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Review of The Copywriters Handbook By Bob Bly, 2nd edition

Bob Bly is a veteran direct marketer, copywriter, and author of over 50 books. This book was recommended to me as being ?must reading? for any aspiring copywriter. It was written during the mid-1980s, before the Internet became a factor. Let?s see what I found after giving this book an in-depth read.

What I Liked:

This book could be loosely divided into two parts. The first part is on learning how to write effective sales copy, including direct mail and advertisements. The second part is on working professionally as a copywriter. I?ll review each section separately.

Let?s talk about learning how to write copy first. In the chapter on creating a sales letter, I really liked how Mr. Bly breaks down each part of a sales letter. Then, he explains what needs to be included in each section in order to make it powerful and compelling. It literally creates a template for the novice to follow and create a sales letter in the correct order ? like stacking blocks on top of each other.

The chapter on headlines was also quite information packed. I particularly enjoyed how Bob explained when he would recommend using different types of headlines.

Personally, my favorite chapter was actually in the second part of the book. That chapter was on working as a copywriter professionally on your own. Mr. Bly goes into great detail about how to set up a fee schedule, what usual fees are (at the time of the book being published), what you need to start your own copywriting business, and more. The ?get realistic? moment comes when you read about both the good points ? and the bad points ? of being a self-employed copywriter.

What I Didn?t Like:

Originally written in 1985, The Copywriters Handbook was published before the Internet became a worldwide trend. So there is no mention of writing copy for the online world or the importance of your own website as a professional copywriter.

Hopefully, Mr. Bly will decide to update this book sometime in the future.

The Bottom Line:

It?s a bit dated in spots, but the content is top-notch. The Copywriters Handbook will give you a lot of great information in reaching your goal of writing great sales copy.

Ray L. Edwards is a Florida-based copywriter who has involved with internet based businesses and copywriting since the mid 1990s. While Mr. Edwards is often confused with another copywriter named Ray Edwards (Washington state based), they are two completely different people.

Mr. Edwards has an extensive background in teaching and pastoral counseling. This background, combined with his expertise, should mean that Ray is effective at teaching the critical skills of professional copywriting. Learncopy.com was launched in September 2006, and I had the opportunity to be one of the first people to review it. Here?s what I discovered.

What I Liked:

Mr. Edwards? teaching and pastoral background definitely shows in his teaching style. Ray is extremely patient and takes the time to explain the nuances of professional copywriting. Some of the teaching techniques are extremely detailed and help explains professional techniques in a powerful, yet easy to understand fashion.

In the video that I reviewed, Ray spends several hours discussing and sharing the behind the scenes secrets for one of his websites that produces a consistent 10% conversion rate. Considering the average conversion rate for the entire internet is about 1-2%, the website reviewed is definitely a cash producing powerhouse.

At several points in the video, Mr. Edwards breaks the camera away from looking at his website and focuses on a document that lists some of the key points which he is currently sharing. These key points are extremely power-packed and I really liked seeing that variety injected into his video training. Frankly, I wish more internet marketers combined this teaching method with their streaming videos, instead of just showing endless minutes of staring at the same website.

Ray offers a number of downloadable books, templates, and a members only forum where you can ask Ray more detailed copywriting questions. Despite the website only being a couple weeks old, the forum appeared to busy with great interaction between members and Mr. Edwards.

What I Didn?t Like:

Let me first say that this review was done when LearnCopy.com was just 2 weeks old. Like any membership website, there are additional materials that will be offered to its members that just haven?t been created or finished yet. As an information product marketer, I will admit that creating ebooks and training videos can be extremely time-consuming. Take videos, which are currently a hot product throughout the Internet. Having started editing home video footage I shot of my baby daughter, I will tell you that it is extremely time-consuming.

When I compare LearnCopy.com to similarly priced copywriting membership websites, it did not have a comparable amount of content. For some people, they want to see high quantity of content in a membership website. Others want quality content, even if it means fewer books, videos, etc.

So people who want a lot of content when they join LearnCopy.com, might be disappointed. After all, the site is quite new as of this writing. Having spoken with Mr. Edwards by email, he has shared with me that he has a number of new materials planned to be added to this site.

People who want high quality content and are less concerned with sheer volume of ebooks, videos, etc. will love Learncopy.com There is no doubt in my mind that Ray Edwards is one of the best modern-day teachers of copywriting that I?ve discovered to date.

The Bottom Line:

For quality of content, I give Learncopy.com an ?A?. For quantity of content, I give it an incomplete, because of how new the site is at this writing.

Aspiring copywriters should love the skill and clarity that Ray Edwards delivers in his copywriting teaching.

Check out Ray Edwards’ Copywriting Coaching!

