Best Copywriting Course.

Greetings GlenH,

Both the courses you have mentioned are among the best courses on writing copy.

But, for me it has to be Makepeace's Quick Start Copywriting System just for the sheer quality of swipe materials in there.

Hope that helps..

I'd like to step in for the Aussies here and recommend Pete Godfrey's stuff, his masterclass course is the best of it's kind down under, Trevor Crook is the other one even though he is hanging out under the Mediterranean sun these days

Buy Victor Schwab's "How to Write a Good Advertisement." It's about $14.

But, wait, here's the important part...

After you receive the book, place a piece of tape on the cover and write the words "A Complete Copywriting Course!" There... now it's a "course" (and you saved a grand or two).

John

I am wondering - whose course has the best swipe files? Are swipe files really that important? Who has the best ad & sales letter examples in their package?

Hi,

The course Scott Haines put out is pure gold. I also suggest following Kenneth Strong who is a fellow warrior.

The "Motherload" collection by Gary Halbert has to be up there too.

Rich

I think that John Carlton's Simple Writing System is really great and you can learn so much from that.

I have read alot of Claytons and John Carlton's articles. I love their writing styles. I have not taken any of their courses yet.

I got started with AWAI's products before I even heard of these guys. I love every course I have taken through AWAI.

I would like to take some course eveually through Clayton and Carlton. You can never learn enough about writing good copy.

Bob Serling's Power Copywriting for the Internet is a great course.

Paul Hancox's course is the best out there. You have to actually do the work to get the next lesson. IMO

Jecco

Hi Glen,

Both courses are solid, but in my opinion Clayton's is the best out there. Not sure if it's still available, though ... he recently shut down his online store. If you can get your hands on either version (Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach or Quick-Start Copywriting System), you won't regret it. I actually have one of each, so I don't have to carry the monster from one desk to the other. lol

Of course, even Clayton would be the first to agree with Johny12345 -- the first thing you should do is read the masters. Schwab, Hopkins, Ogilvy, etc.

@Methomas - A few years back, I stumbled on a 1962 hardcover of Schwab's How to Write a Good Advertising: A Short Course in Copywriting ... complete with dust jacket and "$5.95" price tag!

One of the things that's always occurred to me was that either Clayton's "Ultimate Desktop" or Gary Bencivenga's "100 Seminar" couldn't be beat for sheer brilliant advice on salesmanship in print.

One thing that might slow some IMer's down is the fact that all of their examples of making copy work are from the offline world where those pieces they show you went to huge optimized lists of BUYERS.

Of course the copy was amazing and the tutelage is stellar but one thing people might let stop them is the fact that, "No, I'm not working with Boardroom reports putting together a magalog. No, I'm not a copywriter nor do I want to be a copywriter full time. I know it's important to hone the skill but I'm more interested in becoming the best marketer that I can be. And, I'm starting at zero with no list, no product, and I'm interested in this online marketing thing. Where do I start?"

For this guy, I would immediately turn him to Eben Pagan. His Guru Blueprint course, or Ignition course or his his Guru Mastermind homestudy programs are all A-Z information product business programs but he goes so deep into figuring out what makes your prospect tick, taking principles from Carlton, Bencivenga, and Makepeace and more and making you look at your business and answer questions the way an elite copywriter should but in the whole of the business.

I just finished taking 40+ hours of notes on the Guru Blueprint course and I'd have to say that almost every week of the 12 it was comprised of had copywriting lessons woven into it but they were fed to you in the interest of moving you to the next step in building your business.

He's giving what they need (copywriting coaching) but he's wrapping it in a package that people see themselves as getting closer to the outcome that getting a copywriting course is really about which is getting more freedom for yourself. Not just a box of **** that you need to study.

It's the same thing Frank Kern did with Mass Control. I'd venture to say that course was 90% copywriting coaching and 10% how to put tools to work. And it's not hard to see why he sold a ****-ton of those boxes because he promised the ultimate outcome people wanted... freedom from being scared of their business or the idea of getting money so they can have more awesome choices in their life.

But for any copywriter looking for just plain copywriting advice, I'd have to say that Clayton's Quick Start delves the deepest compared to Carlton's or Bencivenga's products.

Hi all,

I just wanted to come back and say this:

Clayton's course is awesome, but don't expect to get it on the first go.

Someone once said it would take a year or more to digest everything. I think I agree. I've gone through the course twice now, and I've just begun to master the first 8 chapters (and I believe there are 24, if I'm not mistaken).

Anyway, it's a great course. Get it. But just understand it will take REAL intense study to master it. Like you're actually going to college and have to seriously scrutinize the text for details and scribble hundreds of notes.

It's wonderful.

Best,

Angel

You know, I cannot imagine how you can become a good copywriter without some linguistic education. Any way you should know some basics to be able to operate them in your texts.