|
Book Review:
The Copywriter's Handbook
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
Keynote NetMechanic
Good text content helps increase a Web site's credibility with visitors and gives search engine spiders useful information to index. So it's important - but not always easy - to create good, compelling content for Web sites. For starters, you need to be able to write - and write pretty well.
That's not a skill you can learn in a hurry, but it's a lot easier with a good guidebook. At NetMechanic, all our writers get a copy of The Copywriter's Handbook
by Robert W. Bly. It's been so helpful that we decided to make it the latest addition to the Webmaster's Essential Bookshelf.
A Book For Everyone
Bly's stated purpose in the book's preface seems to promise more than a 350-page book could possible deliver: "This is a book for everyone who writes, edits, or approves copy."
That's a sweeping promise, but amazingly, he pulls it off. This book is as useful to beginners as it is to seasoned professional writers.
Beginning writers learn that their job is to create copy that sells a product. Sometimes that means you have to reject the witty advertising line in favor of something that may seem boring to you personally.
Bly explains that this challenge really isn't boring - it's just a different way of approaching your job:
"Instead of creating aesthetically pleasing prose, you have to dig into a product or service, uncover the reasons why consumers would want to buy the product, and present those sales arguments in copy that is read, understood, and reacted to…."
Although it's a lot more fun to write a clever one-liner, don't lose sight of your ultimate goal: bringing visitors to your site and turning them into customers. The Copywriter's Handbook
helps you do that.
Professional writers have a different problem. When your primary job is writing, it's easy to slip into a routine and use the same communication style no matter what the writing assignment is.
Bly addresses this issue right away in the first section. Its chapter titles clearly remind you that your writing assignment's purpose should decide what writing style you use and what content to include:
- Writing to get attention
- Writing to Communicate
- Writing to Sell
Tips You Can Use Immediately
Section Two of the book discusses writing for different types of communications media, from print ads to basic public relations material. Unfortunately, there's no chapter devoted specifically to Web writing, but perhaps Bly will add one in a future edition.
Still, many of his suggestions are directly applicable to Web content creation. For instance:
- Write snappy headlines
- Give all the facts
- Divide the information into short, easy-to-read sections
- Use hard-working visuals
We're confident that every site owner could make at least one positive change after reviewing Bly's suggestions.
Professional Advice Too!
In the third and final section, Bly offers valuable advice to those writers who want to make a living writing copy. Whether you're interested in freelancing or full-time work at an agency, Bly has suggestions for you on how to deal with your customers or employer.
Happily, he's also included a chapter on how to hire and work with copywriters. The section containing the "9 rules on how to review and approve copy" includes my personal favorite: be civil, because writers are people too!
This book offers you a no-nonsense, practical approach to writing. The prose style is informal and the content is interesting enough to read straight through. At the same time, the book is so well structured that you can easily find the particular section you need and then get back to writing your copy.
Anyone who is hoping to create good Web site copy can benefit from Bly's recommendations.
|
