Writing is an essential marketing skill – pretty hard to be very effective without it – whether that’s actually writing the words yourself or being able to recognize a well written sales letter from a freelancer. Most every high school English teacher in the world will give you the same advice: if you want to be a good writer, you have to read a lot. Two of my favorite books on writing, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and On Writing by Stephan King offer this as a key.

Just about any reading will improve your writing, but reading advice and examples from master copywriters will really help your marketing writing. My friends Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg have assembled a tremendous cheat sheet for anyone who wants to head my advice.

Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet Part 1 and Part 2 should take you well into the new year when it comes to consuming some great reading on the subject of writing.