Copywriting Examples
51 Places To See What Really Sells and Why
So you want to be a copywriter.
Would it help you to see some examples of copywriting that sells?
Like sells millions?
Written by some of the best copywriters and marketers ever!
You’re in luck.
Since this is one of the most asked for copywriting items, I decided to take some time in the post-holiday calm to compile a list for aspiring or veteran copywriters who are looking to up their writing game.
In every job, every profession, every sport or hobby, the participants always do better when they can see exactly what ‘better’ is. We learn best by example.
In Mrs. Nelson’s 1st grade class, I once thought I’d painted a great farmhouse, with horses and chickens and cows. Not too much later, I would see the artistic work of folks like Michelanglo, Monet, Vermeer, and Van Gogh. And I would realize, hmmm, I suck at painting!
I never became a great artist, but I did become better at nearly everything I’ve tried since from having examples to learn from- from seeing what “good” actually is.
If you’ll avail yourself of the resources listed here, you’ll soon have examples out the wazoo of what’s universally considered “good” and often “great” work in copywriting. As judged, not by awards or communitty accolades, but by dollars in the bank to the writers and product providers. Profit prevails.
Let’s dig in. Wherever expediant, I’ve listed links. You can Google all the rest.
(Remember …we actually value information more when we have to invest some effort into getting it! Ha! See there…I’ve done you a great favor already!)
51 Must See Copywriting Example Resources
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Here is a list of 50 unique copywriting resources along with a brief description of the benefits to be found there:
1. Swiped (swiped.co) – provides a binge-worthy archive of successful sales letters, emails, headlines tips, etc for copywriters and marketers.
2. Copyblogger (copyblogger.com) – Articles and examples of effective copywriting.
3. The Gary Halbert Letter Archive (thegaryhalbertletter.com) – Newsletters with copywriting advice by legendary Gary Halbert.
4. Dan Kennedy’s Shop (magneticmarketing.com) – Products and trainings on direct response copywriting by expert Dan Kennedy.
5. John Carlton’s Archives (john-carlton.com) – Ads, long form sales letters, promos created by expert copywriter John Carlton.
6. Scientific Advertising (book) Claude Hopkins (scientificadvertising.com) – Full text of Claude Hopkins’ foundational advertising and copywriting book. (You can aso get a free pdf copy of this book from Drayton Birds website).
7. Ogilvy on Advertising (book) by David Ogilvy – Classic advertising and copywriting advice from the late, great copywriter and ad agency owner, David Ogilvy.
8. Breakthrough Advertising (book) by Eugene Schwartz – Highly respected copywriting techniques and formulas by Eugene Schwartz.
9. The Robert Collier Letter Book (book)- Examples of successful sales letters from early 20th century copywriter Robert Collier.
10. Drayton Bird on Copywriting (draytonbird.com) – Copywriting articles, examples, and trainings from legendary copywriter Drayton Bird. Extensive free marketing library.
11. Copy Chief (copychief.com/blog) – Headlines, ads, email swipes for copywriting practice.
12. Classic Long Form Sales Letters (awaionline.com) – Examples of effective long form sales letters.
13. Copyblogger’s Headline Swipe File (https://copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/) – Blog post on successful headline examples to study.
14. Sales Letter Resource (https://swiped.co/file/sales-letter-from-scott-haines/) – (offer) Searchable database of sales letters organized by product type.
15. Dr Robert Cialdini’s Influence (influenceatwork.com) – Articles on persuasion and compliance techniques for copywriters. Cialdini is a ‘must study’ for copywriters who wish to persuade effectively.
16. Web Copy That Sells (book) by Maria Veloso – Examples and advice on optimizing web copy. An older reference book technology wise, but with timeless principles you can always benefit from.
17. Copyhackers (copyhackers.com) – Copywriting tips and techniques focused on online conversions.
18. On Ad (https://onadvertising.com/tag/copywriting/) tips, articles on marketing today
19. The Gary Halbert Newsletter (thegaryhalbertletter.com) – More classic copywriting advice in Gary Halbert’s newsletter archive.
20. Digiday Copywriting Examples (digiday.com) – Copywriting and marketing articles, examples and tips from Digiday. Great reference for modern technology updates.
21. The Copywriter’s Persuasion Toolkit – provides an overview of the persuasion process, getting attention, telling stories, and writing “reason’s why” copy that sells. Based on 100 years of buyer psychology and science.
22. Marketing Examples (marketingexamples.com) – Fun, refreshing, simple visual archive of print ads, commercials, direct mail pieces, etc. Binge worthy!
23. Swagger Magazine (swaggermagazine.com) – Copywriting tips and examples for marketing to men. Great examples of high-end product marketing.
24. Women Copywriter’s Page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069874265846) – Copywriting discussion and posts group aimed at the female demographic.
25. The Book on Writing by Paula LaRocque – Techniques for improving writing skills for copywriters.
26. The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert – Compilation of persuasive sales letters by Gary Halbert. You can buy the book of compiled letters Gary wrote to tell his son everything he knew about becoming successful, or get all the individual letters here in pdf for free: https://morgancrozier.com/boron-letters/
27. Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman (book)- Copywriting formulas, tips and examples for writing persuasive copy.
28. Breakthrough Copywriter by David Garfinkel (book) – Copywriting techniques to improve skills.
29. The Copywriter’s Handbook by Bob Bly (book) – Step-by-step copywriting guide.
30. Masters of Direct and Digital Marketing by Ronnie Congemi – Successful direct marketing and copywriting campaigns.
31. Copy Cafe (https://copycafe.co.uk/blog/) – Free and for members resources to study and practice copywriting.
32. Copyblogger Advanced Content Marketing Guide – Copywriting resource focused on content marketing.
33. CopywritingCourse.com (https://copywritingcourse.com/blog/) discussion on successful sales letters and promotions.
34.Words That Sell (book) by Richard Bayan – A classic guide to crafting compelling language in advertising and copywriting. Examines the psychological tactics that make copy persuasive based on studies in consumer behavior and psychology.
35. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman – Classic advertising copywriting advice.
36. Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples – Early 20th century copywriting techniques by one of the industry’s great pioneers – that still work today!.
37. The Ultimate Sales Letter (book) by Dan Kennedy – Creating effective long form sales letters.
38. BreakthroughMarketingSecrets “BTMS”(https://www.breakthroughmarketingsecrets.com/blog/) – Copywriting case studies, examples and advice from expert Jim Edwards.
39. A Technique for Producing Ideas (book) by James Webb Young – Improving creativity and ideation for copywriters.
40. My Life in Advertising & Scientific Advertising (book) by Claude Hopkins – Two foundational books on advertising and copywriting.
41. Million Dollar Emails (book) by Corey Perlman – Email marketing copywriting guide.
42. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman – More classic copywriting techniques for advertising.
43. Tested Advertising Methods (book) by John Caples – Timeless copywriting methods from early 20th century.
44. Breakthrough Advertising (book) by Eugene Schwartz – Highly respected copywriting techniques and formulas.
45. Ogilvy on Advertising (book) by David Ogilvy – Widely praised advertising and copywriting advice.
46. The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier – Early 20th century sales letter examples.
47. Secrets of Writing High-Performance Ads (book) by Drew Eric Whitman – Direct response copywriting techniques.
48. The Brain Audit (book) by Sean D’Souza – (psychotactics.com) Techniques for creating persuasive copy by understanding how the brain processes information and makes decisions. D’Souza provides frameworks like CORE and the Persuasion Slide to help craft messaging that compels action. Great free infor and email newsletter on his website at: https://psychotactics.com
49. Made to Stick (book) by Chip & Dan Heath – Principles for creating memorable and effective messages.
50. Hey Whipple, Squeeze This (book) by Luke Sullivan – Fun, historical look at advertising. A great classic creative advertising and copywriting guide.
51.DAK and the Golden Age of Gadget Catalogs (blog post by Cabel Sasser) (https://cabel.com/2023/11/06/dak-and-the-golden-age-of-gadget-catalogs/) Tons of vintage catalog ads and promotion examples, along with links to dozens more.
That should keep you busy for a while, eh?
***It is important to remember, right and legal, to use the work of others to learn from and to emulate. To model principles and style. BUT NOT TO STEAL WORD FOR WORD! ***
Once you’ve loaded your mind to the brim with great ideas, the best place to get all those ideas out and down on paper so you can transform them into organized, persuasive copy that sells to make you money, is by using the proven-to-work templates and simple worksheets inside The Copywriter’s Persuasion Toolkit.
Remember, at some point, we all have to stop studying and start doing.
All the knowledge you think you’ve gained from gorging on information amounts to nothing but space in your head, until you put that information to use.
Gorge. Binge. Bookmark this page so you can keep all these references close at hand.
Then, go write something that sells something!
To Your Success!
– Robert Schwarztrauber