Tested Advertising Methods Review
5th Edition, 278 pages
John Caples (Revised by Fred E. Hahn)

I first discovered this book several years ago when I was first starting to learn copywriting. A marketing consulting company I had once hired, had this book on their recommended reading list for their consultants. I bought the book with some initial hesitation.

Like many people who are new to the advertising or copywriting fields, I had no idea who John Caples was or how helpful this book may be in the Internet era. Mr. Caples was an absolute legend in the advertising industry for more than 60 years with a number of his advertising creations still being used decades later.

Have you ever seen this headline or some variation of it?

“They Laughed When I Sat Down To Play The Piano. But When I Started To Play…”

If so, you’ve read the headline for the one of the most famous ads ever written. It was one that John Caples wrote for a home study piano course in his first year as a professional copywriter.

What I Found:

Mr. Caples gives you an absolute gold mine of information on how write more effective ads. Right from the beginning, the author emphasizes the importance on writing great headlines and even covers this topic over 4 complete chapters.

While the author’s examples and verbage at times shows the age of this book, the expert advice given by a copywriting master is timeless.

What I Like:

Great detail on writing headlines including the major types of headlines. There is so much great content that “Tested Advertising Methods” is one of the few copywriting books that I’ve read more than once.

What I Don’t Like:

No mention of the Internet or online copywriting. Unfortunately, John Caples passed away before the Internet wave started. While Fred Hahn has updated this book to the 5th edition, it makes me wonder how Mr. Caples would addressed writing for the Internet.

What I Recommend:

If you are serious about learning to writing great copy, then “Tested Advertising Methods” is a must-have addition to your reference library.

Glyphius Software
Author: James Brausch
$135

Here’s a interesting and powerful tool that I’ve discovered. Glyphius is a desktop software application that scores the strength of your copy. Author James Brausch found the most profitable sales letters throughout the Internet and compiled them into a comprehensive database based on the commonly appearing words and phrases.

I recently picked up a copy of Glyphius software and decided to give it a try.

What I found:

Installing Glyphius was a breeze. The website mentions Windows XP as one of the minimum requirements, but I was able to run the software flawlessly on a Windows 2000 system.

With Glyphius, you can ask it to score the strength of a headline or a “grouping of text”. When I say “grouping of text”, I mean anywhere from one sentence to a full paragraph. You can copy and paste the text into Glyphius and then score it.

Based on the Glyphius score, you can try changing any of the words to achieve a higher score. Glyphius will keep the highest score “grouping of text” which you can return to the Glyphius interface, in case your last attempt scored worse.

What I like:

I took the Glyphius tool and reworked the sales copy on one of my sites that was currently pulling about an 8% opt-in rate for my free email course. After reworking it, the opt-in rate jumped to 15%.

I have seen an increase in each sales letter that I’ve reworked with Glyphius.

What I don’t like:

Glyphius doesn’t give you any guidelines on what is a good or great score for your copy. Instead, you will try different copy combinations to reach as high a score as you can for the particular “grouping of text”. I would like to see some basic ranges for the scoring. For example, a score in the 300s may be typical of what a novice copywriter would create. A top-level copywriter may score in the 500s consistently. For some copy, achieving the novice copywriter level may be sufficient.

Using the Glyphius tool to rework your copy can be extremely time consuming. One 7 page sales letter took me approximately 9 hours to completely run through the Glyphius software.

Of course, Glyphius worked to increase the sales rate of that particular piece, so it was definitely time well spent.

My Recommendation:

Glyphius can help anyone improve the effectiveness of their sales copy. Even someone who does not know how to write good copy can use Glyphius to improve their sales letters. The best combination is if you know how to write good copy and then use Glyphius to tighten and improve your copy. I would definitely recommend this tool.

Discover The Powerful Secret Of Glyphius…

Michel Fortin’s The Copy Doctor
Membership Website
$97.00 per month

If you are relatively new to the Internet marketing arena you may not know who Michel Fortin is. Long story short, Mr. Fortin is one of most successful Internet copywriters and has written sales copy that has generated 6 and even 7 figure sales for his clients.

Mr. Fortin is probably the most requested copywriter out there and as a result, has not taken on any new clients in a long time. The easiest way to tap into Michel’s knowledge and expertise is through his membership website, The Copy Doctor.

This website boasts web-based video training where you can watch and listen to Michel tear apart underperforming sales letters and make them into cash producing profit machines. It’s done in a very positive and constructive fashion, so you can learn while you watch.

Michel even offers a free video that you can watch to get a better idea of how his videos are presented.

These vidoes aren’t just about watching him rewrite sales copy. In each video, Michel also explains any conversion methods that he’s found that can boost your newsletter opt-in rates or overall sales. From what color of headlines work best to the number of ordering options that produce more sales, Michel shares it all with his Copy Doctor members.

Personally, I’ve gained and retained the most information by actively taking notes while watching the videos, rather than sitting passively like a coach potato.

