If you’ve ever struggled to craft a persuasive message that really hits the spot you’ll know it’s harder than it looks. Wouldn’t it be helpful to have an expert on hand to give you tips and tricks? Someone who could pass on their knowledge and know-how? Someone who told you how the professionals really do it? Well, that’s exactly what this book does for aspiring copywriters. Think of it as a rocket-assisted launch for your writing career. Brilliant Copywriting is packed with practical techniques to help anyone who works with words to improve their writing. It lifts the lid on the world of professional copywriting to reveal the trade secrets of top-notch practitioners. It’s the book every copywriter wants when they start out, full of facts, details and insights that normally take years to acquire. It will also be invaluable for anyone who works with words in pretty much any industry.

This book might well have carried the subtitle Or 44 Years in the Copy Department instead of its present one. Even a copywriter, whose breed is not noteworthy for arithmetical prowess, could not escape arriving at the conclusion that the number of years from 1917 to 1961 totals forty-four. And, Heaven help me!, for that seeming aeon of time the major interest of the author has been advertising copy— good, bad, and indifferent. That a large measure of this past experience has been associated with a particularly demanding kind of advertising copy may, as will be explained, be an advantageous circumstance for the reader of this book, regardless of what type of copywriting job confronts him. For the subject of the book is not the writing of mail-order copy. Its sole purpose is to lend a hand to any copywriter (or student of copy-writing) whose ambition is to create advertisements which are more resultful, no matter what the product is or how and where it is sold. As to why the author’s background of experience may represent an advantageous circumstance for such copywriters, I will leave to an infinitely more capable pen than mine—that of no less an authority than Claude G. Hopkins, one of the greatest copywriters of “general” advertising who ever lived: “Mail-order advertising is difficult. But it is educational. It keeps one on his mettle. It fixes one’s viewpoint on cost and result. The advertising-writer learns more from mail-order advertising than from any other.” Therefore, if you are looking for guidance specifically concerned with the writing of mail-order advertising, this is not your book. On the other hand, if in the writing of any type of advertising you want more of your copy to achieve the selling effectiveness imperative for any mail-order man who wants to continue eating heartily, this book may prove helpful to you. At any rate, you are the person for whom it was written. Much of its information will probably recall to your mind the aphorism, “We need not so much to be instructed as to be reminded.” And that’s all to the good. Finally, and appertaining to the passages which are reminiscent in nature, the author has tried to avoid any necessity for later having to admit, like Mark Twain, that “When I was very young I could remember anything, whether it happened or not. But now I am older and I can only remember the latter.” Victor O. Schwab

"The secrets in this book have put a LOT of money in my pocket. And they can do the same for you if you apply them to your own ads." - Michael Senoff Founder and CEO www.hardtofindseminars.com How to instantly increase your advertising response by 30% (or more) by making a few simple "tweaks" to your order form. Why using customer testimonials can actually hurt your sales. A secret way to make even "crappy" copy almost unbeatable. How to use an ordinary telephone to double your sales without doing any telemarketing. Why bad writing and lots of typos can make you more sales. How to create professionally produced video ads on a "shoe-string" budget. A sneaky (but 100% legal) way to use your competitor's customer testimonials... in YOUR advertising. How to "skeptic-proof" even your most outrageous claims and promises. A little-known way to get full page newspaper and magazine ads for pennies on the dollar. How to become a "celebrity" in your niche. The secret of banishing "writers block" forever. How to make it almost impossible for people to delete your email pitches. And much, much more. The Copywriting Grab Bag is packed with ways to multiply the profits of all your ads -- without needing a lot of money, experience or natural writing talent. Simply reach into this "grab bag" of copywriting and marketing instruction, pull out any one of the hundreds of gems you'll find, and immediately apply it to your unique situation.

The time has come when advertising has in some hands reached the status of a science. It is based on fixed principles and is reasonably exact. The causes and effects have been analyzed until they are well understood. The correct methods of procedure have been proved and established. We know what is most effective, and we act on basic laws. Advertising, once a gamble, has thus become, under able direction, one of the safest business ventures. Certainly, no other enterprise with comparable possibilities need involve so little risk. Therefore, this book deals, not with theories and opinions, but with well-proved principles and facts. It is written as a text book for students and a safe guide for advertisers. Every statement has been weighed. The book is confined to established fundamentals. If we enter any realms of uncertainty we shall carefully denote them. The present status of advertising is due to many reasons. Much national advertising has long been handled by large organizations known as advertising agencies. Some of these agencies, in their hundreds of campaigns, have tested and compared the thousands of plans and ideas. The results have been watched and recorded, so no lessons have been lost. Such agencies employ a high grade of talent. None but able and experienced men can meet the requirements in national advertising. Working in cooperation, learning from each other and from each new undertaking, some of these men develop into masters. Individuals may come and go, but they leave their records and ideas behind them. These become a part of the organization's equipment, and a guide to all who follow. Thus, in the course of decades, such agencies become storehouses of advertising experiences, proved principles, and methods. The larger agencies also come into intimate contact with experts in every department of business. Their clients are usually dominating concerns. So they see the results of countless methods and polices. They become a clearing house for everything pertaining to merchandising. Nearly every selling question which arises in business is accurately answered by many experiences. Under these conditions, where they long exist, advertising and merchandising become exact sciences. Every course is charted. The compass of accurate knowledge directs the shortest, safest, cheapest course to any destination. We learn the principles and prove them by repeated tests. This is done through keyed advertising, by traced returns, largely by the use of coupons. We compare one way with many others, backward and forward, and record the results. When one method invariably proves best, that method becomes a fixed principle.

"A thesaurus that works as hard as you do . . . you'll wonder how you ever managed without it." -- Advertising Age Listing more than 2,500 high-powered words, phrases, and slogans, Words That Sell is the ultimate reference for anyone who needs instant access to the key words that make the difference in selling. Arranged by category for handy reference, it covers everything from "snappy transitions" to "knocking the competition," from "grabbers" to "clinchers." There are 62 ways to say "exciting" alone; 57 variations on "reliable"! Whether you are selling ideas or widgets, Words That Sell guarantees the expert sales professional an expanded, rejuvenated repertoire and the novice a feeling of confidence. Features: Cross-referencing of word categories to stimulate creative thinking Advice on targeting words to your specific market Tips on word usage A thorough index A concise copywriting primer A special section on selling yourself The first real improvement to the thesaurus since Roget, Words That Sell is an indispensable guide to helping you find great words fast.

Great copy is the heart and soul of the advertising business. In this practical guide, legendary copywriter Joe Sugarman provides proven guidelines and expert advice on what it takes to write copy that will entice, motivate, and move customers to buy. For anyone who wants to break into the business, this is the ultimate companion resource for unlimited success.