The Persuasive Page by Daniel Throssell
Learn copywriting from "Australia's Best Copywriter"
(Note: Unlike other "best copywriting books" lists, none of these links are affiliate links. My choices in this list are solely based on what I think the best books are to read, not what money I can make from the recommendation.)
Almost every single list of ābest copywriting booksā today falls into one of two extremes:
1. They regurgitate the same old lists of overrated āmust-readā books (gotta get those affiliate clicks!); or
2. They include books that are so āout thereā and irrelevant to copywriting, they arenāt helpful at all ā especially for beginners.Ā
(āThis book on Japanese flower arranging will teach you the principles of arranging a sales page!ā š)
So instead ā¦Ā
Iām going to try and hit the āsweet spotā that nobody else hits ā¦ andĀ give you the most relevant books to learn copywriting, which will get you up and running much quicker.
Plus ā¦ Iāll also give you my opinions on which of the āmust-readā books are actually overrated for copywriters in 2024.
And trust me ā my list is definitely going to ruffle some feathersā¦
If you are new to copywriting, this is one of the most important books you will ever read.
Even if you donāt know John Carlton, youāve read copy inspired by him. He wrote some of the most famous leads in advertising ā like the āOne-Legged Golferā, the āNickel Letterā, or the āFree Gunā ad. And in this book, John takes you step-by-step through the bones of how to write a great sales letter ā¦ even if youāre a total beginner.Ā
Of course, itās not going to teach you everything you need to know (no book can). In fact, ironically, Johnās style has been ripped off so much that if you copy it too closely (like many beginners do) your copy will sound too aggressive and outdated for a modern audience. But no copywriterās education is complete without at least knowing about how John used to write his visceral, thrilling copy.
Another thing that makes this book great is that John wrote the book itself in the same gripping style he wrote most of his most famous ads. That means itās not only packed with valuable info ā¦ but itās one of the easiest copywriting books to read, because it pulls you along with all the power of one of Johnās sales letters.Ā
(Many of the overrated copywriting books which Iāll show you in a moment are NOT like this ā¦ which is one reason I donāt recommend starting with them.)
Plus, when I bought this book, it cost a few hundred bucks. It was easily worth the cost. These days, I think John sells it digitally for a fraction of that. Itās a no-brainer. As in, if you donāt buy it, you have no brain. š
The Main Lesson:Ā
Watch how John writes with so much impact. One of his most defining traits is that he never uses a weak word when he can use a powerful one. His ability to come up with sizzling, sexy sales hooks ā a critical skill if you want to write sales letters ā is also legendary.
I am the first copywriter to ever include this book in a list of ābest copywriting booksā. But I have no idea why. Because this book is a gem for anyone who wants to learn copywriting.
Letās count the reasons why:
First, itās short. And letās be real ā¦ nobody wants to read a book that takes months to read. You can be done with this book in an afternoon, and be writing better sales copy by tomorrow.
Second, itās comprehensive. Sean has a brilliant 7-step system for understanding why people buy, and from it, you can derive almost any type of sales copy you need to write.
Third, itās fun to read. Seanās style is casual, warm and lighthearted. He doesnāt assume any knowledge, and he doesnāt talk down to you. Yet in this book he delivers more value than most $1,000 courses on copywriting.
The Main Lesson:Ā
Seanās āRed Bagsā analogy teaches that customers will not buy until you have addressed seven things in your copy: the target profile ā¦ the problem ā¦ the solution ā¦ the objections ā¦ the testimonials ā¦ the risk ā¦ and the uniqueness of what you sell. And while this book is ostensibly not a āhow to write a sales letterā guide ā¦ Iāve found this model to be an excellent framework for writing sales pages.
If youāre starting out as a copywriter in 2021, email copy is one of the best places to start.Ā
Itās relatively easy to learn ā¦ businesses need more of it than any other type of sales copy ā¦ you get a lot of chances to test (and thus improve) ā¦ and unlike other types of copywriting (e.g. press releases), email copywriting prepares you well to write all kinds of copy.Ā
If Ben Settle is not the best email copywriter in the world (and I think he might be), heās certainly one of them. Few people have taught me more about writing great email copy than Ben has.
The Email Players Skhema Book is Benās manual on how to write the style of short, entertaining daily email that he is so famous for. Itās a fantastic little book you can read in an hour or two. And unlike most of the overrated books Iāll talk about later, itās modern and full of stuff that worksĀ right now.
The one big downside? This book is only available if you subscribe to Benās (physical) newsletter, Email Players. And that is no small commitment. I can only offer my opinion, which is that itās been worth it for me ā but youāll have to decide for yourself. (If you want to learn Benās methodology without having to join his newsletter, see the next section, where I recommend another of his booksā¦)
The Main Lesson:Ā
The best sales emails do not bore people with āvalueā and what Ben calls āhard teachingā. They focus on entertainment ā¦Ā building a relationship ā¦ and teasing the thing youāre trying to sell without giving the secret away.
The previous two books were modern ā¦ this one is old. Like ā¦ reeeeeally old. Nearly 100 years old. 
This is the seminal book in the field of direct-response advertising. David Ogilvy (whose book I think is overrated, see belowā¦) famously suggested that nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until theyād read this book seven times. And when I was learning copywriting, I used to listen to the audiobook on repeat.
Iāll be honest: this book is too old to be a āhow-toā manual. Plus, the language is quaintly archaic. (I was baffled by the word ādentifriceā which he used over and over ā¦ only to find it meant ātoothpasteā 
)Ā
So ā¦ why recommend this old, archaic book as one of the first you should read?
Two reasons:
One, itās one of the most revered copywriting books in the world. And it contains several principles that are just as true today as they were when Hopkins wrote it: long copy outperforms short; a well-chosen personality or brand makes advertising more effective; specific, proven claims are better than general ones; and much more.
And two ā¦ much unlike the famed Breakthrough Advertising (see my overrated books section) ā¦ this book is SHORT. Which means that even if itās a slog to understand ā¦ itās a short slog.Ā
So for those reasons, I think Scientific Advertising is one of the first books you should read.
The Main Lesson:Ā
Copywriting is not an art where āanything goesā. There are scientific rules that, if followed, will generally boost your response. Hopkins gives several examples of these rules.Ā
That said, take them with a grain of salt. I have had great success violating several of Hopkinsā rules (for example, I use humour a LOT in my emails, whereas Hopkins did not believe in being funny in your sales pitches). Ultimately, you should do what Hopkins himself believed in: test everything for yourself.
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The subtitle of this book sums it up: āThe Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of Americaās Top Copywritersā. Annnnd ā¦ thatās about right. This book is like mentoring under a legendary copywriter as he takes you through everything he knows.Ā
In fact, the only reason itās not earlier on my list is that itās so comprehensive that it takes a bit longer to get through. But unlike other long books, itās quite readable, and you should have no problems getting through it in the course of a week or two.
The most surprising thing about this Facebook ads how-to guideā¦
ā¦ is that it was published in 1974!!!
Okay, so itās not really about Facebook ads. Itās about writing newspaper or magazine ads. But the principles are all the same. And this book is chock full of tried-and-tested strategies for how to write them better.
One warning though: Do NOT get the 5th edition or later. The editor heavily changed things and diluted a lot of the good content with average or even wrong information. The 4th edition is harder to find, but itās worth it.
This book was first recommended to me by a friend who had ā by accident ā learned of its ācultā status as an underground marketing classic.
He told me he walked into a job interview once and mentioned it ā¦
ā¦ only for the interviewerās eyes to go wide at the mention.
The interviewer stopped him ā¦
Reached into a drawer ā¦
And pulled out a paper copy, which he confessed he always kept in his desk.
Needless to say ā¦ my friend got the job.
Still, you wonāt find this book in most lists of ābest copywriting booksā. Because itās not technically about copywriting at all ā¦ itās about market research, and validating ideas.
See, one of the main things you need to do as a copywriter is understand what your market really wants ā¦ and what theyāre really willing to pay for.Ā The problem is though, most people donāt know what they want. And even if they do know ā¦ they wonāt tell it to you straight.Ā
Market research for a copywriter is one giant detective game ā¦ and this book is the āsleuthās handbookā that will help you decode your market, and help you write copy that speaks to their heartās most secret desires.Ā
In this classic, Cialdini identified six āprinciples of influenceā:
ā¢ Reciprocity
ā¢ Commitment and consistency
ā¢ Social proof
ā¢ Authority
ā¢ Liking, and
ā¢ Scarcity
The idea is that if you want to persuade someone, you must use one or more of these six techniques ā¦ and since copywriters are in the business of persuading, you canāt afford not to know them.Ā
Not only can you use them in copy ā¦ but youāll also hear other copywriters refer to them over and over. This book helps you not look ignorant.
