The most effective way to learn any skill is to study the very best – and copywriting is no exception. That’s why in today’s post, I’m revealing who I believe to be the best copywriters of all time. Now obviously this is a highly subjective topic, and there’s no definitive way to rank these great writers. As a result, the copywriters below are listed in no particular order.
However, you’ll find that all of these copywriters continue to have a tremendous impact on the direct marketing industry to this day.
With that said, let’s jump into this list of the 25 best copywriters of all time:
Gary Halbert
Gary Halbert was one of the most well-known direct-response marketers and copywriters.
His persona and approaches to marketing are highly regarded by modern-era digital marketers and copywriters. Some of these approaches are documented in “The Boron Letters”, which are “a cult classic in the world of copywriting”, in the words of internet entrepreneur Miles Beckler.
Gary Halbert’s Boron Letters continues to inspire many copywriters to this day:
Joseph Sugarman
Joseph Sugarman was an American electrical engineer, marketing innovator, and founder and CEO of JS&A Group, Inc.
Sugarman used direct marketing and copywriting to sell many products over the course of his career, including:
- one of the world’s first pocket calculators
- the cordless phone
- the digital watch
In 1986, JS&A changed its marketing focus from selling electronic products to health, fitness and sunglasses. Later, in 1990, Sugarman concentrated solely on his line of BluBlocker sunglasses, which he sold in direct mailings, mail-order advertising, catalogs and on TV.
Sugarman’s Ad Week Copywriting Handbook is one of the top recommended resources for people to learn copywriting:
Eugene Schwartz
Eugene Schwartz was an advertising copywriter whose specialty was direct-mail campaigns. Schwartz was the author of 10 books, including “Breakthrough Advertising” and “The Brilliance Breakthrough.” He wrote some of the most celebrated lines in direct-mail advertising, such as “Give Me 15 Minutes and I’ll Give You a Super-Power Memory,” which launched the first book of the memory expert Harry Lorraine.
He was born on March 18, 1927, in Butte, Montana, and studied at the University of Washington. He moved to New York City in 1949, joining the advertising firm of Huber Hoge & Sons as a messenger boy and working his way up to copy chief. In 1954 he went into business on his own.
Mark Ford AKA Michael Masterson
Mark’s Website: www.markford.net
Mark Ford is one of the original titans who helped build Agora into the information marketing empire that it is today. Much of this growth came from Mark’s own writing, as he started many successful Agora divisions while with the company, including the Palm Beach Letter and Early to Rise.
Ford also wrote many books under the pen name “Michael Masterson.” These days, he spends his spare time writing poetry, collecting fine art, and practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Ford / Masterson’s many instructional copywriting and business classics include Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message:
Claude Hopkins
Claude C. Hopkins was an American advertiser and author.
He worked for various advertising companies, including Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company, Swift & Company, and Dr. Shoop’s patent medicine company. According to David Ogilvy, in 1907, at the age of 41, Hopkins was hired by Albert Lasker, owner of Lord & Thomas advertising, at a salary of $185,000 a year.
To track the results of his advertising, Hopkins tested headlines, offers, and propositions against one another. He used the analysis of these measurements to improve his ad results, driving responses and the cost effectiveness of his clients’ advertising. He termed this “scientific advertising.”
Hopkins wrote two of the most influential books in all of advertising: My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising. You can now get them both under one cover:
David Ogilvy
David Ogilvy was a British advertising tycoon, founder of Ogilvy & Mather, and known as the “Father of Advertising”.
Trained at the Gallup research organization, Ogilvy attributed the success of his campaigns to meticulous research into consumer habits.
Ogilvy is the author of the classic Ogilvy on Advertising:
Bob Bly
Bob’s Website: www.bly.com/
Bob Bly is a freelance direct response copywriter with nearly 4 decades of experience in multichannel marketing.
Bob has written copy for over 100 clients including Network Solutions, ITT Fluid Technology, Medical Economics, Intuit, Business & Legal Reports, and Brooklyn Union Gas.
Bly is the author of over 100 books, including The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells:
Matt Furey
Matt’s Website: www.mattfurey.com
Matt Furey has made millions of dollars as an email copywriter. Many top marketers like Mark Ford, Dan Kennedy, Matt Bacak, Caleb O’Dowd, Harlan Kilstein, and Ben Settle call him the “world’s greatest E-mail copywriter.”
Furey was one of the earliest pioneers of email marketing, using it to promote his own information products in the health and fitness industry.
Clayton Makepeace
Clayton Makepeace was named “Wold’s Highest-Paid Marketing Coach and Copywriter” by The American Writers and Artists Institute and by Bob Bly.
Makepeace believed that there is gold buried at the feet of every company owner.
His specialty was getting that treasure out of the ground and into the owner’s pockets quickly, efficiently and effectively — through the use of uniquely powerful but little-known and seldom-used organizational, management and marketing strategies and tactics.
John Carlton
Some marketers call John Carlton “the most respected writing teacher alive”… and the list of well-known marketers who freely reference John as their primary mentor for writing sales messages is just staggering.
John’s sales writing has been stalked for decades by many of the best (and most successful) marketers on the Internet, who freely admit to using John’s ads as templates for their own breakthrough pitches.
