An Excellent Copywriting Primer
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With this book, Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly have written a well-organized and concise guide to copywriting. While not nearly as comprehensive as Bly's "The Copywriter's Handbook,"(which you also get if you are buying this book), "The Elements of Copywriting" is a great introduction to copywriting for most people. It covers a number of areas of copywriting: display advertising, direct mail, brochures, catalogs, press releases, press kits, audiovisual promotions, Web-site material, and more. It quickly and deftly outlines the differences between copywriting and other writing, e.g., it's perfectly acceptable to use "And" to begin sentences in advertising copy. Blake and Bly address each type of copywriting task mentioned above individually, as well as providing more broad-based rules for copywriting: use a conversational, friendly tone; use simple words and short sentences;focus on the customer, not the product; and close with a "call to action." This is a very concise guide to copywriting that is an excellent starting point for those wanting to learn the craft.
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Wonderful content, great reference source.
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Gary Blake and Robert Bly do a great job of bringing the core of copywriting. I find this book more a reference than something I am going to read cover to cover. Great coverage of Direct Mail and writing for the web, all around very useful book in helping my customers become more profitable - plus improve my own sales and marketing materials. Only caveat, the paragraphs could use a bit more space between them and some other font for headlines would make it easier to read. Outside of that the content is superb!
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Nice Overview of Copywriting Areas
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The Elements of Copywriting nicely explains how to write copy that sells in the most important areas/fields such as direct mail, press releases, product catalogues etc. As a junior copywriter at an advertising agency I can recommend this book to junior copywriters or persons that are thinking of becomming copywriters. For seniors this book will probably be too general in its content. How ever the first part of the book can be used for inspiration on where to put your emphasis in your copy. And because of that it might be helpful even for seniors. The greatest thing about The Elements of Copywriting is how the content is organized. You can read it from cover to cover or use it as a reference. I'll keep this book on my desk - it might come in handy when I'm low on ideas..
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FUNNY YOU SHOULD PLACE WITH ROY WILLIAMS BOOK
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I DIDN'T ORDER THE BOOK AFTER READING THE REVIEWS AND THE TABLE OF CONTENTS AS I AM AN AVID READER OF ROY WILLIAMS WORKS. IF YOU READ HIS BOOKS HE MENTIONS "A LITTLE BIT" ABOUT HOW TO USE PRINT; HOWEVER, HIS PRIMARY FOCUS, IN MY OPINION, IS HOW TO USE THE POWER OF SOUND IN BROADCAST ADVERTISING. THE QUICKEST WAY INTO THE CUSTOMER'S MIND IS THROUGH THE EAR AND BROCA. I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD FIND THAT IN HOW TO WRITE BROCHURES, HEADLINES, ETC.
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Good guide to writing copy
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I had never read a book about writing copy before, so a lot of what I read from this book was new to me. I learned a lot from reading this book, although I felt that a lot of it repeated itself over and over. "Be concise, be specific, get their attention, have an eye-grabbing headline." Well duh. I had to have read a lot of the same things twice, although they were designated for different topics, from advertising to brochures to press releases. At least I got the information tattooed into my head. This is an older book, so the section on writing copy for websites is rendered completely useless. But other than that, if you want a guide on writing effective copy, this is a good book for you. If you are experienced in copywriting, it could be of help, but you'd be reading what you already know.
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