The full title of this book by David Garfinkel is
Breakthrough Copywriting: How To Generate Quick Cash With The Written Word
In my review posted on Amazon.co.uk, I gave it Five Stars. This means it is Excellent and Very Highly Recommended.
Here is my book review.
Important new structures for copywriting
I started listening to the author’s excellent weekly copywriting podcast because I thought I’d enjoyed his book. Then he started referring to ideas I was unfamiliar with and I discovered I’d bought the book several years ago but not actually read it.
I’ve quickly put this mistake right and I wish I hadn’t allowed myself to get distracted.
I read a lot of copywriting books because I find it a fascinating subject. Many are well written but often explain well established techniques. They are good books but they’re not exceptional.
This is different. David Garfinkel is billed as the world’s greatest copywriting coach and as you read through this, you’ll understand why. The book originates from material used by the author in a $5,000 course.
He explains important new structures for copywriting. Chapter 10 on emotional triggers is well worth the money on its own. This is a topic I’ve struggled with in the past. I think many of us have been trained to focus on rational analysis and to suppress emotions but it’s well known that people are motivated to action through emotional reactions to problems and opportunities. Copy must motivate action if it’s going to create the desired response. The chapter explains pathways to motivate readers.
Elsewhere, the book includes sections on what you’d expect including headlines, bullets, offers and the use of stories. It’s clear he has thought deeply about what makes copy successful.
The book isn’t perfect. There are a few things that could be changed in a second edition:
1 – There are a few mistakes in the editing. The majority is easy to read but there are several times where one paragraph is repeated, virtually word for word in the next paragraph. The effect is jarring.
2 – The titles of chapters are written as teaser headlines. This makes it hard to find something in the kindle version when you want to go back and review what the author has to say.
3 – The chapter on bullets started very well but it ended in confusion. Examples were used to explain one type of bullet but were then used as a particular bullet type on their own. If these were intended as subtle distinctions, more explanation is needed.
Overall, I have no hesitation in giving this book 5 stars and consider it to be one of the best of the modern copywriting books I’ve read so far.
You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
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