Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank [Paperback]

Bryan Eisenberg (Author), Jeffrey Eisenberg (Author), Lisa T. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2002

Writing for the web. Web word wizardry. Web writing that works. What does that mean? Your online copy must persuade - it’s integral to getting your visitors or readers to register, subscribe, qualify as leads, and yes, even buy from you. It’s writing that must earn its keep. And to effectively manage the quality of your online writing, you need to understand what works, why it works and how to make it work better for you. Whether you are the marketer responsible for the bottom line or the writer creating the copy, Persuasive Online Copywriting provides the tools you need to get results.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...An excellent, practical guide to writing with conversion rates in mind" -- Nick Usborne, Author, Net Words: Creating High Impact Online Copy

"...this is a must have volume." -- Larry Chase, WDFM.com Publisher and Author

"Any business-person who wants to succeed online should read and implement the tactics and strategies found in this book" -- Michael Drew, Entrepreneur Press

"This is the Strunk & White of writing for the web." -- Dan Janal, Founder of PR Leads and Author

"Worth reading no matter what your role in copywriting for the Web." -- Debbie Weil, Editor WordBiz Report

From the Publisher

From the foreword by Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads:

"The internet was a baby born premature. She will certainly survive and grow up to exceed all your expectations, but she must first be given some time to mature. There are some fundamental problems with Internet Marketing that cannot be overcome with simple advances in technology.

What internet marketing needs is people who truly understand the fundamentals of human persuasion and can apply them to the internet. I believe Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg have done that in this book."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wizard Academy Press (September 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971476993
• ISBN-13: 978-0971476998
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 173 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful --- But Don't Expect Results. December 7, 2002

By Susanna Hutcheson TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a well written book and it is one that I recommend to folks who want the basics of writing for the web. Writing Web site copy is hard work and anything that gives you any help at all is welcome.

But I noticed that some of the people mentioned in the book as being helped by the authors or being in some way associated with the authors had sites that didn't apply the rules and tips and teachings that are offered in this book. Yet they have reviews here and in the book. Or some do.

I also ran the "we we test" on their sites that is on the author's site and all scored very low. So it appears that the authors were able to get some good recommendations and reviews but not necessarily by people who adhere to their philosophy.

Having said that, I think this is well worth the read. Don't expect the conversions that the authors seem to think their suggestions will provide. Unfortunately, conversions are much more difficult to get than by applying the advice in this book.

I also found it amusing that the author adheres to the concept of using lots of hyperlinks in the main part of your site (the center) and in his book, Net Words by Nick Usborne, Nice says that's not a good idea at all; that it causes you to lose people. Why is this amusing? Nick works with Future Now as a strategic partner. (Future Now is the site associated with the author of this book.) Future Now does, at least, follow it's own rules. It has lots of hyperlinks on it's page. It has useful tools and a high ranking in the search engines.

So I'm not sure how much stock you can put in either theory or in either book.

The information in the book will, however, be very helpful to those who are writing copy for their own sites or that of others. I just don't think you should believe everything you will read in the book as it all simply doesn't work. Some of it does and for that information, the book is useful.

When copywriters, or for that matter anyone in business, writes a book, it is with the intention of building their credibility and getting more business. And that's fine. But the advice they give sometimes has to be taken with a grain of salt. And the people who recommend the book on the back cover are often folks who write books for the same reason. So you might say they're doing each other a favor.

The proof is in whether or not what you read in a book works. I tested the advice in this book and find it lacking. But I'm in need of more in-depth and realistic offerings. To someone who simply wants help writing their Web site, this is an excellent book. Just don't expect the results that the book, reviewers and those who recommend it seem to think you'll get.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Small In Size, But Big In Content... April 18, 2005

By Eric Graham

Format:Paperback

The short, focused chapters make for a quick and easy read.

Having read just about every book written so far on the subject online copywriting, I must say, that while "Persuasive Online Copywriting" is not the longest book on the subject, but it may be the most useful.

One topic in particular that Bryan and Jeffrey address that I have not seen covered in other books is the concept of writing for specific personalities and visitor types.

This is an area in which I have conducted extensive split-testing, and when done properly, tailoring your copy and navigational paths to specific visitor personas, can greatly improve your conversion rates.

Another reviewer of this book mentioned that it was a bit too in depth for someone with no background in copywriting and that she became lost with subjects such as "Franking" and "Poetic Meter". This may be a valid concern for some readers.

It is my understanding that Bryan and Jeff are students of Roy Williams, author of the "Wizard of Ads" line of books. They even teach a workshop for Roy's students called "Wizards of Web". For those who find some of the concepts mentioned in this book difficult to understand, I recommend first reading a couple of Roy's books. They will give you a good foundation to transition into a deeper understanding of "Persuasive Online Copywriting".

While the copywriting portion of the book is great, I feel that the most important area is the last section of the book, "Understanding Online Conversion". Effective and persuasive copywriting is only one segment of improving your website's conversion rates. And this section of the book gives a good foundation and overview of the overall conversion process.

In my opinion "Persuasive Online Copywriting" should be on the bookshelf of every serious online copywriter, business owner and marketer.

58 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Open (and Blow) Your Mind - A Must Read January 29, 2003

By Ed Osworth TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

This gem of a book offers the most comprehensive (and immediately useable) information on "how to make your website profitable" in the fewest amount of pages that I have yet seen.

As a bonus, it is priced a fraction of most of the available information on this subject. I've paid hundreds of dollars for information that was not nearly as useable as this. (OK I admit I'm a marketing information junkie)

I have purchased dozens of products (printed and ebooks) within the last year alone on this subject. Most of the others talk about search engine tricks, pop-ups, hard sell copy, and basically manipulating your site visitor into doing what you want.

Manipulation may work a little in the short run, but is self defeating in the long run.

This book is much smarter than that. It is in a whole different league.

This book teaches what is really important to long term profits. That is, engaging your visitors and making sure your site is offering them exactly what THEY want.

It shows you how to write extremely effective copy. It also tells you how to discover exactly what your customers are asking you to provide them by watching your stats and web logs.

The basic premise of this book is that without a high conversion ratio, there is no point in buying more traffic. It is much more cost effective to use the techniques contained in this book to increase your conversions than to chase traffic. That comes later. They make a valid point that most folks are doing this backwards.

This book is about way more than just copywriting, by the way. It does an excellent job of enlightening you to many useability factors that may be hurting your sales.

I can't imagine anyone who manages a website and uses even a small percentage of the wisdom contained within not getting a hundred times their investment back.

In conclusion, just buy it and read it. You can not go wrong with this book.