration. Slaunwhite is firmly established as one of the premier copywriters on the scene today. So of course, I had very high expectations for Slaunwhite's newest book, THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO WRITING COPY. For the most part, I came away very pleased with what I found here.

At just under 300 pages, Slaunwhite gives in-depth coverage of basic copywriting, from many different angles. The book covers everything you would expect a basic copywriting book to cover. Planning your project, headlines, ad copy, direct market copy, Internet copy, PR copy, landing a job as a copywriter, it's
all here and covered in acceptable basic detail.

Also as expected, Slaunwhite's book flows very well, holds reader interest, follows a logical progression, etc. The format also provides a generous margin for note taking. The text is interspersed with interesting and informative facts and tips. In summary, this has all the elements of a great book on beginning copywriting.

But wait, so does Slaunwhite's "Start & Run a Copywriting Business". I'm not saying this is a rehash, at least not completely. The book is expanded to include some updated material, but why not market it as a revised edition? Of course the answer is obvious. A new title will certainly sell more copies than a revision. Don't get me wrong, there is much to learn here, but unless this is your first book on copywriting, you might be disappointed.

I would also be remiss not to mention the lack of editing. Slaunwhite is no doubt, a professional, but as such, is held to a higher standard. If he needs a good proofreader,... I'm available. There are 3 typos on page 129 alone!

Now that I've made it sound bad, let me smooth it out a bit. If you're new to copywriting and looking for a good book to start with, this would be an exceptional choice. If you're already an established copywriter and have read previous Slaunwhite, Bly, Bowerman, etc., you may be in for a disappointment here.

If you are exploring a career as a copywriter, this book will give you good sense of the projects, skills, and work activities involved. The book is well organized and the information is relevant and clearly presented. However, the broad scope of projects covered means a cursory discussion of each and may lead new writers to believe it is possible and necessary to be an "I write anything" writer. In fact, most successful copywriters focus on certain types of projects and industries in order to build a strong expertise. Readers who want to pursue copywriting as a career will want to use this book as a starting point for identifying a focus, then supplement it with other books and resources covering that focus.

I thought this book would not only instruct ,but provide useful examples of the instruction. It failed in that area...so looking for another book on copy

I have a few books on copywriting that I refer to repeatedly: Bob Bly's The Elements of Copywriting, John Caples' Tested Advertising Methods, and David Ogilvy's Ogilvy on Advertising. These are books I'll never resell on Amazon. One, because they're that good and two, because they're filled with underlinings, notes, and dog-eared pages.

Steve Slaunwhite's new book, The Everything Guide to Writing Copy, is also destined to become one of my top reference books.

(Full disclosure: Steve and I are very good friends -- but I'd write the following even if I didn't know him.)

In this approximately 300 page guide, Steve explains how to write -- well basically everything and anything that needs to be written in order to sell something.

What I like about this book is that the information includes writing for the Internet as well as "lingo" and writing strategies that many of us might not know.

Although the copywriting strategies are brief, given the nature of the book, what you do get is factual and useful.

For example, I don't write video scripts. But, should I need to write one (especially with online video becoming more mainstream), Steve includes an entire section that covers this topic as well as writing radio spots and even billboards.

A book of this type can easily overwhelm the reader, but not in this case. The content is broken down by subject matter and type. Short paragraphs, bullets, and sub-heads make it easy to find what you need.

I especially like the smartly placed call-out graphics which draw the eye to important information, and that these tips are placed within the body of the main text versus the margin. (I hate when my eye is dragged from the middle of the page to something hanging out in left field.)

More important, Steve's prose is clean and smooth as silk, making this book, like everything Steve writes, a true pleasure to read.

In short, this is a great reference book for the pro or someone just starting out. In fact, I plan on giving a copy to my friend who recently started a copywriting business.

If you've never read any book on copywriting, this is a fantastic book to get you started. It is very well written, well organized and very easy to read. Perhaps the best choice for beginners.

Everything Guide to Writing Copy covers a wide-range of topics, and it's only natural that it can show you the very essentials, but it does it really well. You can be sure not to get lost, intimidated or overwhelmed and yet get solid information to help you to begin developing the skills of a copywriter.

Some of the topics that this book covers are:

* Different forms of copywriting
* How to plan your project
* Where to get the ideas and the information you need
* How to write headlines, leads and body copy
* Tips and tricks that copywriters use
* How to write copy for different media - direct mail, web, radio, banners, etc.
* and much more.

You will get a wonderful overview of copywriting, whether you desire to write copy for your own business or to continue your training and become a professional copywriter.

If you're looking for a comprehensive book on copywriting, stop right here. The "Everything" in the title tells no lies. Steve Slaunwhite covers it all, from the mechanics of writing copy to the many niches available to copywriters to tips on getting hired or starting your own freelance copywriting business. Steve's often humorous and always delightful writing style will encourage the budding copywriter as well as give fresh tips to the copywriter who has been around a while.

From this book I learned aspects of copy and copywriting that I never knew existed. Replete with examples--oops, I mean full of examples (Steve says not to use impressive words)--the book reveals specific secrets of writing for specific markets and specific publications within those markets. Steve covers brochures, newsletters, white papers, direct marketing packages, and catalogs. He addresses the business-to-business and Internet markets, too, and explains the different techniques for different markets and different types of media, including print, television, and radio. Perhaps most encouraging of all, Steve tells you which markets are desperate for copywriters.

In this fun, reader-friendly book, Steve assumes the roles of coach, cheerleader, teacher, mentor, advisor, even therapist. Steve tells you in Chapter 18 what to do if your boss or client absolutely hates your copy. He tells you what to add to or take away from your copy to make it more convincing. He walks you through a "copywriting post-mortem." He gives you all the ingredients of highly effective copy. And Steve even tells you, on page 254, why you can't sell penguin traps to an Eskimo!

I'm not kidding, this is THE book to own if you want to learn, at the very least, to write effective copy, and then to go on to turn your skills in to a lucrative business.

(Oh, and by the way, if you really want to have some fun, take Steve's online class, "Secrets of Strategic Copywriting," for which he uses The Everything Guide to Writing Copy as a text.)

As someone relatively new to advanced techniques in writing copy, I thought the book was an excellent all-in-one guide. You can find a number of books on copywriting techniques, but this one offers detailed explanations of the different mediums you can write for. More importantly, the final chapters were dedicated to the variety of copywriting jobs available, and how to pursue such a career. It was refreshing to find a book on sales copy that didn't seem to assume you were already a veteran.

That's not to say that the book is filled with originality from cover to cover. Many of the techniques described are basic, such as identifying your audience, and how to determine your product benefits. Where the book pays for itself are Chapters 6 and 7, with tips such as how to appeal to the human senses, and improved methods of weaving client testimonials into your copy. The list of techniques used for crafting an effective headline is right on the money, and will inspire you to come up with countless ideas to grab a potential customer's attention. Through a variety of questions and checklists, the author also helps you determine just how effective your copy will be.

While the book outlines techniques used for specific advertising mediums (print, radio, fundraising, press releases), I found that many of the tips could easily be applied to web marketing. As equally useful were Slaunwhite's tips on how to work with a client that is unhappy with your copy.

This book doesn't delve too much into specific chapters, so in that respect, it's not a complete replacement of other copywriting books available. But what it does offer is both useful and inspiring, without the slightest bit of fluff or filler.

If you are looking to learn the business of copywriting you can't go wrong with this book or any book by Steve Slaunwhite. His books are well organized, thorough and very helpful!

I am enjoying everything about this book - it's simplicity and it's depth of coverage. A great intro book.