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Successful Copywriting In a Week A Teach Yourself Guide
Learn to write great copy in just seven days and advance your career!
Written by Robert Ashton, a leading expert on copywriting as both a coach and a practitioner, "Successful Copywriting In a Week" quickly teaches you the insider secrets you need to know to in order to write effective, attention-getting copy.
The highly motivational 'in a week' structure of the book provides seven straightforward chapters explaining the key points, and at the end there are optional questions to ensure you have taken it all in. There are also cartoons and diagrams throughout, to help make this book a more enjoyable and effective learning experience.
So what are you waiting for--Let this book put you on the fast track to success!
Written by Robert Ashton, a leading expert on copywriting as both a coach and a practitioner, "Successful Copywriting In a Week" quickly teaches you the insider secrets you need to know to in order to write effective, attention-getting copy.
The highly motivational 'in a week' structure of the book provides seven straightforward chapters explaining the key points, and at the end there are optional questions to ensure you have taken it all in. There are also cartoons and diagrams throughout, to help make this book a more enjoyable and effective learning experience.
So what are you waiting for--Let this book put you on the fast track to success!
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2012
8 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Robert Ashton
34 books1 followerRobert is a non-fiction author, inspired by the work of oral historian George Ewart Evans. He lives on the Suffolk coast, and is currently researching a book that explores our evolving relationship with soil
His latest book, 'Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay' looks at how life in rural England is evolving, as we all adapt to the threat of climate change.
His latest book, 'Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay' looks at how life in rural England is evolving, as we all adapt to the threat of climate change.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 29, 2018
Some aspects were insightful, but even as a newbie to the field it felt a little basic. Perhaps aimed at those who have no experience with writing at all ("metaphor" was listed as "jargon" which I found a bit of a stretch). Also, for a book published in 2016, I found it a little dated (and listing "twitter.com" as a source seemed a bit redundant). Nevertheless, I did takeaway a few valuable insights that perhaps other material on the topic can build upon.
July 19, 2017
Some good tips. A little dated. Focuses more on print that web.
June 28, 2017
En siete prácticas lecciones, con examen incluido en cada una de ellas. Qué quieres decir? Cómo es mi lector? Cómo escribir cartas?cómo funcionan los anuncios? Cómo tratar con la prensa? En los escritos promocionales, menos es más? Hay otras opciones?
June 25, 2016
Ik las het boek niet zozeer met copywriting ambities in mijn hoofd, maar voor meer algemene schrijftips. Dit is niet het goede boek daarvoor. Blijkbaar zijn lezers overwegend onwetend (en dat moet je niet willen veranderen), moet je op gevoelens spelen om zo veel mogelijk geld binnen te rijven en gebruik je daarvoor best zo persoonlijk mogelijke gegevens. Weinig nieuws onder de zon dus.
Als je producten wil verkopen en je lezers niet al te hoog inschat, is dit waarschijnlijk een heel goed boek. Voor schrijftips die niet gericht zijn op verkoopscijfers, zoek je blijkbaar beter een ander boek.
Als je producten wil verkopen en je lezers niet al te hoog inschat, is dit waarschijnlijk een heel goed boek. Voor schrijftips die niet gericht zijn op verkoopscijfers, zoek je blijkbaar beter een ander boek.
April 26, 2013
A quick read that goes over the basics.
June 7, 2014
Very simplistic. It will seem like common sense if you've worked in an office for just a couple of days.
January 19, 2017
The format is interesting, but probably isn't a good read unless you're British and into business copywriting. Halfway through the book I was reading not to learn, but just to get it over with.
April 14, 2017
I read this book in the interests of finding a good resource to recommend to my clients who want to improve their writing skills. It begins with an outrageous title and adds the ludicrous "Be a great copywriter in seven simple steps" subtitle on the cover, so I was curious to see what these promises would deliver.
Now, it's not all bad: the book follows its own advice by getting the reader's attention and staying simple. It provides end-of-chapter tests to check the reader's understanding. However, it's a bit too simple: it presents each basic point very briefly as if it can be mastered in a day. Any professional knows that becoming a good writer (or anything else) takes far more than a week. It takes years of practice and feedback; a few glib directions in a thin paperback (124 pages) just doesn't cut the mustard. Also, there are no steps to follow - the seven "steps" outline different techniques in different media (letters, advertising, press releases, promotions, proposals and presentations). I suppose you could argue that each medium gets progressively more complex and challenging to write for as it goes on, but that's a rather loose definition of "steps".
One of the book's main problems is that although there is nothing wrong with its advice per se, there isn't much there. A good example of how it is lacking is the chapter that supposedly guides the reader through making presentation visuals: there are two four-line paragraphs, six bullet points, one "tip"in a side box, and one small cartoon which fails to illustrate the principles outlined in the text. And that's it. If you'd never made a slideshow before, or only ever produced poor-quality ones, this is not going to help. There are no examples and no sources where examples could be found. This is symptomatic of the whole book: there are no references and there is no "further reading" list. The author would have more credibility if he cited his claims and his slim volume led the reader to explore the topic further.
In sum, the book doesn't provide enough information for the beginning copywriter with no idea where to start, and anyone with any experience in their writing career is going to find nothing they don't already know. I have given it two stars because I read all the way to the end, and the content is not bad - it doesn't give any wrong advice. It just doesn't give much. And it's misleading in that these are not exactly "steps". I expect a lot more from a book under the "Teach Yourself" brand.
Now, it's not all bad: the book follows its own advice by getting the reader's attention and staying simple. It provides end-of-chapter tests to check the reader's understanding. However, it's a bit too simple: it presents each basic point very briefly as if it can be mastered in a day. Any professional knows that becoming a good writer (or anything else) takes far more than a week. It takes years of practice and feedback; a few glib directions in a thin paperback (124 pages) just doesn't cut the mustard. Also, there are no steps to follow - the seven "steps" outline different techniques in different media (letters, advertising, press releases, promotions, proposals and presentations). I suppose you could argue that each medium gets progressively more complex and challenging to write for as it goes on, but that's a rather loose definition of "steps".
One of the book's main problems is that although there is nothing wrong with its advice per se, there isn't much there. A good example of how it is lacking is the chapter that supposedly guides the reader through making presentation visuals: there are two four-line paragraphs, six bullet points, one "tip"in a side box, and one small cartoon which fails to illustrate the principles outlined in the text. And that's it. If you'd never made a slideshow before, or only ever produced poor-quality ones, this is not going to help. There are no examples and no sources where examples could be found. This is symptomatic of the whole book: there are no references and there is no "further reading" list. The author would have more credibility if he cited his claims and his slim volume led the reader to explore the topic further.
In sum, the book doesn't provide enough information for the beginning copywriter with no idea where to start, and anyone with any experience in their writing career is going to find nothing they don't already know. I have given it two stars because I read all the way to the end, and the content is not bad - it doesn't give any wrong advice. It just doesn't give much. And it's misleading in that these are not exactly "steps". I expect a lot more from a book under the "Teach Yourself" brand.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews