Words that Sell

by Richard Bayan

More than 6,000 words and phrases that make the difference between "yadda-yadda-yadda" and copy that sells Looking for a better way to say "authentic?" Words That Sell gives you 57 alternatives. How about "appealing?" Take your pick from 76 synonyms. You'll even find more than 100 variations on "exciting." Fully updated and expanded, this edition of the copywriting classic is packed with inspiration-on-demand for busy professionals who need to win customers--by mail, online, or in person.

Genres: Business, Writing, Reference, Nonfiction, Communication, Buisness, Personal Development

134 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Erica Verrillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lovely thing about the world of advertising is that it never changes. This book was published when bulk mailing, catalogs, and buck slips were still the daily fare of copywriters. Ezines and magalogs were just hitting the scene. And yet, despite all the furor of the internet, advertising language remains the same.

Bayan's book is essentially a thesaurus of what are now called "buzz words." These are the terms and phrases that people respond to when they are being cajoled, persuaded, or enticed to buy something. As you leaf through these terms, you will discover that they are all intimately familiar to you. After all, we grew up in a society in which everyone's purpose in life is to take money from everyone else. Copywriters make it their business to employ these terms in order to separate you from your cash, with as little pain as possible. When a product is couched in terms that flatter the buyer, or make him or her anxious that without the product they will suffer horribly (remember gingivitis?), or that associate the product with fun, or with a better life, that promise luxury, beauty, or comfort, your average person cannot resist.

It's all very Freudian.

What I enjoyed most about this book were the appendices, particularly the one on "Puffspeak." Puffspeak, as defined by Bayan, is comprised of words and phrases that have "pummeled their way into our language over the objections of writers and other worthy citizens." (I confess to being one of them.) Aside from the noteworthy inclusion of "meta-anything," "mega-anything," and "nano-anything," Bayan lists some of my personal favorites: "impact" (used as a verb), "access" (used as a verb) and "rightsizing." Bayan considerately provides translations for those unfortunate souls who may not realize that these words, or their usages, are not English.

[Mock Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for writing sales copy word generating not so much reading

[Another · Rating 5 out of 5]

very useful

[Steven Woloszyk - (Wa-LUSH-ick) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a far less traditional book than what I typically read and review. This is more of a source or reference guide for copywriters.

The book starts with a "crash course" on copywriting that contains sections of; what you need to know before you write, things to keep in mind when you write, and there's a section describing different categories of copy. There's also a brief "how to use this book" section.

The book is more like a dictionary or thesaurus. It is filled with phrases and words that fit into four different sections.

The four parts are as follows;

Part I - Grabbers - This is about getting the attention of the readers.

Part II - Descriptions and Benefits - This section is about conveying the value of your product or service.

Part III - Clinchers - This is all about closing the sale.

Part IV - Special Strategies - Here we find some extra material on building brand image, knocking the alternatives, selling yourself, and a few other strategies.

This book serves as a great reference for anyone doing any sort of copywriting but also for bloggers, marketers, or any kind of writer for that matter. It offers a bevy of alternative words to convey a message and also contains sections on misused or misspelled words.

I'd love for everyone to learn the difference between there, their, and they're as it's like fingernails on a chalkboard when I see these misused with such regularity on social media!

The first edition of this book was published in 1984 and this second edition hit the market in 2006. Amazon reviewers give this one a 4.5 after 322 reviews. Goodreads gives it a 3.95 after 444 ratings and 19 reviews.

#FridaysFind #MIAGD #WordsThatSell #Copywriting #RichardBayan #NEVERIrregardless

[Mike Sambuco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a guide to finding powerful connecting phrases and words to assist with writing ad copy. It is set up as a book of lists of persuasive words, with cross-references for the appropriate situation. It includes a brief crash course in basic copy writing, as well as lists of commonly misspelled words, words that are often confused, and phrases to avoid. It gave me many ideas, and I recognized many phrases from the past, having been exposed to decades of advertising.

Here's a few samples:

"Don't miss out!"
"You're one of a select few..."
"You'll fall in love with..."
"Now it's time for you to decide."
"What have you got to lose?"

I think this book will prove to be a very valuable reference asset for anyone who will be writing ad copy. Think of it as a "cheat book" that will reduce the learning curve and cut out much of the pain of starting from scratch.

[Loy Machedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loy Machedo’s Book Review – Words That Sell by Richard Bayan

More than a book this is a Reference Tool in Writing for Writers, Speakers and Communicators with Phrases and Words that can help you Refine your language. With a very brief crash course (rather tips) on how to use this book versus Copywriting, the Author quickly moves into:
Part 1 – Grabbers
Part 2 – Descriptions and Benefits
Part 3 – Clinchers
Part 4 – Special Strategies
And an Appendix.

It’s true that today we have the internet, but sometimes I feel having a book written by an expert saves us a great deal more.

Overall Summary
A Must Have Book for Editors, Writers, Speakers, Communicators, Sales people and Writers.

