The Online Copywriter's Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Write Online Copy That Sells [Hardcover]

Robert W. Bly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2002

The Online Copywriter's Handbook is a clear, practical, and authoritative guide to writing effective advertising/marketing/sales copy for the online medium. It guides novices on taking the first steps towards getting started with Internet marketing, including e-mail marketing, e-zines, ads, Web sites, and e-commerce; internet marketing pros will learn how to take their Web promotions to the next level of sophistication, effectiveness, and results. Organized into two parts, Part I deals with the fundamentals of writing effective copy for the Web and covers how to write persuasively, the key differences between writing for the Internet vs. writing for print, and how to adapt existing print documents for the Web. Part II covers specific Web copywriting tasks including Web sites, home pages, Internet direct mail, landing pages, e-zines, e-zine ads, banner ads, and Web-based documents. The text also includes many sample Web pages and other Internet promotions readers can use as models for their own efforts. Appendices point readers to helpful Web sites and other resources.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

America's Top Copywriter Reveals How to Grab Attention--and Drive Sales--with Customer-Focused, Results-Based Web Copy!

In The Online Copywriter's Handbook, Robert Bly--one of the world's most honored copywriters and bestselling author of The Copywriter's Handbook--turns his attention to the untapped, unlimited marketplace of the Internet. The result? The first book to apply long-established persuasive techniques to the interactive capabilities and unique possibilities of the Web.

Though the psychological hot buttons and decision drivers may be similar, the techniques of persuasion online are different--often dramatically different! Look to The Online Copywriter's Handbook for inside tips on how to write brilliant copy for:
*Websites
*Home pages
*Internet direct mail
*Banner ads
*Landing pages
*E-zines
*Web-based documents
*And more!

Nobody knows how to grab buyers' attention and make them want to buy better than Robert Bly! Get The Online Copywriter's Handbook and let a master copywriter show you how to take your online copywriting to the next level of effectiveness, with success--and profitable results!

"Most seminars, books, and articles on Web marketing focus on technology or graphics. But on the Internet, as in print, it is the words that communicate your offer and persuade people to buy. . . . By reading this book, you will learn how to write effectively for this new medium using the time-tested principles of persuasion."
--From the Introduction

The World Wide Web is a vast frontier for marketers and marketing writers. And while the Web has clearly changed the paradigms of what constitutes powerful copy, too many copywriters make the mistake of thinking that the foundations of effective copy have also been transformed.

Robert Bly knows better. A veteran with more than twenty years' experience in the battlefield of marketing and advertising, Bly is a master at crafting messages that make customers take notice--and take out their wallets. His latest guide, The Online Copywriter's Handbook, outlines a clear-headed, practical approach to translating marketing's most time-honored, results-driven strategies and principles to the online environment. Packed with examples of online copy that soars, this must-read Web marketing manifesto provides:
*The nine essential characteristics of persuasive online copy
*Eight steps to consider before writing website copy
*The tools you need to create an effective home page
*Major components of an Internet direct-mail piece--and how to make yours stand out
*Eleven can't-miss ways to transfer powerful offline copy to the Web
*Tried and true e-zine techniques for increasing both credibility and frequency
*Nine common banner ad mistakes, along with proven click-through tips from the pros
*Direct-mail strategies to drive business-to-business traffic to your website
*A resource guide with information on search engines, e-list brokers, and more

Web marketers, temporarily blinded by graphic gadgetry and interactive hoopla, have quickly come to the conclusion that copy is still king. Let The Online Copywriter's Handbook show you how to apply decades of successful direct-marketing techniques to writing for the Web to make all of your online copywriting more focused and hard-hitting--and measurably more persuasive!

About the Author

Robert W. Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant specializing in business-to-business and direct response marketing. Bob writes sales letters, direct mail packages, ads, scripts, Web sites, Internet direct mail, and PR materials for more than 100 clients nationwide including IBM, AT&T, The BOC Group, EBI Medical Systems, Associated Air Freight, CoreStates Financial Corp., PSE&G, Alloy Technology, M&T Chemicals, ITT, Takeda Chemicals, UniSys, Fala Direct Marketing, Citrix Systems, and Grumman Corp. Samples of his copy may be seen on www.bly.com. He is the author of more than 45 books including the long-time best seller The Copywriter's Handbook (Henry Holt). Bob's articles have appeared in Direct, Business Marketing, Computer Decisions, Chemical Engineering, Direct Marketing, Writer's Digest, Amtrak Express, Cosmopolitan, New Jersey Monthly, City Paper, and many other publications. A winner of the Direct Marketing Association's Gold Echo Award and the Web Marketing Association's Standard of Excellence Award, Mr. Bly has presented seminars on copywriting and Internet marketing to numerous organizations including IBM, Foxboro Company, Arco Chemical, Thoroughbred Software Leaders Conference, Appliance Parts Distributors Association, Dow Chemical, and the Direct Marketing Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2nd edition (February 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658021141
• ISBN-13: 978-0658021145
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,761,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert W. Bly (River Vale, NJ) is a professional writer, speaker and marketing consultant with over 3 decades of experience in business-to-business, high-tech, and direct response marketing. He became a self-made multi-millionaire while still in his 30s. Bob is the author of seventy-seven published books including Careers for Writers (McGraw-Hill/VGM), Secrets of a Freelance Writer (Henry Holt), The Copywriter's Handbook (Henry Holt), The Elements of Technical Writing (Alyn & Bacon) and The Elements of Business Writing (Alyn & Bacon). McGraw-Hill calls Bob Bly "America's top copywriter," and he was named 2007 Copywriter of the Year by American Writers and Artists, Inc. Bob writes regular columns for Target Marketing, a monthly trade publication covering the direct marketing industry; Early to Rise, a daily e-newsletter on business success; and The Writer, a premier monthly magazine providing information and inspiration for writers. The Direct Response Letter, Bob Bly's free e-newsletter, has over 60,000 subscribers.

Check out Bob's blog at http://bly.com/blog or contact him at www.bly.com/contact

Follow Bob:

E-newsletter: www.bly.com/reports
Twitter, http://twitter.com/Robertbly
LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbly
Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Bly/535042603

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Weak, Lacking Depth and Dated material, January 1, 2005

By 

Wendell Waldron (Richmond Hill, On, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Online Copywriter's Handbook : Everything You Need to Know to Write Electronic Copy That Sells (Paperback)

I've read many books in this segment and I would strongly recommend reading Hot Text: Web Writing that Works or Networds. Robert Bly is a "print guy" that thought it would be interesting to write a book on electronic copy. I would say that the first half of the book is written by supposed experts in on-line marketing. The book is crowded with all sorts of references to other people's work. This leads to a very choppy style of reading in my opinion. The author uses case studies from work that he has already completed but rarely does the content match the electronic world. For a book that is written in 2003, the data is incredibly dated. The author is comfortable with using data from 1996 in a book that talks about the ever changing environment of On-Line marketing. Most of the data regarding internet statistics was incredibly dated. The author talks about the principals of good copy writing but rarely goes into any depth with regards to examples of the principals. I found the writing to be lazy to say the least. Clearly this author is capitalizing on the interest of electronic copy. Take out the experts that know about on-line marketing, you're left with an incredibly weak book. Although there are is a lot of expert reference, rarely do the experts go into any depth with regards to their arguments or points. If this book is the only book that you are exposed to within this segment; you might be left thinking that you read an average book. When you compare the book to other books in the same segment, it simply doesn't compare. Not a good book.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adequate but not filling, November 3, 2003

By 

A. M Wall "SEO Junkie..." (state college, pa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Online Copywriter's Handbook : Everything You Need to Know to Write Electronic Copy That Sells (Paperback)

Bob Bly is not a super exciting writer. He describes his own writing as down to earth. There are many gereral details and tips in this book, but if failed to grab me.

I have also read Net Words and Persuasive Online Copywriting. I would recommend either of those books over this, especially Persuasive Online Copywriting.

This book is a step in the right direction, I just think it was done better in the others.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars the title of the book is misleading, August 21, 2003

By 

Sergio Beristain (Brussels Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Online Copywriter's Handbook : Everything You Need to Know to Write Electronic Copy That Sells (Paperback)

I have always wanted a guide for writing online. Unfortunately the closest I have come up with is usability's guru: Jacob Nielsen.
Thinking of this book as "copywriting online guide" I thought I have found my solution. Unfortunately, I realized soon that this book is more about marketing online that about writing for the web. It will help you sell, but its only chapter "writing for the Internet" is not the ultimate guide of writing online.