Carline Anglade-Cole
Carline’s Website: www.carlinecole.com
Carline Anglade-Cole is a direct-response copywriter who specializes in the alternative health field. She’s also an SEO writing strategist, corporate trainer, certified copywriting/business coach, and founder.
For over 22 years she’s mentored writers both freelance and in-house.
Gary Bencivenga
Gary Bencivenga broke into direct marketing working with Hall-of-Fame copywriter John Caples at BBDO and later David Ogilvy at Ogilvy & Mather, both of whom taught him quite a few tricks for systematically beating almost any control, even the strong ones.
Over the years, he’s supervised literally thousands of split-run tests and collected—like beautiful butterflies—the most powerful techniques to use in headlines, offers, formats, copy and design of direct response advertising.
Drayton Bird
Drayton Bird has over 60 years of experience as a copywriter, creative director and as Vice Chairman and Creative Director of the world’s largest direct marketing network.
Today he is the Chairman of Drayton Bird Associates which handles direct marketing and other marketing for clients large and small all over the world.
An internationally celebrated speaker and columnist, he is also the author of the best-selling Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, Marketing Insights and Outrages, and his rather scandalous autobiography, You Did WHAT?
Stefan Georgi
Stefan’s Website: www.stefanpaulgeorgi.com/
Stefan Georgi is considered one of the top direct response copywriters in the world. Since he started copywriting in 2011, Stefan’s words have grossed over $700MM in sales.
When not working, Stefan spends his time with his wife, Laura, and daughter, Eden. He also loves watching sports, playing golf, being outdoors, and is an avid reader.
Brian Clark
Brian Clark is a serial entrepreneur: the founder of Copyblogger, the midlife personal growth newsletter Further, and Unemployable, an educational community that provides smart strategies for freelancers and solopreneurs.
He is also co-founder of Copyblogger’s content marketing and SEO agency.
Joanna Wiebe
Joanna Wiebe is a conversion copywriter, the creator of Copyhackers, and the Copy Chief at CH Agency. For nearly 15 years, incredible companies like BT, Canva, Glowforge, Intuit, MetaLab, Prezi, SAP, Sprout Social and VWO have trusted her to optimize their copy.
Ben Settle
Ben’s Website: www.bensettle.com/
Ben Settle is an Internet marketer, entrepreneur, email specialist and author who writes about business, marketing and selling — as well as the occasional twisted monster story.
Along with Matt Furey, Ben is an advocate of sending very frequent emails to increase engagement and revenue from your email list.
I highly recommend Ben’s Big Book of Business – which bundles together all of his business book writings under one cover:
John Caples
During his six-decade career at the top advertising firm of BBDO, John Caples pioneered the techniques of effective copy-testing. The advertising industry’s most prestigious tribute, The John Caples International Award, was named in his honor.
Robert Collier
Robert Collier wrote one of the very first books on copywriting: “The Robert Collier Letter Book.”
Collier used the principles in the book to sell millions of dollars worth of household goods such as travel bags, books, overcoats, and so on. Yes, that’s millions of dollars in 1926 dollars, by the way.
Bill Bonner
Along with Mark Ford, mentioned earlier, Bill Bonner grew Agora from a small newsletter he ran on the side into a company that recently did over $1 Billion in revenue. He is the founder of Agora Financial, as well as a co-founder of Bonner & Partners publishing.
Victor Schwab
Advertising Age called Victor Schwab “the greatest mail-order copywriter of all time.”
In 1941, Schwab wrote a series of five articles for Printers’ Ink and called them “How to Write a Good Advertisement.” They featured his five-step copywriting formula:
- Get Attention
- Show People an Advantage
- Prove It
- Persuade People to Grasp This Advantage
- Ask For Action
This series was later made into a book with the same title and adding the subtitle: “A short course in copywriting.”
Leo Burnett
Leo Burnett was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc.
He was responsible for creating some of advertising’s most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th century, including Tony the Tiger, the Marlboro Man, the Maytag Repairman, United’s “Fly the Friendly Skies”, and Allstate’s “Good Hands”, and for garnering relationships with multinational clients such as McDonald’s, Hallmark and Coca-Cola.
In 1999, Burnett was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
John Forde
John Forde has over 24 years of experience as adirect mail copywriter, financial editorial writer, speaker and trainer for copywriting and travel writing seminars across U.S. and Europe.
He Co-authored “Great Leads,” with Michael Masteron / Mark Ford, as mentioned earlier.
Dan Kennedy
Dan S. Kennedy is the provocative, truth-telling author of thirteen business books total; a serial, successful, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; trusted marketing advisor, consultant, and coach to hundreds of private entrepreneurial clients; and he influences well over one million independent business owners annually through his newsletters, tele-coaching programs, local Chapters, and Kennedy Study Groups meeting in over 100 cities, and a network of top niched consultants in nearly 150 different business and industry categories and professions.
Dan Kennedy wrote many marketing and copywriting classics, including The Ultimate Sales Letter:
Brian Kurtz
Brian Kurtz is a serial direct marketer, and believes that marketing isn’t everything–it’s the only thing.
Kurtz loves direct marketing because there is no other form of advertising that measures everything we do; and with direct response marketing, online and offline, your marketing either works or it doesn’t…and the numbers don’t lie.