The Definitive Guide for Web Copywriting
In my search for "just the right" copywriting knowledge I was led to a recently published book..."Web Copy That Sells."
Reading this fascinating book I was intrigued to find...this was no ordinary copywriting text book. The author clearly had a wealth of unique copywriting strategies to share that were exclusively her's...and her's alone. It was quickly revealed to me that through her own personal inside experience behind the scenes of one of the largest internet marketing companies of the time she amassed a "gold mine" of web copywriting knowledge.
This copywriting knowledge Maria Veloso has acquired is truly one-of-a-kind. Compared to what other copywriting gurus are teaching...they "haven't got a clue!"
"Web Copy That Sells" has certainly helped to usher in a whole new era for copywriting. That's why it's not just Copywriting any more, it's Web Copywriting!
The Web Copywriting process has been thoroughly tested and proven on the internet...it works and Maria shows you why and how! In her own convincing writing style she pours on an abundance of easy to understand concepts, strategies, and techniques and then supports all her claims. She literally walks you through the entire writing process effortlessly. Her knowledge is not only straightforward but, her writing style is captivating too. You'll find yourself...glued to every page!
If you're looking for the "Sacred Book" on Web Copywriting...you've come to the right place!
Marshall A. Ronco
Web Copywriter
[...]
I have mixed feelings about this book...
I have been a successful marketer for about 15 years. I always invest in new marketing books to help me keep an edge on the game.
This book starts out promising. Unfortunately, as the pages turn, Maria (the author) gets a little contradictory and it seems that she flounders about trying to get herself together.
She talks about how the "editorial" style of marketing is the best use for web marketing. This means that your website should look like a blog or news article instead of a sales pitch page. Fine. Then she shares a few headlines that CLEARLY scream out AD! Hmmmm. If you're trying to get yourself under the "radar" with the editorial-style marketing scheme, why use a headline that screams "I'm an ad and I'm asking you to buy something!"?
Then, she goes on to say that the headline is about 65% of the sales message on the web but 75% with offline marketing. How does she come to this irresponsible conclusion?
Then, she tries to say that, according to Ted Nicholas, the headline is 100% (which has ALWAYS been my belief) because if people can't get past the headline then they won't read anything else you have on the page, which is true.
The problem is that Maria doesn't seem to have her own opinion because she absorbs everyone else's information. The opinion that I think she does have (that headlines account for 65% of the sales message) is DEAD WRONG because, as she even says herself, if people think your headline sucks then they will click off your page and read nothing else. So, how does she figure that it's 65% of the sales message and not 100%...especially since in a different passage she says that people will make a buying decision based on the headline. Sounds like the headline is 100% to me.
Although she has some good information regarding the use of the editorial-style marketing strategy to use with web copy, I don't agree with this strategy and I don't think she uses the right headline or copy examples to support her own claim.
If you are a hard-core marketer then you should get this book. It's not a waste of money and you will get some tips and techniques out of it. However, if you are looking for the end-all, tell-all web copy book then this one misses the mark. And if you are a complete NEWBIE with web marketing then I would SKIP this book because it will be more confusing than anything and you'll end up not being able to use the strategies in this book successfully.
Write communications materials that will capture the hearts and minds of prospective employers!
Copy writing is the art of selling by written word. "Web Copy That Sells' is Maria Veloso's fantastic approach to copy-writing. Veloso is an expert in selling difficult to sell, high-priced items over the Internet.
Veloso shares with us the psychological tricks behind selling online and how to write an email that makes it through spam filters and actually gets read!
Anyone looking for employment can draw from this book the very practical skill of knowing how to sell oneself in writing. Most of the time the first impression a prospective employer will get is written. If you want to know how to make your email stand out, this book indeed has some valuable insights.
Danny Iny
Author of the free eBook "Forget Everything You Know About Looking For a Job... And Actually Find One!"
[...]
Web Copy That Sells
Not all websites are created equally. The majority of websites are rather boring: a little text and perhaps a few graphics. Other sites try to grab the readers' attention with a lot of colorful graphics and a lot of fancy ad-speak.
When it comes to promoting business success, neither type of website will be very useful. The rather plain site will be virtually ignored. Most readers won't even bother to read your web copy.
On the other hand, the flashy site will scream out advertisement. It's like going into a store and having the salesman give us the hard sell. No one wants that.
Fortunately, Web Copy that Sells provides a third option. Step by step, this resource shows how to get readers to read your web copy and how to encourage them to purchase your product. This book really is a goldmine of ideas.
a good introduction to an intimidating topic
This is a fine introduction on adapting print-copywriting
methods to the internet. Veloso's treatment is concise
in all areas and you might want more detail and examples -
you can get those elsewhere.
After reading this book once I blazed through it a second
time later. It's a very fast read, like a lot of current
business books. The lessons here are simple and profound.
I like the old-school copywriters too, and if you do any
email marketing you'll quickly outgrow the advice here
because times change and what worked in 2004 to get
emails opended may not work as well today. In general
you'll find that if you poke around there are useful email
marketing tips to be found all over the internet - finding
what works for you is mostly a matter of practice,
experimentation and respecting your subscribers.
I recommend this book highly to first-time copywriters.
If you plan to put any serious money on the line in terms
of buying advertising you cannot be to well read - there
are many other worthwhile books on direct response copy -
reading them is like money in the bank.
(65 reviews)
