Summary of Robert W. Bly's The Copywriter's Handbook 4th Edition

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Robert W. Bly's The Copywriter's Handbook 4th Edition in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: This is a book for everyone who writes or approves copy: copywriters, multichannel marketers, creative directors, freelance writers, marketing managers . . . even small business owners and information marketers. It reveals dozens of copywriting techniques that can help you write both print and online ads, emails, and websites that are clear, persuasive, and get more attention—and sell more products.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669344001

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Robert W. Bly's The Copywriters Handbook 4th Edition

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The biggest mistake you can make as a copywriter is to judge advertising as laypeople do. If you do, you’ll end up as an artist, entertainer, or, worse, a clown—but not a salesperson. Your copy should be dictated by the product and the prospects, not by what is fashionable in the marketing world at the time.

#2

The goal of advertising is to sell. Therefore, the challenge for the copywriter is not to come up with entertaining copy, but to write sales copy that is understood and reacted to.

#3

The advertising industry has long been guilty of spinning ads out of whole cloth. Too many ads and commercials resemble third-rate vaudeville, desperately trying to attract an audience with stale jokes and chorus lines.

#4

The best starting discipline for any creative man in any country is the knowledge that the average consumer does not even know that an advertising agency, creative director, art director, or copywriter exists.

#5

Audiences are turned off by commercials that try to be funny when they should be informative. The most common mistake advertisers make is having background music, which is usually loud rock music, while the ad tries to inform the viewer about the product’s features.

#6

The four principles of good copy are 1) get attention, 2) communicate, 3) persuade, and 4) ask for a response.

#7

The main change in the copywriting world since the first edition of The Copywriter’s Handbook came about with the rise of the Internet as a marketing medium and channel of commerce.

#8

The Internet has affected the way copy is written, evaluated, and tested, as it no longer relies solely on human emotion. Data analytics play a huge role in today’s marketing, and it’s important to keep that in mind when writing copy.

#9

The third myth is that digital advertising is cheaper than traditional advertising. It isn’t.

#10

The good news for you is that the vast body of the copywriting techniques and selling principles you’ve learned throughout your career, including the ones in this book, remain viable and effective.

#11

To stand out from the crowd, your copy must be strong and convey a message that your prospect cares about.

#12

The four basic learning modes are watching, listening, reading, and doing. The problem is, it’s difficult to segment your market by their preferred learning mode.

#13

Social media has changed the way we communicate, and not for the better. It has changed the way we learn, and not for the better. It has changed the way we sell, and not for the better.

#14

The rise of the Internet as a marketing channel has led to the rise of attribution, which is the process of determining which promotion is the original source of an inquiry or order.

#15

The secret to getting your ad noticed is to get the attention of the reader with a catchy headline. If you can come up with a good headline, you are almost sure to have a good ad.

#16

The first impression your prospect has of your ad will make or break it. This is why you must pay close attention to the headlines of your ads, as