Table of Contents
There is no shortage of marketing and copywriting books out there.
Pocket paperbacks promising simple, step-by-step solutions that help you generate all of the leads and make all of the monies.
Weightier tomes, costing an arm-and-a-leg, poring over sales funnels, the customer journey, and other topics that you’ll definitely do a Udemy course on …and then never do.
Copywriting Is… I’m delighted to say, is neither of those things.
It is not a primer on how to write. Nor does it reveal the deepest, darkest secrets of a customers’ wants, needs, and desires.
It’s far more straightforward than that.
The author, Andrew Boulton, is lecturer, wordsmith, and – to borrow a delightful phrase from the blurb – ‘a seasoned alphabet wrangler’.
He, like many other copywriters before, has experienced the fun game of roulette when attempting to explain to well-meaning friends and relatives what exactly a copywriter is.
Err towards the ‘copy’ and they’ll think you simply scribble down dictations. Err the other direction and you’ll hear your gran proclaiming to her peers on how you’re writing ‘the next Harry Potter’.
The truth is, copywriters exhibit a lot of talents, quirks, and attributes. There’s no one-size-fits-all definition for the trade of the copywriter. Copywriting is a lot of things, which is where this book comes in.
‘30-or-so thoughts on thinking like a copywriter,’ the canary-yellow front cover declares.
Copywriting is madness.
Copywriting is envy.
Copywriting is silly.
Copywriting is alive.
Buy this book. Twice. Perhaps Thrice.
If you’re yet to realise, this is an incredibly funny book.
Not like those books you get in a Christmas stocking, mind. The ones that claim to tell you the extent of your pet turtle’s intelligence. Those poor, unloved books that seasonal Waterstones staff solicit you with at the checkout. All apologetic, with puppy dog eyes, hoping that by shifting a few, James Daunt may actually put his hand in his pocket and pay his hardworking staff a fair living wage.
But it is an amusing book – a veritable trove of eclectic copywriting witticisms and observations. It’s also one of the most quotable books I’ve ever read.
If you’re in the business of writing words in exchange for money, do not sleep on this one – it’s well worth a read. Copywriting Is…. is a wonderful insight into creative thinking generally – a portable post-it of perfection, a cocktail of creativity, and other fine alliterative superlatives.
But equally, even if you aren’t a copywriter, I’d strongly recommend this book. In some ways, I’d almost recommend it even more for a non-writer. At the very least, you’ll be entertained and at best you’ll appreciate the strange quirks that come with working alongside a creative writer.
I shall no longer be found without this book in my possession. If so, please return me to the nearest bookshop.
Andrew Boulton’s Copywriting Is… is a number one bestseller
and available at Bookshop.org
2 thoughts on “Copywriting Is… Book Review”
Can I simply say that the cover of that book is outstanding? I have written several books before for copywriting after working on Madison Ave for 2 decades.. Your decending type cover is powerful. Nice!
Hi Kevin – next time I speak to the agency that designed it, I’ll pass your comment on!