(Donāt get too hung up on it, though. For example, Iāve seen some marketers argue that you can tap into āreciprocityā by giving someone free info on a website, and in return, the reader will feel they āoweā it to you to opt in. This is plainly dumb.)
All that said: the sequel (Pre-Suasion) was one of the worst books Iāve ever read ā¦ avoid that one. See my āoverrated booksā section for why.
When I won Ramit Sethiās copywriting contest, one of the prizes I won was a call with him.
At the time, I was totally new to the craft. And so I asked him: āWho should I study?ā
The first answer Ramit gave me was John Carlton ā¦ whose book is my #1 recommendation in this list for a reason.
The second? Bob Bly.
Bobās manual The Copywriterās Handbook has been something of a classic for a while, because Bob has been a very successful copywriter, and he lays out a fairly thorough introduction to the art of copywriting. And while I think Bobās copywriting style is somewhat outdated (I mean, he calls email lists āe-zinesāā¦) there is still some good info in here.
But I do recommend it with a huge caveat:Ā
Bob believes very little has changed on the Internet, and he is clearly opposed to the idea of entertainment in copy. In fact, he seems to be proud of his disdain for it.Ā
As an extremely successful email copywriter, I totally disagree on both points. Copywriting on the Internet ā in emails, VSLs, and online sales pages ā surrounded by digital distractions is a very different ball game to offline. Keep that in mind as you read this book.
Are you an introvert? Does the thought of calling your clientās customers up on the phone to do market research give you shivers? It always did for me. But how are you supposed to do market research otherwise?
Well, there are many ways. But one answer is: do surveys! Theyāre not perfect by any means ā¦ but theyāre quick, scalable, and introvert-friendly. And Ask is the definitive guide on how to do them.Ā
Ryan Levesqueās system of dividing surveys up into different ābucketsā and sending them at different times is very clever, and was hugely influential on my own approach.
Added bonus: itās a pretty short book that wonāt take weeks to finish!
If youāve never written a sales letter before ā¦ this is one of the most user-friendly books I know for showing you how to do it.Ā
Dan Kennedy is one of the most renowned copywriters in the world. And in this short book, he gives you a concise, useful 29-step system for writing an offline sales letter!!!
*exhales* Whew. Okay, so that was the salesmanās spiel. Personally, I donāt believe in using āstep-by-stepā systems to write copy ā¦ because itās hard to produce something truly great that way.Ā
But Iāve spoken to enough new copywriters to know that when youāre starting out ā¦ you probably donāt care about that. Fine. In that case, this is a great starter book.Ā
One warning though:
This book was published in the 1990s. So feel free to ignore some of the more ā¦ erm ā¦ outdated advice. For example, selecting the right envelope face ā¦ or using fake hand-drawn doodles and notes on your sales letter (tip: please do not do this on the Internet).
I saved the best for last. But before I tell you why, here are 3 bad things about this book:
1. Itās really expensive (like $400 or something when itās not on sale)
2. It is not a āhow-toā book on writing any particular kind of copy
3. I already included a Ben Settle recommendation in this list and itās starting to look uncomfortably like Iām shilling for him
So why include it?
Simply because it teaches what I think is the single most important concept about copywriting in the 2020s and beyond ā¦ that copywriting is now a game of entertainment more than anything else. Or as Ben calls it, āinfotainmentā. And while he didnāt invent the concept ā¦ Infotainment Jackpot is, IMO, the best summary of the idea (and how to use it in copy).
Look, most of the great copywriting books are old books. And I think thatās okay. Because most of the principles that WORK are old.Ā
But there are a few things that have changed about copywriting, that you can only find in a new book. And Infotainment Jackpot is one of those books. It shows you whatās different about copywriting NOW compared to 50 years ago ā¦ and how to make your copy stand out and get attention in a world of constant notifications, distractions, and hits of dopamine.
If I were writing this article 50 years ago, this one might have been at or near the top of this list. Itās a bit dated ā¦ but Robert Collierās grasp of selling things āthrough the mailā was unmatched. He was also an early pioneer of using entertainment to sell. Just check out some of his headlines:Ā
ā¢ āWas Jesus A Physical Weakling?ā
ā¢ ā$1,000 Rewardā
ā¢ āThe Devil Shipā
ā¢ āWrecked in the Clouds!ā
ā¢ āMan Has Lived Less Than Four Secondsā
The reason Iāve moved it later is that itās hard to understand due to the old language. Plus, itās a longer read than many of the books I recommended first. So I wouldnāt start here. But itās certainly a book that made me a better copywriter ā¦ and even flicking it through it just now for this post gave me some more ideas for hooks for my own stuff!
You might well wonder: why is a personal finance book in my list of ābest copywriting booksā?
Well ā¦ despite being a finance book, The Barefoot Investor is officially the all-time bestselling book in Australian history.
(I would know, because Scott is my oldest client ā and the first job he ever hired me for was to write the email campaign that launched it!)
And the reason a book about personal finance became a bestseller ā¦ is because itās chock-full of storytelling and personality that guides the reader through the actions they need to take. Just like great copy does.
If you donāt believe me, just start reading the first chapter, and note the way it opens. I almost guarantee youāll be hooked and inspired to take action ā and isnāt that what copy is all about?
Your son has been abducted. The kidnapper snarls through the phone: ā$1 million in my account in 3 hours ā¦ or youāll never see him again.ā Who do you call?Ā
Answer: Chris Voss.
Voss was the former lead hostage negotiator for the FBI. He cut his teeth in literally the most difficult negotiation environments around: convincing dangerous criminals to give themselves up without sawing off the heads of innocent hostages. And in Never Split the Difference, he teaches you all his negotiation tactics ā which work just as well on copywriting clients as they do on kidnappers.
Itās a fantastic book for sure. But I offer one warning: this book gives you knowledge about how to negotiate. But without confidence, that knowledge is useless ā and without skill, itās dangerous. Which is why I recommend having some experience as a copywriter before trying to implement Vossās negotiation strategy. Otherwise ā¦ you might just get your own head inadvertently cut off in a negotiation.
This book often gets called the āsalesmanās bibleā. And while YOU probably will not be going door-to-door any time soon ā¦ this book is a great primer on understanding the people you will be selling to. (And letās be honest, itās useful for your entire life, not just copywriting.)Ā
Carnegie was the first I know to espouse one of the most fundamental laws of copywriting: āThe only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.ā Even if you take nothing else away from the book ā¦ that insight alone can be worth a fortune to you. If you want someone to buy your stuff? Know what they want ā¦ and show them how your product helps them achieve that. That is basically copywriting in a nutshell.
Fun fact about Vic Shwab: He was the copywriter who made How to Win Friends and Influence People famous by writing the ad for it!Ā
But thatās not all ā¦ he also wrote How to Write A Good Advertisement. Itās a classic how-to manual on writing a good print ad, using a five-step system Vic came up with for writing ads.
Itās in my āread laterā section because itās kinda old. And I think that, if you read the books in the order Iāve given them to you in this post, this one will start to feel mostly like revision rather than anything mind-blowing. But thatās good ā thatās where you want to get to as a copywriter. I donāt regret having read this book at all.
I read this book really early on and found it fascinating. Some of the insights into how we think ā and the cognitive biases we have in making decisions ā were really interesting.Ā
Still, itās kinda advanced reading for a copywriter. It has very little how-to information on copywriting. Plus itās long and dry in parts. You wonāt come away with instant headline ideas, rather just a deeper understanding of how people think. Itās definitely helped my copywriting ā but itās not the first place Iād go to learn the craft.
This ābookā is actually a series of letters from legendary copywriter Gary Halbert to his son, Bond. (Itās so called because the letters were written when Halbert Sr. was in Boron Federal Prison on charges of mail fraud.)
Itās universally recommended as one of the best starter copywriting books for new copywriters.
Yet even though I have the utmost respect for Gary HalbertĀ ā¦ I feel like this book does not deserve that reputation.
Itās full of irrelevant details (Halbertās advice to Bond to eat more fruit) ā¦Ā
Archaic references (the days where youād look up a list in the SRDS, mail them a sales letter and profit are long-gone)Ā ā¦Ā
And outdated advice (āyour type face should be a serif faceā or āif you use a second colour, it should be RED underlineā).
Plus, Bond Halbert doesnāt like me.
No, really. He once banned a guy from his Gary Halbert copywriting group just for sharing one of MY links (yes, he literally said that was the reason).Ā
That has no bearing on my opinion of the book, but since the book was literally addressed to Bond, I thought that would be a fun fact to share here. (And I doubt my listing this book as overrated is going to help things )
But, yes. Definitely study Gary Halbert. And do read this book at some point. I just donāt think itās the beginnersā manual itās been hyped up to be.
This is supposed to be the holy grail of advertising books. The big daddy. The book that all serious copywriters have read. The one that was out of print for decades ā¦ and people paid $1,000 just to obtain a beaten-up copy with the cover missing, or stole it from libraries.
Yeah, well ā¦ I still havenāt read it š
I mean, Iāve owned it for a few years. But the truth is ā¦ my gosh, itās boring.Ā
Donāt get me wrong, itās a great book, or at least thatās my impression from the 5 chapters I was able to finish.
But honestly?Ā The only idea Iāve ever heard anyone get out of it is the concept of market awareness and sophistication, which are now so well known that you donāt even need to read this book. A thousand blog posts will sum it up for you.
So Iām going to break the trend and be the first copywriter to say you do NOT need to read this book ā¦ at least, not for a looooong while.
Goodness gracious, this is one of the most atrocious books I ever tried reading.Ā
I could not make it more than ā of the way through, hopelessly searching for the point or something practical I could take out of it, before giving up. I almost always get at least ONE idea from a book that sticks with me, but this is one of the few books where I cannot think of a single practical thing I got from it that helped my copywriting. To this day, honestly all I can remember is how much I hated the book.Ā
I am angry at Robert Cialdini for putting this into the world and I only hope that this paragraph spares you the waste of time that this book was for me.
This is one of r/copywritingās favourite books. (At least, as far as I could tell before I got permanently banned from being in or even being mentioned in r/copywriting.) It always seemed to be recommended in every second post by the grumpy agency veterans who seemed to have nothing better to do than lurk the sub.
But guess what? I had earned a million dollars over my copywriting career before I read a word of this. And when I did, I wasnāt really impressed.Ā
Itās written for ābrandā copywriters ā the type who work at agencies, and get paid to come up with ideas that get applause, but not necessarily sales. Even the way this book measures success annoys me. For example, it praises ads that won āawardsā or improved ābrand imageā ā but these are airy-fairy, unmeasurable things.Ā
Unless your career path is to be a brand copywriter for a big agency (a miserable and tough existence IMO), most clients you work with are going to expect proof that youāre increasing their sales. And that is something this book seems mostly unconcerned with.Ā
Iād give it a pass, unless your heart is fixed on brand copywriting.
Confession: I feel REALLY bad putting this book in my āoverratedā section, since Ogilvy is a bona fide legend. But Iām just being honest. While I might have picked up a few gems, I canāt remember what they were. I read this after many of the other books Iāve listed ā and my honest impression is that there wasnāt much in here that I didnāt get from the others.
It seems trendy to include this one in lists of ābest copywriting booksā. And donāt get me wrong, itās a great book that I donāt regret having read. But itās so tangentially related to copywriting that you should be in no hurry to read it for that. I mean ā¦ are you writing a novel? No. No, youāre not. Youāre writing sales copy. So by all means, read the book for edification as a writer. But donāt expect to learn any significant copywriting tips from it.
This one felt repetitive and superfluous after Scientific Advertising ā¦ and it had a lot more biography and less how-to. I feel like most people who recommend it havenāt actually read it ā¦ they just steal the snippets from other peopleās ābest copywriting booksā posts. Skip it and re-read Scientific Advertising instead.
John Carlton swore by this book so I tried reading it ā¦ but itās, like, a grammar manual. Bleh. As long as youāre a native speaker, youāre good. The mistakes native speakers make are entirely acceptable in English.Ā
(Non-native mistakes are an entirely different, BAD thing that can be fatal to your copywriting career ā¦ and maybe those people would benefit from this book.)Ā
Since youāve read this far, Iāll tell you a secret:
I donāt read copywriting books anymore.
š¤
Naughty, I know.
But the truth is ā¦ Iāve moved far beyond what any old books could teach me.
Like I said, there are some books I didnāt read a word of until I was already a world-renowned copywriter (Hey Whipple, Squeeze This). Others are classics that I still havenāt finished (Breakthrough Advertising). And there are many āgreat booksā that I did read, but canāt remember much of at all, showing they probably didnāt contribute much to me (The Boron Letters).
The thing is, after a certain point, I found that all the old copywriting books started sounding the same. Thatās not a bad thing, because theyāre all talking about the same proven principles of selling. But there comes a point at which you know that stuff ā¦ and youāre better served finding new techniques that are working now.
So by all means ā if youāre new to copywriting, learn from books. Theyāre cheaper than courses ā¦ and the good ones are proven to work. You can get far with the ones Iāve given you in this list.
But if you want to see whatās working now, check out my free email list.
I share daily copywriting tips and examples of email copy thatās currently working really well ā¦ as well as regular links to high-converting sales pages you can study for inspiration in your copy.