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Robert W. Bly

Published: May 25, 2002
He has been called "perhaps the most famous copywriter of them all." From his office in Dumont, N.J., Robert W. Bly, author of the popular guide The Copywriter's Handbook, has been a full-time freelance copywriter for 20 years. The job, often described as "selling with words," involves creating such products as ads, news releases, press kits, brochures, direct-mail letters and Web sites. As a "side gig," Bly, 44, has also written or co-authored some 50 books, most on business topics (though his oeuvre includes such lighter fare as Star Trek quiz books). He has made a specialty of direct mail, he says, because it lets him write in a more personal voice and its success can be precisely measured. Copywriting novices, he reports, can earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year; savvy veterans, $75,000 to $150,000; and "superstars," $200,000 to $500,000 a year or more if they specialize in direct mail.

Credits: author/co-author of Write More, Sell More, The Elements of Technical Writing, The Online Copywriter's Handbook and many other books.

--Posted May 25, 2002
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