Use lists.

Lists work for David Letterman, and they'll work for you. People love lists, whether they provide the structure for a book (50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 100 Best Places to Kiss in Southern California), spiritual programs (The Ten Commandments, The Noble Eightfold Path), or marketing copy. Lists help readers understand what you have to say, they're easy to remember, and most important of all, they attract attention.

Clarity is everything.

You only get one chance with your reader. If your reader has to stop and figure out what you're saying, you've lost him. If your reader hesitates between paragraphs, she isn't going to respond. Every sentence of your copy must be smooth, clean, strong, and persuasive. Every point must anticipate the next point.

Architects don't win awards for designing foundations, but without a well-designed foundation the building will collapse. Clarity is your foundation. You need to have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with your piece of writing, even if you don't know how to get there. The process of writing itself can be messy. You may have to throw away ten drafts before you are able to say what you have to say in a simple, direct manner. That's okay. Be as messy as you want, but just don't stop writing until you have said what you need to say with crystal clarity.

Be specific.

Once you have told your reader how her life will blossom by reading your book, you must follow up that message with real, specific, tangible proof. The poet William Carlos Williams declared, "No ideas but in things." This should be your motto too. Every title among the 50,000 plus published yearly offers either to entertain, inform, or inspire. Before readers can choose among them, however, they need more information. Give them something they can hold onto: scientific data, specifications, any kind of substantive information, a few vivid examples. Even though we agree that statistics lie, we respond to them. "Thirty percent of all headaches strike at 3 pm on Mondays." "Book sales are up 5, 10, 15%. Are you getting your share of the market?"

Make your message positive.

Step forward and meet your reader with a positive statement. While this advice seems simple, it's amazing how often publishers violate this rule. Asked by a salesperson to distinguish a new title from the competition, we often fall into explaining how this book is different in negative terms. "It's not like this one. It's not like that one." Sometimes you just have to go back to the beginning and rephrase the question. By using the approach of "Here's what this book does," you will take the reader by the hand and engage him. Relying on a negative description is like turning your back on the reader.

Embrace the virtue of simplicity.

Sensing that a piece of writing is not doing the job, marketers often pump up their prose, trying to make it cute, or fancy, or even profound. This is usually a move in the wrong direction. People read a flyer, the back cover of a book, or an advertisement, because they're interested in the subject, not because the prose is entertaining. Don't put your writing in their way. Advertising mogul David Ogilvy once convinced Eleanor Roosevelt to endorse a product. He considered the endorsement a coup, but the ad didn't create sales. People remembered seeing the former First Lady but couldn't remember the product she was endorsing. Elaborate prose creates the same problem. The job of marketing copy is to sell books, not itself.

Use the present tense (and the second person when possible).

In a press release, you don't feature an author who "wrote" (in the past tense) a book. Your author "explains" (in the present tense). Her book "tells," "describes," "reveals," "shows," "helps," "thrills," or "exposes." Your message is current whatever time of the day, day of the week, week of the month, or month of the year that a person reads your marketing brochure.

Likewise, you can tell your reader that people have saved their marriages with this book, or you can offer them the help they seek personally. You want to use a phrase such as: "Here's how to save your marriage today."

Sell the benefit.

This is an advertising clich‚ but it is nevertheless the most important of all these rules. People buy books for entertainment, or help, or information, or inspiration. Using this book, you will:

• "Double your money by the end of the year!"

• "Lose 10 pounds in 30 days!"

• "Get the job you want today!"

The benefits are clear in the above phrases: money, weight loss, employment. The secret to achieving these ends may be in the book's method or its features, but as consumers or readers our first interest is the benefit. Similarly, an intricate plot is a feature; a joyful read is a benefit. An intricate plot may make the book a delight to read, but nobody recommends a book just because the plot is intricate.

Know your reader.

This is not so much a rule as a prerequisite. If you don't know who you are writing a piece of copy for, take some time to find out. If you are writing direct mail copy for a professional book, you need to know the concerns of the professionals you are addressing. How will this book meet their needs? What is their test for credibility? What credentials do they look for in an authority? Are they accustomed to buying in the mail? Do they need or respond to a guarantee? If you can't answer these questions, you may be getting ready to waste a huge amount of money on printing and postage.

While different questions may be relevant, this same principle applies to every piece of marketing copy you write-the back cover of a book, a press release, catalog copy, even your editorial fact sheet. Know who you are writing for, what they need to know, and what will move them to the action you desire. The reader is your target.