The Copy Book: How Some of the Best Advertising Writers in the World Write Their Advertising

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His first verse pays some obeisance to “the Gods of the Market-Place”—undefined, but in brief terms, the worship of business and material gain—but notes that the contrary Gods of the Copybook Headings have always outlasted them. Wired for Story looks at the neuroscience behind the brain’s experience of reading, and translates this into useful tips for writing compelling copy. It’s a solid read for copywriters, but awesome if you’re just a storyteller who wants to improve your craft. For another definition of "copybook", see Exercise book. Penmanship copybook, Boston, Massachusetts, 1840-1850 Kipling goes on to specify some of these popular trends which eclipse “copybook headings,” and which, to the discerning 21 st century reader, sound oddly familiar:

The Boron Letters is a cult classic that goes beyond just copywriting. If you want insights on copywriting, advertising, persuasion, business, and life – and more importantly, if you want to be able to skip writing altogether and just read your way to making millions as a copywriter – this “book” is for you. Copybooks were also published in geography, the student being asked to copy first names onto an unlabelled map, and later whole maps onto a latitude/longitude grid. [5] Words that Sell is a thesaurus designed specifically for copywriters looking to promote their products, services, and ideas. System 2: thinking is slow, logic-based, and effortful. It involves carefully working through information to arrive at a solution. But well worth the read, especially if you’re in direct response copywriting or work with paid advertising campaigns. I hear Chapter 5 is literally the best.

Most aware: This person knows a lot about your product. They are on the cusp of buying but need to know the specifics. This headline written by David Ogilvy in 1958 is considered one of the best copywriting examples of all time.

Before I endorse a Gary V book, it should be noted that I will automatically unfollow you on LinkedIn if your decision to like a Gary V post causes it to show up in my feed.If you haven’t laughed at all, you’ll still love it, because Jo is infinitely more humorous and charming than I am… and I have a VERY high opinion of myself. The head start that Kipling’s society had on our own, however, need not discourage us. His funny little poem offers us hope that all the vain prattling about critical theory and relative truth will eventually be exposed, and people will return to the truth “That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four.” That said, Gary V is unquestionably the most prolific social media poster of our generation. He does it across every goddamn channel in existence, and he has leveraged it to achieve significant financial success. I can’t think of a better person to motivate you into consistently post on Linked, a habit which will absolutely impact your career in numerous positive ways.

Kipling's narrative voice contrasts the purported eternal wisdom of these commonplace texts with the fashionable and (in Kipling's view) naïve modern ideas of "the Market-Place", making oblique reference, by way of puns or poetic references to older geological time periods, to Lloyd George and Liberal efforts at disarmament ("the Cambrian measures"), feminism ("the ... Feminian Sandstones"), and socialist policies advocated by trade-unionists, many of whom were coalminers ("the Carboniferous Epoch"). [4] These books are useful resources for anyone looking to improve their copywriting skills and produce more effective copy. They include a wealth of valuable information and insights that can help copywriters of all levels write better copy. Unlike the other books on this list, The Boron Letters isn’t really a book. It’s a collection of letters from Gary C. Halbert (a.k.a. the Greatest Copywriter Who Ever Lived) to his son, Bond. Hey Whipple, Squeeze This is Sullivan’s guide to making great ads. It’s all about why good ads work and bad ads fail—and a few famous exceptions to both rules. On Writing Well is a guide to mastering the written word in various forms of nonfiction. It covers not just copywriting, but also creative nonfiction, essay writing, and more.

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Here's one precious gem (just to whet your appetite for a bit), written by some dude named Eric Kallman: Tested Advertising Methods describes many of the scientific advertising strategies that Caples tested over the course of his illustrious career. Even though this book was first published in 1932, many of the techniques it describes are still commonly used today.