Top products from r/copywriting
We found 30 product mentions on r/copywriting. We ranked the 54 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads
Sentiment score: 3
Number of reviews: 4
2. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 3
Wiley
3. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 2
Everybody Writes Your Go To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
4. Writing for the Web: Creating Compelling Web Content Using Words, Pictures, and Sound
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
5. How to Sell Anything to Anybody
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Sales & SellingBusinessHow to Sell Anything to AnybodyJoe GirardThe World's Greatest Salesman
6. It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be: The world's best selling book
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Phaidon Press
7. Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers (Pimlico)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Random House UK
8. Advertising Concept Book (Second Edition)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Used Book in Good Condition
9. Creative Advertising, New Edition
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
Thames Hudson
10. Pick Me : Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
11. Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose (Voices That Matter)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
12. On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
HarperCollins Publishers
13. Double Your Website Traffic: A Step-By-Step Blueprint Using Content, SEO, PPC, and Social Media
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
14. Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Little Brown and Company
15. Predatory Thinking: A Masterclass in Out-Thinking the Competition
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
16. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Wusthof
17. Tested Advertising Methods (5th Edition) (Prentice Hall Business Classics)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd add my two cents.
The great thing about copywriting is that anyone can do it, no matter their background. So don't stress about having the "schooling" needed for the job. All you need is a good work ethic and clever skills.
First — Definitely read up on all the books listed in other comments.
I'd also look into [Hey Whipple Squeeze This] (http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332) by Luke Sullivan, [Pick Me] (http://www.amazon.com/Pick-Me-Breaking-Advertising-Staying/dp/0471715573) by Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin, and any and all advertising annuals you can get your hands on. Annuals are a great way to learn what works and see it in action. You can find some [recent award show annuals here] (http://www.welovead.com/en/bookshelf).
Second — Build your book.
Free time is a great asset. Use it. In order to really break in, you'll need a portfolio or spec book. This is a book of ads you've created that prove you can solve problems and write. Pick some products and make a campaign for them. The rule of thumb is 3 products with 3 ads each to show you can expand the idea beyond just one print or digital execution.
Many people go to portfolio school to build their book, but it's not necessary for everyone. I didn't do it and many copywriters I know didn't either.
Third — Network.
Although all of the above are important, they won't mean squat if you're not in the right place to talk to the right people. Try joining your local advertising club and go to their events. I'd also strongly suggest looking into [Portfolio Night] (http://www.portfolionight.com/12/). This is a global event held throughout the year that brings young creatives face-to-face with advertising professionals. Not only is it a great way to get some feedback on your book, but an outstanding way to network. You'll meet others like you and start conversations with the very people who could land you your next job.
Hope that wall of text helps. Good luck, man.
Cool - you had an idea in about 30 seconds of reading/thinking. Awesome start. Now throw more time at it and come up with more ideas. Like 50-100 ideas. And not just rewrites of the same thought, but as much variety as you can muster. The saying that 'the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas' is absolutely true.
Once you've got your 50-100 ideas on a page, figure out which 2 or 3 are the strongest, most interesting ideas. Everything else goes in the bin (I've literally thrown out about 80% of the work I've produced over the last 22 years) and you start tweaking the way those lines are written, or throwing an image in with them and see if that makes it stronger. Just keep pulling things apart and rejoining them in new ways. It's really like playing with a bunch of Lego (which is fun!).
You don't know how this thing is going to look in the end. But you keep trying stuff until you feel like it's right.
Buy, beg, borrow or steal a copy of 'Hey Whipple, Squeeze This'. It's got an awesome chapter on finding new ways into a brief and new angles on a headline.
Good luck. :)
Ooh, I know this! So, first read everyone else's responses. They're probably smarter than I. I was in your shoes about 10 years ago. I was working for a small film company and taking on any job that had any element of copywriting in it. (If I got my boss coffee, I'd write a story about it and send to all my friends.) Then, I got a call from a CD I'd met at a party that I have an interview "later this week." I called all my advertising friends. This is a compilation of the advice that I think helped me land the job:
Ogilvy on Advertising
It's not how good you are...
Selling the invisible
Keep in mind, I focused on the creative side bc the agency I worked for put ZERO value on research. They (wrongly) thought it was a waste of money, and I wasn't going to convince them otherwise. They also didn't care much for conversions. They simply wanted clever writing. Your situation may be different. Research first, and focus on the important bits. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you want to discuss.
As for your lowball salary, everything is negotiable. Be honest. Tell them you realize they're taking a risk by interviewing fresh talent, and you'd like to revisit it after 6 months or so.
And I have these in my list on amazon. Would love to get some opinions on them:
 
