The 10 Best Copywriting Books (For Beginners)
If you’re looking to up your copywriting game or even just learn a little about writing copy from a high-level point of view, books are an amazing resource to learn from and refer back to on your copywriting journey.
Whether you’re beginning your copywriting business or just a business owner trying to DIY your copy or learn some basic copywriting skills, these are the best copywriting books if you want helpful and useful information to elevate your copy skills!
Don’t get us wrong, podcasts are another great way to learn about copywriting (we even have a blog post covering our 10 favorite copywriting podcasts here!). Still, there is just something about reading words from a book that makes the learning component that much more impactful. If audio is more your thing, most of these books are available as Audiobooks for those who just aren’t readers!
The 10 best copywriting books that made our list have over 4.5 stars on Amazon, and above 3 stars on GoodRead reviews, so we aren’t the only ones who love these books! Whether you’re a kindle reader, a library connoisseur, or a physical book copy lover, you can find all of these books wherever you source books!
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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Cialdini is the master of persuasion, and inside this book, he talks about the six shortcuts that guide human behavior, why they matter, and how to use them inside your sales copy. It really is a fantastic book if you want to jump right into conversion copywriting (which is helpful for all copywriting projects, in our opinion).
Cialdini also has a sequel to this book out called “Persuasion,” which is also a great book.
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.2 stars on GoodReads
2. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
If you have a website and are writing website copy for a client –or pretty much any online copy –you need to read this book. Sure, it was written 100 years ago, but the concepts and principles that Strunk Jr. writes about are still 100% relevant to today’s copywriting industry. It’s a timeless book on writing and using words.
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.17 stars on GoodReads
3. The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
These letters were written by Gary Halbert to his son while in Boron prison in 1984. We know, a weird intro, but these letters are pure magic when it comes to direct response copywriters. You probably won’t meet many copywriters who haven’t read through these letters on their journey.
Gary writes about simple tricks to boost direct mail response rate, what you need to know before you develop your product, and which lists are most responsive –but he does this in a really engaging writing style that will keep you intrigued throughout the letters.
You can read Chapter 1 (his first letter) right here. You can also purchase all of his letters on Amazon.
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.2 stars on GoodReads
4. Web Copy That Sells by Maria Veloso
This book is a great tool to have in your toolbox, especially if you’re a beginner copywriter. Everything you need is in this book. But it’s more than just writing copy –it helps you improve your site’s accessibility, uplevel your newsletter, adapt your writing depending on who and what you’re writing for, and seriously, so much more!
We’ve got a specific blog post on how to write a home page and one on writing an about page if you want to learn more on particular website copy pages as you learn the craft!
4.5 stars on Amazon
3.75 stars on GoodReads
5. Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
What influences human decisions? This book is filled with case studies (in case you learn better from seeing concepts in action) that are backed by statistics on human decision-making and psychology. Basically, it looks at why people act the way they do and why they buy the way they buy –which is extremely useful knowledge to have when writing website, email, and sales page copy for clients!
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.12 stars on GoodReads
6. The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly
If you’re going to start somewhere, why not start with this book, which is a step-by-step guide to writing copy that sells? Bly covers pretty much every copywriting technique and trick to apply to landing pages, email campaigns, sales pages, website pages, and more! Everything you need to start your copywriting journey –or at least know the basics of writing good copy– is in this book!
Again, this book is a classic. Written in 1985, it still contains some tactical and strategic copywriting techniques that copywriters still use today, including how to start your sales copy, how to make sure your email campaigns are opened, how to craft compelling headlines, and more.
Check out this blog post we wrote if you want to learn about writing a compelling email sequence that gets opened. Or, if you want to learn about landing pages, we wrote a post on how to write a high-converting landing page!
4.5 stars on Amazon
3.92 stars on GoodReads
7. Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan
While this book is more applicable to copywriters looking to up their ad writing, it’s still a great read for any copywriter starting their business. Sullivan is an award-winning copywriter who has created very successful marketing campaigns with several big named brands, and this book reflects his expertise in his field. It’s a fun read on the creative and ever-evolving world of advertising.
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.43 stars on GoodReads
8. How To Write Magnetic Headlines by Copyblogger Media
Copyblogger is a fantastic resource for new and seasoned copywriters. They have SO many great tools and resources on their page, but they’ve also written a book that focuses solely on writing magnetic headlines. According to Copyblogger, 8 out of 10 people will ONLY read headlines, but only 2 out of 10 will read further than your headline. So headlines are a big deal.
Luckily, Copyblogger has written an entire book that gives excellent tips on grabbing your reader’s attention right away and explains why certain headlines work better than others and when to use headlines to your advantage. It’s a great read!
If you want to dip your toes into writing headlines, here is a blog post on how to write catchy headlines to help you improve this *super important piece of copy right away!
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.22 stars on GoodReads
9. Ca$hvertising by Drew Eric Whitman
If you want to dig deeper into the psychology of customer behavior, Ca$hvertising is one of the best copywriting books out there for it. What motivates people to buy? What copywriting principles can you include in your sales copy to get readers to take action? Whitman covers all of this inside his book.
If you’re interested in hearing our point of view on motivating readers to take action, we wrote an in-depth blog post on how to write copy that converts if you want to learn more!
4.5 stars on Amazon
4.37 stars on GoodReads
10. Wizard of Ads by Roy Williams
If you want to learn more about ad writing, or really, just the power of words, Wizard of Ads: Turning Words Into Magic and Dreamers Into Millionaires by Roy Williams is a great place to start for beginner copywriters. Using storytelling to teach different strategies, Williams helps his readers unpack complex issues within the advertising and marketing realm so they can uplevel their business and their life. It’s a timeless read that we recommend!
4.6 stars on Amazon
4.27 stars on GoodReads
Whether you’re a beginner copywriter, a pro, or a business owner looking to adjust or DIY your copy, any of these 10 best copywriting books will help! Don’t feel you need to read them all at once or read them all before you start. Just choose the books that call to you and just go from there!
If you need some extra resources to help you start writing, our BDCC shop is FULL of incredibly useful templates and copy bundles to help you write every type of copy you need to grow and scale a successful business –whether you’re a copywriter or a DIYer!
Shop our templates, outlines, questionnaires, and everything else you need to write your copy today!
Don’t forget that you can always hire out your copywriting if reading books on copywriting isn’t your jam. We LOVE writing all kinds of copy for our clients, including sales page copy, landing page copy, email funnel copy, and of course, our specialty, website copy.
Contact us today to see how we can help your business grow with connective and compelling words that speak directly to your ideal clients!
