Faculty and academic librarians in undergraduate institutions will find this a useful addition to course readings or library collections. This book contains many useful examples and students will gain a better appreciation of the complexity of copywriting.

Persuasive Copywriting: Using Psychology to Engage, Influence and Sell is a must have book for any and all writers. Yes, it is geared toward copywriting specifically, but the fabulous tools and techniques shared by Andy Maslen easily translate to all types of writing. If you're looking to boost sales, increase traffic to your blog, or write the next great novel or screenplay, you will find wonderful skill building exercises in this book to help you achieve your goal.

I'm not a copywriter per se, but I found the psychology infused in this book to be invaluable to my writing. I love that the main focus is on getting into the mind of your customer before you work on making the sale. If you don't understand who you are writing for, your writing will never quite hit the mark. That is the case no matter what you are writing and I found that to be the biggest take home for me from this book. It's definitely something I'm going to actively work on in all aspects of my life.

From the seasoned veteran to the beginner, there really is something here for everyone. So often books that focus on psychology and/or selling can be stuffy and filled with dull jargon. Thankfully that isn't the case with this book. The humor infused throughout makes for an easy and entertaining read, and that was a nice treat for me. Additionally, the exercises at the end of each chapter are fabulous for learning the techniques presented and honing your writing skills. This would be a wonderful textbook for any college business and marketing department, and I plan to recommend it for use at the college where I work.

I’m a little scared to write this review. Persuasive Copywriting by Andy Maslen is one of the most useful copywriting books I have read. But will my writing make the grade?

Applying what I learned reading Persuasive Copywriting, all I need to do is present you, the reader, with the information to decide if this book is something that can solve a problem for you. So, let’s get to it.

Without getting flowery, you’ve clicked this link, so you’re wanting to make your writing more effective. This book will help you do it.

What I learned most from this book was how copywriting is more than the words. OK, so I already knew that, but it’s what impressed me most. It’s a full copywriting curriculum, with exercises, downloads and feedback: a great refresher of your college days. Actually, it’s more than what I learned in college and grad school.

Persuasive Copywriting teaches the psychology of copywriting. There is a practical lesson on using a mix of ethos, pathos and logo in your writing. Yep, Aristotle in a copywriting book. Andy also makes the neuroscience behind the ideas easy to understand, and applicable. Oh, and scientifically accurate, which is better than the neuroscience and marketing book that I chose not to review. The end of each chapter has questions and exercises to test your knowledge. Also an invitation to tweet your progress to Andy. Promotion and feedback in one – I love it.

The second part of the book goes into the more traditional copywriting tools of grammar, tone and pitch, and word lists. At first this seemed a little weird. Shouldn’t grammar be a top priority? But, it’s correct. Connecting with the reader is more important than choosing between a semi-colon and a comma. Our aim is generally for them to pull out their wallet.

Who is Persuasive Copywriting for?
Everyone who writes with a purpose. If you learned traditional copywriting and now need to add spice to your writing, then buy this. If you’re self-taught, then definitely buy this. Oh, and read it too. And do the exercises. Even though I’ve been writing for many years, it’s a good reminder for me and helps my arguments when coaching or chatting with clients.

I’m working with a few non-profits, and I know their complaints would be that Persuasive Copywriting is too much about selling and, therefore, has no relevance to them. My response is a little creative and change “sell” to book, change, entice, or whatever fits your organization mission. The concepts are the same, nonprofits just don’t always take credit card payments, but they are selling. Everyone can learn something from this book.

I could continue, but I think it’s better you read the book. After all, my goal was just to give you the information to help you make a decision whether to buy or not.

Persuasive Copywriting will be released on March 28. My copy was a gift of the publisher via NetGalley.

Content is the key to a business’ success. The content you create on your blog, in advertising, you emails, and social media influences how many new leads your business earns. Earlier, it was limited to the advertising copy in the newspaper or the flyers that you got in your mail box and newspapers. Today, when most of the people are interacting, using, sharing information all the time, the importance of your content has become much more important. With falling attention spans and rising volume of information, the competition to get noticed has increased exponentially. In Persuasive Copywriting, Andy Maslen talks about what captures the readers attention and hoe to channel that attention to get the results you want. Andy Maslen runs Sunfish with over two decades of copywriting experience. Agency has written for organizations like The Economist and he is one of the leading copywriters in the UK. He is also the author of Write to Sell: The Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting and The Copywriting Sourcebook: How to Write Better Copy, Faster - For Everything from Ads to Websites.
In Persuasive Copywriting, Andy Maslen tells his readers that emotions are the key to persuasive writing. His argument is that most B2B communications focus on the logic of the arguments while writing the sales material. However, emotions trump logical arguments in his experience. Emotions, he claims, hijacks the persons logical abilities and create the perspective that the reader adopts. He stresses that copywriters can use this inherent system to put the reader in the right frame of mind before making the pitch.
As against many similar books, the author gives various examples to show how to frame sentences, and shares common phrases that trigger the emotions that the writer wants the reader in while reading the pitch. Apart from examples and theory, the author provides exercises or prompts for writers to practise their skills at triggering emotions through copy.
Copywriting is hard. It takes a lot of practice and failures to find out what clicks in different situations. Persuasive Copywriting gives new and experienced writers the tools to do away with the early failures. Using the important devices in the book, writers can start successful campaigns from the beginning.

The Psychological Art of Copywriting

Copywriting is the art of creative engaging words to rouse the emotion and attention of your potential buyer.

All over the net, including YouTube, are videos that teach you to copywrite(create ads), but if you do not know where to begin or if you are a seasoned copywriter who wants to learn how to engage your potential buyer, I suggest reading Andy Maslen’s Persuasive Copywriting: Using Psychology to Influence, Engage, and Sell.

A Book With Quizzes…Yahtzee!!!

The book is highly organized, but I chose specific chapters to read and even took the quizzes offered.

Yes, this book has self quizzes and exercises to help you on your journey to copywriting and for me that is an ultimate plus. His book shows you how to go about creating winning ad copy.

If you want to spruce up a boring subject Maslen suggests we:
1.Interview people.
2.Gain a fresh perspective.
3.Focus on how the customer’s life would be so much easier with device/product.

Maslen goes deeper into the mind of a potential client as he explores our limbic system, somatic markers, and the six primary emotions(happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, fear, and surprise).

What You Will Learn About Yourself

At the very end, I took a brief quiz to see if copywriting is for me. Honestly, I love learning about copywriting and I engage in it already. If you have a blog or website and have used your writing skills to talk about a product or if you have made a video promoting a product or service, then you have engaged in copywriting.

My results showed that although I know correct English, I play it too safe.

Bummer.

I will also say this about the book. Make sure you read it thoroughly and take those exercises seriously- it is nothing to skim over.

Learn more about Andy Maslen and his Copywriting Academy.

*Book received for free from Netgalley for my unbiased opinion.

5/5 Stars

Book Details:

Persuasive Copywriting, Andy Maslen

Kogan Page(2015)

ISBN: 978-0-7494-7399-0

e-ISBN: 978-0-7494-7400-3