ALSO BY ROBERT W BLY Secrets of a Freelance Writer Selling Your Services Business-to-Business Direct Marketing The Elements of Business Writing The Elements of Technical Writing How to Promote Your Own Business How to Get Your Book Published Write More, Sell More Direct Mail Profits Ads That Sell Careers for Writers Creating the Perfect Sales Piece Targeted Public Relations Keeping Clients Satisfied THE COPYWRITER’S HANDBOOK THE COPYWRITER’S HANDBOOK 3RD EDITION A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy that Sells Robert W Bly An Owl Book Henry Holt and Company New York Owl Books Henry Holt and Company, LLC Publishers since 1866 175 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10010 www.henryholt.com An Owl Book® and ® are registered trademarks of Henry Holt and Company, LLC Copyright © 1985, 2005 by Robert W Bly All rights reserved Distributed in Canada by H B Fenn and Company Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bly, Robert W The copywriter’s handbook : a step-by-step guide to writing copy that sells / Robert W Bly p cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN-10: 0-8050-7804-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7804-6 Advertising copy Business writing I Title HF5825.B55 2006 808'.066659—dc22 2005050345 Henry Holt books are available for special promotions and premiums For details contact: Director, Special Markets Originally published in hardcover in 1985 by Dodd, Mead & Company First Owl Books Edition 1990 Designed by Kelly S Too Printed in the United States of America 10 For Fred Gleeck On writing—a matter of exercise If you work out with weights for fifteen minutes a day over the course of ten years, you’re gonna get muscles If you write for an hour and a half a day for ten years, you’re gonna turn into a good writer —Stephen King, Time (October 6, 1986) No one writes as well as he ought He is fortunate if he has written as well as he could —Bliss Perry, Bedside Book of Famous British Stories (1940) CONTENTS Preface to the Third Edition Preface to the First Edition Acknowledgments 1: An Introduction to Copywriting 2: Writing to Get Attention: The Headline 3: Writing to Communicate 4: Writing to Sell 5: Getting Ready to Write 6: Writing Print Advertisements 7: Writing Direct Mail 8: Writing Brochures, Catalogs, and Other Sales Materials 9: Writing Public Relations Materials 10: Writing Commercials and Multimedia Presentations 11: Writing for the Web 12: Writing E-Mail Marketing 13: How to Get a Job as a Copywriter 14: How to Hire and Work with Copywriters 15: Graphic Design for Copywriters Appendices: Appendix A: Glossary of Advertising Terms Appendix B: Periodicals Appendix C: Web Sites Appendix D: Books Appendix E: Organizations Sources Index ... His rule is: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them Tell them And then, tell them what you told them.” The speechwriter first gives an overview of the presentation, covers the important points... Copywriter’s Handbook is the rise of the Internet as a marketing medium and channel of commerce Many readers of the first edition have asked me, “Are the copywriting techniques The Copywriter’s Handbook. .. discuss the role of the copywriter in graphic design and layout HAS THE INTERNET CHANGED COPYWRITING? The major event that has taken place since the publication of the first edition of The Copywriter’s