The Best of Gary Halbert: Notes for Smart Marketers

Gary Halbert was a copywriting genius. Here’s what I learned from the guy (I’ll keep adding to this as I study more):

• Work with a “starving crowd”. Find a market that is hungry for a solution to their problem, and feed them what they’re starving for. If you try to sell ice to Eskimos, you’re going to have a hard time, no matter how good your sales copy is. But if you find a group of people who are desperate for what you have, selling becomes easy. That’s the Gary Halbert way - find the starving crowd and feed them. It’s not just about creating a great product, it’s about finding a great market.
• Don’t be a pioneer, be a ruthless improver. Find a product that’s already selling like hotcakes (think weight loss, dating advice, that kind of thing), and make yours way better. Then write killer ads for it.
• Give people what they WANT, not what they NEED. Nobody NEEDS another diet book, but boy do they WANT to shed those pounds. Tap into those deep desires.
• Your sales letter is step one, then REPURPOSE. Take that awesome letter and turn it into articles, emails, whatever. Get your message in front of as many eyeballs as possible.
• Look personal, NEVER spammy. Bulk mail = trashcan. Handwritten envelopes = intrigue. It’s about seduction, not assault.
• “Reporter” ads crush it. Write an ad that reads like a news article about your product. People eat that stuff up.
• Want leads? Tiny display ads. People will read the heck out of those if they’re genuinely interested. Don’t shortchange your copy.
• Newsletters are TOUGH, but the payoff is BIG. If you’re a real expert, those subscribers are pure gold. They’ll buy from you forever.
• To sell a newsletter, give ’em both the quick-fix AND the deep education. A freebie report satisfies the instant gratification crowd, while the newsletter is for the serious players.
• Focus on LIFETIME VALUE. The first sale is just the beginning. Astonish people with how good your stuff is, and they’ll keep coming back.

That’s the Gary Halbert way. It ain’t always pretty, but damn if it doesn’t work.

Remember: Ideas are just a multiplier of execution. So get out there and DO something with this!

The Original Article From Obdude

These are my personal notes of concepts, ideas, golden nuggets and more from one of the best - if not the best - copywriter and marketer of all times, Gary C. Halbert.

This part is a work-in-progress and I’ll continually add to it as I go through Gary Halbert’s material.

By no means is this article meant to be 100% complete nor accurate.

I simply try my best to help you to become a better marketer and better at copywriting to ultimately make more sales.

This is what Gary Halbert was all about - making more sales in a professional, authentic, and extremely effective way.

You don’t sell people what they need, you sell them what they want!
Gary C. Halbert

Notes From Gary Halbert’s Direct Marketing Secrets Seminar

The 1h and 10min long video is available on YouTube:

If 100 equals success, 99.9 of that in direct marketing is “getting the sale”.

The 1 big question:

How can I sell my product on a cost-effective basis?

If selling is the number one thing you have to concern with, the number one question you have to begin with, is:

What is it that I’m going to sell? (what to sell)

What you want to sell ideally, is

• a superior version
• of a book or other information product
• that is already selling well
• with superior advertising.

It simply costs too much to be a pioneer when the road has already been paved.

You find good-/best-selling books through (repeatedly) appearing ads.

Example (suggested) book titles:

• What To Do About Arthritis Pain
• How To Pick-Up Girls Instantly Anywhere In The World
• How To Negotiate And Win No Matter Who You’re Up Against
• 57 Proven Ways To Lower Your Golf Score
• 27 Secret Ways To Melt Off Body Fat Hour-By-Hour
• Latest Facts On How To Cure Prostate Problems
• How To Flatten Your Stomach In The Fastest Way Humanly Possible
• How To Get What The US Government Owes You

These are proven appeals.

Never ending concerns of people. (evergreen niches)

You don’t sell people what they need, you sell them what they want!

Don’t try to be logical (smarter) about selling.

Become a student of markets!
- Gary C. Halbert

Gary Halbert On Selling Formulas

First step:

Get your selling presentation on paper.

Then: Transform/reform/adjust that sales letter into “delivery systems”.

The people of America sort through their mail while standing over a wastebasket.

Make up your mind about the true delivery (rate) of your message/sales letter.

Make your messages (appear) personal.

Never use teaser copy, never use bulk mail.

Selling is like seduction.

It’s NOT rape!

Seduction works best if there’s a little foreplay.

It’s not about HOW you ask for the order, it’s about WHEN you ask for it!

The dummies (in direct marketing) ask for it on the envelope.

Make your (direct mail) look personal, from one human being to the other.

Gary Halbert On Print Advertising​

Be the reporter.

Write a review of your book that looks like an article.

Ads that have an editorial-like look get 500% more readership than ads that look obviously like ads.

Ordering instructions are crucial parts of your advertising.

Study great ordering instructions.

Running Small Space Display Ads That Generate Leads

Don’t use classified ads.

Generally, you want your lead-gen ads to be display ads.

The people who are non-prospects aren’t gonna read three paragraphs of your ad. The people who are geniune prospects for your product want to know every damn single detail about it as long as it is still relevant. Don’t worry about long copy as long as it is still relevant.
- Gary C. Halbert

Gary Halbert On His Newsletter Publishing & Advertising Appeal

You make a major, material, magnificent difference in the profitability of your marketing efforts by re-positioning your product and your advertising appeal.

Gary recommends reading this book:

• E. Haldeman-Julius - The First Hundred Million (direct download here)

The unique way he was selling his books was that people really bought what they wanted to buy.

Some of the best (-selling) titles are:

• How to […]
• Secrets of […]
• The art of […]
• An amazing way to […]
• Now at last […]

Gary Halbert On The Newsletter Business

The most difficult form of information that you can sell.

The people who buy newsletters are the most intelligent, dedicated, and real-players in the world.

Why?

Because the people who don’t buy newsletters don’t understand that success is a process, not an event!

(but they want “the miracle answer” right now; that’s not what you get with a newsletter; they don’t want it parceled out month after month; they want to buy one $10 book to “make it rain money”)

You have to be an expert in your field; don’t “fake” a newsletter.

Put personality in your newsletter, and take a stance.

(and talk/write like you would at the bar, after two drinks, cutting through the crap and being authentic, real and direct. Put your personality in it!)

Gary On How To Sell A Newsletter (In A Way That Works Very Well)

Give away something valuable/premium that people can keep, even if they cancel/refund their trial subscription to your newsletter.

That premium is related to the newsletter and contains the “immediate, magic, genie-type” answer that people are looking for.

That way you satisfy both wants/situations!

(the “immediate gratification/looking-for-an-answer-part and the on-going, professional education part)

Selling Formula: Give away a premium (that you can keep in any case) + trial purchase of your product

You should think of yourself as building a relationship, not (just) making a sale.
- Gary C. Halbert

The first sale is the most unprofitable one you’ll ever make.

Think long-term, think LTV:

Lifetime clients, subscribers, seminar-attendees, etc.

Not just one-time buyers.

Satisfy your customers and deliver more than they expected!

(It’s very rare and because of that easy to (positively) surprise your clients, they will, therefore, buy over and over again from you)

Astonish your customers!

Astonish your customers with the quality of your service and your dedication and your product!
- Gary C. Halbert

Become an opportunity detective.

One of the biggest mistakes people make in selling is that they forget to ask for the order.
- Gary C. Halbert