Overall Rating
7 out of 10

Loy Machedo
Loymachedo.com

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book could have been called "Cliches that Sell People on the Fact that You're a Moron." There was so much nonsense in here that could never convince anyone to buy anything. Ironically there was a short section on Puffspeak that I thought had better words in it than any other section. The instances when the book simply included a word list (similar to a word menu) it hinted at being valuable, but there was not one phrase that was not a cliche. Even worse, while the lists themselves were arranged somewhat sensically, the items in each list were not. There was very little rhyme or reason to the structure of each list - except for a few that were alphabetical. Please skip this, unless you need a guide to make buzzword bingo cards.

[Mike Tomasello · Rating 4 out of 5]

No nonsense list of useful words

No fluff in this book. It gives you useful phrases to use and you choose what you think is best for you. No convincing. No justification for why certain words are on the list. You'll either love this book because it gives you ideas or you'll hate this book because it doesn't explain anything.

[Kimberly Mays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the lists of words. Still reference it from time to time.

[Sue Lilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book to keep on my desk. Very clearly set out. Pleased I bought the paperback rather than ebook as it's easier to flick through when I'm working. Expect to use it a lot.

[Jamie from The Doer Co · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book. Read through it to get an idea of the structure. Definitely something I'll reference when I'm stuck on ideas. Some of the phrases can come across dated, but I will use it as a goofy MadLibs to brainstorm at least 😂 It's a pretty good thesaurus for the words it does have. Overall helpful to stop reusing the same sales phrases.

[Aaron N. Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful resource to those of us who work in marketing. The book wasn't what I expected it to be. It's not separated into chapters in a way that reads like a novel. Instead, it separates into different applications of copy, such as phrases for sales, special deals, etc. It sounds bland, but it's actually been a great help to have on my work desk.

[H. T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was highly recommended to me for improving copywriting. I can see why so many people find it useful. I was hoping for a little bit more depth in regards to examples of good sales copy. This book is more of a copywriting thesaurus. I think I’ll find it useful from time to time.

[Erika Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I got this book in 2015, I thought it was great.
Using it, however, it sounds like infomercials. In today's market, where people are pretending to be authentic, a lot of these phrases are Disingenuous and dated. It was written 17 years ago so that makes sense.

[Damon Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best resource book for copywriters and marketers

[Miguel Braga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book.

[Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less of a book to read, and more of a reference book. Basically it's a thesaurus to make your marketing copy more delicious to read. See what I did there? That's using the book!

[Lisa Zawistowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reference and easy to use. You want to write headlines and copy that sells? You need this book.

[Neil]

Trevor Mckendric + Taylor Pearson, newsletter rec

[MICHELLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one I keep in my library all of the time because I use it a lot. Very descriptive and helpful.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but really a reference book

[Bret · Rating 1 out of 5]

i was stunned how clichés it was with words like words that sells " urgent" "buy now " ... I was waiting for the author to say ... I was just kidding but he never was

[Domenik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liefert das, was es verspricht und liegt seitdem griffbereit auf meinem Schreibtisch. Klare Empfehlung für alle Menschen, die regelmäßig Texte verfassen, die etwas „verkaufen“ müssen - selbst wenn es um kostenfreie Dinge, wie z.B. die Veröffentlichung eines neuen YouTube-Videos geht, sind die enthaltenen Wörter hilfreich, um es den Leser*innen schmackhaft zu machen.

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1987, some phrases feel very dated, and no longer in common usage.

Overall, I could use this to inspire, and inform me when writing for sales, and marketing.
The body of the text is conveniently divided into words or phrases in one of several categories: Grabbers, Descriptions and Benefits, Clinchers, Terms and Offers, Special Strategies, Appendix, and Key-word Index.
Each of these categories is sub-divided into a page of precise terms; for example, under Descriptions and Benefits one can seek a word under Color, Easy, Fun, Honest, Romantic, etc. These enable for a very quick search for that perfect term or phrase. Words are used under several categories. The Appendix offers further words to sell oneself, "puffspeak"-and its alternatives, along with commonly confused, or misspelled words among the selections offered.

[Emma Michaels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some aspects were helpful though I was a bit underwhelmed. Not only was my copy incorrectly printed with a third of the cover cut off and white at the bottom to compensate but I found a repeat word and felt the lists were somewhat limited. It ended up accomplishing what I needed for the project at hand so it gets three stars for that, would have been higher had the research been more extensive and less stereotypical. I would check out a revamped version if they tried to expand upon the base concept.

[Enrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

El Tesauro del Marketing (del Copywriting, para ser más precisos). Un gran poder conlleva una gran responsabilidad, y a menudo el marketing, el copywriting, la seducción o la propaganda se han utilizado y se utilizan como métodos de absolutamente desvergonzada manipulación de masas.

Un libro peligroso en las manos equivocadas.
Usar con precaución.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Gives you a great set up right in the beginning. This set up helps you better now what to expect in the pages that will fallow. Fast read easy to understand. I just got the second book. I'm going to read it now.

[Joyce Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this reference book so long ago; I still refer to it quite often. I used it for coming up with ads and promotions for my small home-based business. I also used it to come up with a better word for a quality I'm writing about. It is one book that I will continue to use for years to come.

[Ember DeBoer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reference during the development of branding/marketing campaigns.

[Rebecca Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Use as a reference...not much to it other than a reference.