While sorting out the piles of books on my desk (and the virtual ones on my Kindle) I thought some of you might appreciate a list of the ones I'd recommend.
And please note, this isn't a definitive collection of the best marketing books - just the ones I had to tidy up.
If you've got any questions about anything here (or any marketing book that's not here) feel free to ask.
The Secret of Selling Anything by Harry Browne
As recommended by Gary Bencivenga. Provides a simple structure for face-to-face sales that can easily be adapted for copywriting.
Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation by Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr
Gives you more tools to expand on the above.
Cashvertising: How to Use 50 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone by Drew Eric Whitman
A dense, fluff-free encyclopaedia of copywriting tactics. A must have for anyone who works in marketing.
The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy
An ideal introductory book to copywriting. Covers all the fundamentals for writing a salesletter.
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters by Joe Sugarman
A perfect follow-up to the above.
How to Write a Good Advertisement: A Short Course in Copywriting by Victor O. Schwab
If you only wanted to read one book on copywriting, I think this would be the one.
Breakthough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
Not for the beginner, and its not the easiest copywriting book to read. But its quite possibly the best.
The Wizard of Ads trilogy by Roy H. Williams
A collection of bite-sized articles on improving your copywriting and advertising. You will learn something.
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Almost every copywriting resource you come across will tell you that you need to write emotional copy, but without telling you how. This goes some way towards solving that.
20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias
If you use stories in your marketing (and you should) this is an excellent resource for step-by-step story structures.
Keys to Great Writing by Steven Wilbers
Fluff-free and information-dense: The best book on improving your writing Ive found.
The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
Im not a designer by any stretch of the imagination. But thanks to the system in this brilliant little book I can do a pretty good impression of one.
Jump Start Your Business Brain: Six Scientific Laws for Thinking Smarter and More Creatively About Business Growth by Doug Hall
You can never go wrong with marketing/business advice backed up by a boatload of research.
Bullets With Bite: Learn to Create Mouthwatering Word Nuggets by Marcia Yudkin
Does exactly what it says on the tin.
Convert! By Ben Hunt
Ben Hunt designs websites that get traffic and then convert that traffic. This book tells you how.
Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch
Direct-response fundamentals. If you dont know them this as good a book as any to learn them. If you do know them refresher time.
Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead
Maybe a bit too fluffy and long-winded but the core information on the seven triggers is must-read stuff.
Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You've Got by Jay Abraham
Its Jay Abraham.
How to Create a Million Dollar Unique Selling Proposition by Bill Bodri
USP overkill. Absolutely crammed full of useful advice. Puts many high-priced courses to shame.
Made to Stick: Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck by Dan Heath and Chip Heath
Six principles to make your marketing messages more memorable. You dont even really need to read past the intro as theyre listed there.
2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success: The Pros Tell You Their Time-Proven Secrets by Denny Hatch and Don Jackson
Not a book you can read cover-to-cover, but perfect for randomly dipping into as theres marketing wisdom on every page.
And please note, this isn't a definitive collection of the best marketing books - just the ones I had to tidy up.
If you've got any questions about anything here (or any marketing book that's not here) feel free to ask.
The Secret of Selling Anything by Harry Browne
As recommended by Gary Bencivenga. Provides a simple structure for face-to-face sales that can easily be adapted for copywriting.
Rainmaking Conversations: Influence, Persuade, and Sell in Any Situation by Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr
Gives you more tools to expand on the above.
Cashvertising: How to Use 50 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone by Drew Eric Whitman
A dense, fluff-free encyclopaedia of copywriting tactics. A must have for anyone who works in marketing.
The Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy
An ideal introductory book to copywriting. Covers all the fundamentals for writing a salesletter.
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters by Joe Sugarman
A perfect follow-up to the above.
How to Write a Good Advertisement: A Short Course in Copywriting by Victor O. Schwab
If you only wanted to read one book on copywriting, I think this would be the one.
Breakthough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
Not for the beginner, and its not the easiest copywriting book to read. But its quite possibly the best.
The Wizard of Ads trilogy by Roy H. Williams
A collection of bite-sized articles on improving your copywriting and advertising. You will learn something.
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Almost every copywriting resource you come across will tell you that you need to write emotional copy, but without telling you how. This goes some way towards solving that.
20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias
If you use stories in your marketing (and you should) this is an excellent resource for step-by-step story structures.
Keys to Great Writing by Steven Wilbers
Fluff-free and information-dense: The best book on improving your writing Ive found.
The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
Im not a designer by any stretch of the imagination. But thanks to the system in this brilliant little book I can do a pretty good impression of one.
Jump Start Your Business Brain: Six Scientific Laws for Thinking Smarter and More Creatively About Business Growth by Doug Hall
You can never go wrong with marketing/business advice backed up by a boatload of research.
Bullets With Bite: Learn to Create Mouthwatering Word Nuggets by Marcia Yudkin
Does exactly what it says on the tin.
Convert! By Ben Hunt
Ben Hunt designs websites that get traffic and then convert that traffic. This book tells you how.
Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch
Direct-response fundamentals. If you dont know them this as good a book as any to learn them. If you do know them refresher time.
Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead
Maybe a bit too fluffy and long-winded but the core information on the seven triggers is must-read stuff.
Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You've Got by Jay Abraham
Its Jay Abraham.
How to Create a Million Dollar Unique Selling Proposition by Bill Bodri
USP overkill. Absolutely crammed full of useful advice. Puts many high-priced courses to shame.
Made to Stick: Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck by Dan Heath and Chip Heath
Six principles to make your marketing messages more memorable. You dont even really need to read past the intro as theyre listed there.
2,239 Tested Secrets for Direct Marketing Success: The Pros Tell You Their Time-Proven Secrets by Denny Hatch and Don Jackson
Not a book you can read cover-to-cover, but perfect for randomly dipping into as theres marketing wisdom on every page.