Copywriting is a powerful form of writing. Punchy sentences and persuasive words can be used to increase the sales of products and services. And since copywriting is both an art and a science, writers need to do a range of things to keep up to date and improve their skills on both fronts.
To become more effective at writing you simply need to continue learning, whether it be as a beginner or an advanced writer. Ways of improving one’s writing include taking a native English copywriting course or reading books on the topic. There are several useful copywriting books dedicated to the subject, and these can come in handy for self-development.
Here is a list of my top 10 copywriting books that I’ve read over the last few years, books that I keep handy as a reference on my desk:
- The Copywriting Sourcebook (Andy Maslen): This is an excellent, comprehensive book for those just starting in the copywriting business and who would like to work on a range of writing forms. It gives you the skills to write confidently for different audiences and also provides the best possible approaches given the writing form. Maslen additionally includes several templates that help you write quicker and more efficiently.
- The Copywriter’s Handbook (Robert Bly): This book contains valuable information on writing copy in the digital age and helps you to master a range of writing techniques. It is particularly useful for absolutely anyone interested in writing persuasively (business owners, salespeople, etc.) and not only for writers specifically. The latest edition also includes writing for landing pages and YouTube videos.
- The Adweek Copywriting Handbook (Joseph Sugarman): Sugarman is a well-known name in the copywriting world. In his seminal work, he gives detailed advice on writing effective copy and making it enticing for customers to buy products. This book is great if you’re in sales and have the intention of writing directly to prospects. Sugarman had a long career in doing the latter and has extensive and useful tips for being successful in this.
- Successful Copywriting in a Week: Teach Yourself (Robert Ashton): If you are starting in the field and looking for a short, to-the-point book to develop your writing skills, this might be the best one for you. Ashton breaks down the sections into days of the week, whereby you can learn specific copywriting skills for each day. It’s a great 7-day challenge, so to speak, and it will give you a good idea of what the possibilities are for copywriters in terms of the different writing forms and how to go about each.
- 100 Great Copywriting Ideas (Andy Maslen): As the name suggests, this book covers 100 excellent copywriting ideas, each one taken from leading companies across the globe. The ideas are well explained and can be helpful for adaptation within your field.
- Persuasive Copywriting: Cut Through the Noise and Communicate with Impact (Andy Maslen): This book is recommended for people already writing copy and who are looking to advance their writing skills using psychology-driven techniques. The book combines the skill of persuasive writing with insights into our decision-making processes to help you achieve top results when writing to gain leads.
- The Well-Fed Writer (Peter Bowerman): This book takes a more entrepreneurial view on writing, and it is recommended for those hoping to make writing a full-time job. The advantage of this book is that no matter what your background may be, it helps you leverage your experience and skills in a new format and towards a new freelance writing business.
- The Elements of Style (Strunk & White): The Elements of Style is a classic book dating back to 1918 and is often used as a reference for those working in publishing or journalism and other writing-related professions. The book takes a different approach to the others on this list — it helps define a standard when it comes to style. Although not focused on copywriting tips or tricks per se, it does provide a range of important elements necessary to consider when brushing up your writing.
- Copywriting Second Edition (Mark Shaw): The second edition of this book helps writers with techniques that can help them write more strongly and persuasively, ideal for writers working in areas such as branding, advertising, and internal communication. The various practical exercises included in this book help writers up their game quickly and easily. Additionally, there are interesting interviews with copywriters and a range of case studies — a great form of inspiration for up-and-coming writers!
- Copywriting Secrets (Jim Edwards): Although the title is a bit cheesy, this book provides rather useful tips and tricks to take your writing to the next level. Jim Edwards explores different ways writers can creatively up their copy to ensure that it leads to sales conversion. To achieve this, the copy needs to be convincing and persuasive enough. He also gets us to think strategically, providing some useful tools that writers and advertisers use to craft successful copy.
The abovementioned copywriting books are top-ranking books that can help writers scale up from a beginner to an advanced level of copywriting and, in turn, help drive more sales. Sadly, the abovementioned books are all written by men. This honestly puzzles me since I know there are loads of women great copywriters out there. I honestly hope that we’ll see more copywriting books from all genders soon. If you know of any good books on copywriting written by women, please add them in the comments!