Folks often ask me: 

“What’s your favorite copywriting book?” they say.

I don’t really hesitate. 

“Oh, easy,” I say. “It’s The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joe Sugarman.”

It’s the first #copywriting book I ever read. I’ve read many good ones since but I always come back to the Handbook. 

Sometimes I’ll read a chapter or even just a passage. And sometimes I’ll take a weekend and go through the whole thing. (It’s a fast, fun, easy read.)

And I always find something new. 

“And what’s your favorite lesson from Joe’s book?” they say. 

“Oh, easy,” I say. “The sole purpose of the first sentence in an ad is to get you to read the second sentence.” 

When I was a new #copywriter, this one line — 19 words — put everything in perspective for me. It simplified things.

Brass tacks: “Will this line keep The Reader going?” I’d ask myself. “Or will it make her stop?” 

It felt good, thinking about #writing this way. It lessened the pressure, the burden, especially in the beginning, when copywriting — the discipline, the craft — was still too big for me to grasp. 

Hope it helps you, too.

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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

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Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founder

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