Most of the books in my office are direct marketing and copywriting books – they all focus on one thing: making sales.
I suspect if they’ve helped me, they will help you too.
Here are some of them in no particular order.
It all started for me with this book: Common Sense Direct Marketing, by Drayton Bird.
Drayton scrawled this on the inside cover. It took me a while to decipher it, but it says:
“For my dear friend, Al,
Who knows the book better than I do
Drayton”
Next, is another book by Drayton: How to write sales letters that sell. It does exactly what is says on the tin.
Anyone serious about selling online or offline needs to read the next one: Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is out of date. It’s not. Times change, people don’t.
Claude Hopkins
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David Ogilvy
Next, Ogilvy on Advertising, by David Ogilvy. It’s packed with great examples.
And you can’t read Ogilvy on Advertising without going straight in to ‘Confessions of an advertising man:
Denny Hatch
Next is my ‘go to’ book when I’m creating a landing page: 2239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success, by Denny Hatch.
Here’s another one from Denny Hatch which is also full of good advice:
Next is another one by Denny Hatch. It’s also great source of inspiration for landing pages. It’s also a ‘must read’ if you you’re interested in direct marketing.
It’s a meaty read but there’s some real gems in Bob Stone’s Successful Direct Marketing Methods.
Other copywriting and direct marketing books
Not really a ‘how to’ book, but if you want some ideas on running a campaign, you’ll find it more than helpful. I came across Steve Harrison at one of Drayton’s seminars. If you get a chance to watch any of his seminar recordings, it would be time and money well spent. He really knows his onions.
What can I say about this book, other than it’s a masterclass in wrapping the truth in charm, however unpalatable it may be. It’s easy to dip in and out of too, it’s just a collection of Roy Brook’s ads.
If you’re ever stuck for ideas, this book – the 100 Greatest Advertisments – always gets your head into gear.
You won’t get a better example of how important headlines are than this book: duff books became best sellers with nothing more than title changes.
Tested advertising methods by John Caples is another of my ‘go to’ books. Like Scientific Advertising, some may find it outdated – but the reality is, as I said earlier, times change, people don’t. It’s full of sound advice.
Here a very recent book compared to the others – Making Websites Win, by Dr Karl Blanks and Ben Jesson.
I came across Karl and Ben at one of Drayton’s seminars. It’s a fantastic book when it comes to making sales online.
This book – Always be Testing – seems more outdated than all the others because of the old web examples in it – but the principles it uses haven’t changed. A bit geeky but I loved it.
Another oldie. But like the others, worth reading if you want to learn.
How to Write a Good Advertisment by Victor Schwab. Another classic when it comes to direct marketing.
This is the only book I’ve read on fundraising. In fact, I’ve only ever written one letter for a charity – and that was a long time ago. It did well though – the testimonial is below.
Next, on to this beast. It was too big for my scanner so I had to take a pic with my phone. I love it because of all the examples in it. There are some absolute crackers.
Lastly on to this one – it’s not about copywriting. But it will give you ideas – as the title says, it’s a short, cheerful guide.
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And remember, use your copywriting skills to add charm to your copy, because that’s what will set you apart from others.