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
 
Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More
by Robert Bly
 
Words that Sell
by Richard Bayan
 
Tested Advertising Methods
by Caples and Hahn
 
Writing That Works
by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson
 
Confessions of an Advertising Man
by David Ogilvy
 
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
by Al Ries and Jack Trout
 
The Robert Collier Letter Book
by Robert Collier
 
Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose
by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee
 
Letting Go of the Words
by Janice (Ginny) Redish
 
Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers
by Harold Evans
 
Can I Change Your Mind?: The Craft and Art of Persuasive Writing
by Lindsay Camp
 
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
by Roy Peter Clark
 
Read Me: 10 Lessons for Writing Great Copy
by Roger Horberry and Gyles Lingwood
 
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads
by Luke Sullivan
 
WRITE IN STEPS: The super simple book writing method
by Ian Stables
 
On Writing Well
by William Zinsser
 
The Wealthy Freelancer
by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia
 
Write Everything Right!
by Denny Hatch
 
The Secret of Selling Anything
by Harry Browne
 
The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Time
by Chris Murray
 
On Writing
by Stephen King
 
Writing for the Web
by Lynda Felder
 
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
by Ann Handley
 
This book will teach you how to write better
by Neville Medhora
Read
Here are three books to get you started:
Get noticed
Advertising is mostly about making sure that people see your product in the mess of crap that people have to deal with. If you want to break into advertising, it's the same principle.
The trick is to treat your submission like a brief. How can I grab their attention? How can I prove myself quickly?
Alec Brownstein is a good example. As The Guardian says:
>He bought Google Adwords spots next to the names of six ad executives he wanted to work with, and waited for the job offers to come in.
>And they did.
Build your portfolio
Find your best stuff. Make some new stuff (just make sure you put that it was for your own pleasure, and wasn't used).
Make your portfolio an example in itself.
Make a kickass covering letter
Letters of note has a great one for inspiration. It starts off:
>I like words.
Don't confuse the kinds of copywriting
Not all kinds of writing are advertising. Copywriters will also do business letters. They'll help clients with their brand's tone. They'll write copy for webpages.
Ad agencies might be interested in that. But they're going to be more interested in your headlines. That you can grab someone's attention and make them cry and laugh.
Don't fucking give up
It's going to be tough. But you can do it.
First off, read this a few times if you haven't yet. Like right away. Multiple times.
Second, your portfolio is garbage (that's okay, mine is too and I've been doing this for 10 years). In my opinion, it doesn't show enough thinking--it's a collection of executions, most of which are kind of generic. The best thinking on there is the #antiselfie concept for Canon. That could be a great campaign, but you can't just one-and-done it. Show it in multiple executions, more headlines, maybe write a short Anti-Selfie manifesto. Show thinking that goes beyond ads or Facebook posts. Like, what if Canon bought outdoor space in front of classic selfie backdrops that told people to turn their cameras around, get a life, etc.?
Then do more campaigns like that. If you can, find an art director who will do the comps for you. I know it feels like the writing and thinking should stand on its own, but having a pro-quality comp makes the ideas look more pro.
Keep at it!
Doesn't really matter that you're not a student. Book is all that matters to agencies, aside from cultural fit. You really need to study some award books and archives and learn what makes copy good, then make a book of spec (fake) ads. Pick 5 brands in various categories and go. I highly recommend this book to help you get started concepting.
Just published Double Your Website Traffic: A Complete Guide Using Content, SEO, PPC, and Social Media and I think it's right up your alley. Plus, it's just $.99 on Kindle today: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YF3V2J1
If you are interested in writing well with SEO in mind, there's a ton of great information about how to do the SEO research to write well-optimized, yet still human-centric copy.
This might be what you’re looking for:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Sell-Anything-Anybody-Girard/dp/0743273966/
I stopped reading it because I thought some of his stunts were unethical, but he seems to have been very successful!
Have you read Strunk & White's Elements of Style? It's a classic in writing English well. It's a short and interesting read.
Have you read Everybody Writes by Ann Handley? That might be a good book to read before you make any further decisions.
NOT affiliate link (LOL)
https://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Writes-Go-Creating-Ridiculously/dp/1118905555
Try Which Ad Pulled Best?
Luke Sullivan.
"Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!"
If you haven't read this yet, start there.