What I Liked:

This site is more than a ton of streaming videos. Mr. Fortin has generously provided a ton of downloadable tools, templates, and audio recordings. All of the content is top-notch and I particularly like the audio recordings, many of which are coaching calls that Michel has done with other Copy Doctor members.

What I Didn’t Like:

This website is not really geared for the “brand new to copywriting” newbie. In order to benefit from the materials offered on this site, I strongly recommend if you are unfamiliar with common copywriting terms and phrases (like what is a Johnson Box) to invest in a copywriting book like “Tested Advertising Methods” by John Caples to gain some of the basic groundwork first.

This is not the fault of Mr. Fortin…mastering copywriting covers a large range of expertise from zero experience to being a master copywriter of 40 years. In my opinion, Michel has picked the middle ground where the majority of people wanting to learn how to write better copy currently are.

My Recommendation:

If you are serious about producing more sales and effective copy for your websites, then you need to sign up for The Copy Doctor pronto.

See Michel Fortin rip salesletters apart on video!

Ken Calhoun’s Headline Success Secrets
Published 2006, DVD
101 minutes

Ken Calhoun is the creator of Copywriting University, Writing Adwords, and Day Trading University. Mr. Calhoun has produced over 1.2 million in sales since 1999 from his Internet empire, which puts him in the top tier of successful Internet Marketers.

In Headline Success Secrets, Ken takes 4 of his extremely successful websites as models of how to write very effective headlines. Each website is covered in one video on this DVD, with a bonus video on the most common headline writing mistakes that Ken sees other marketers make.

What I Liked:

Ken has really packed each video with a ton of great content. He does a great job explaining how headline or subheadline is constructed and the psychology that is behind the crafting of each one. Most copywriting products focus more on modifying proven headlines and Ken does not, which is a refreshing breath of fresh air, in my opinion.

I took over 7 pages worth of notes while watching this video at last count. I stopped taking notes so I could finish watching the DVD and write this review…otherwise, I might still be reviewing it and taking more notes.

What I Didn’t Like:

The DVD is set up so at the conclusion of each chapter, it returns to the main menu. Personally, I like watching a DVD that seamlessly moves from one chapter to the next. Again, that’s my personal preference and not a reason to put down or trash this product.

My Recommendation:

If you are looking to learn the psychology and methods behind writing great headlines, then you will want to grab your own copy of Headline Success Secrets.

Click here to learn more about Headline Success Secrets…

If you are looking for an honest opinion on some of the most popular or best copywriting books, CDs, video (VHS or DVD), or complete packages, you have come to the right place.

Hi, my name is Michael Humphreys. I’m a professional marketer who has learned the value of effective sales copy through my own trial and error. I’ve been marketing my own businesses since 1993 and have created my own material materials and sales letter from the beginning.

I write all of my own copy and that’s why I became so interested in learning how to write great sales copy. In 2006, I started writing copy for clients after many years of turning down countless requests. To see my copywriting website and portfolio, just click on this sentence.

The truth is, if your sales copy (online or offline) stinks, you will fail to get the results you are looking for.

What types of activities do we rely on effective copy?

Here’s five marketing activities off the top of my head:

* Enticing a prospect to sign up for your free email newsletter…
* Call your pre-recorded message and give their mailing information for your free report…
* Reading your sales letter that encourages them to pull out their credit card and buy your product or service…
* Creating an offline advertisement that makes your business phone ring…
* Writing a classified ad for finding the ideal candidates to fill your company’s current job openings.

Chances are, you are more interested in marketing than hiring new employees.

Let me give you a very simple marketing example.

You write an ordinary sales letter that generates 1 phone call for every 200 letters that were mailed out. That’s a meek 0.5% response rate.

If you (or a professional copywriter) were to revamp that sales letter so to it now generated 4 calls for every 200 letters mailed, that has become a 2% response rate.

You just QUADRUPLED your response rate…without increasing your marketing costs at all.

Learning to write great copy can have that type of powerful effect on your business. That came mean four times more business leads or even four times more sales. Great copy can have that much of an effect on your business.

Two Big Reasons Why You Should Listen To My Opinion On Copywriting Products

First, while I am a professional copywriter, I do not have my own copywriting products that I’m trying to pitch. So you’ll get my unbiased review on every product I review here. If I think a product sucks, I’ll get it a bad review.

Second, the products I review have been purchased with my own monies. No freebies, so there’s never a question of someone “buying” a great review from me.

Enjoy this developing resource. I’ll post additional reviews as I complete them. If there’s a particular product you think I should review, please let me know. Just drop me an email at mike AT superbcopywriting.com

All the best,

Mike Humphreys

P.S. You can also sign up for my Instant Alert Service and learn whenever I have posted a new review. Just sign up for this spam-free service here: