Is This What Gary Halbert Was trying to Tell us Before He Died?

Gary Halbert will go down in history as one of the greatest Copywriters known to man.

He was born June 12, 1938.

Sometime during the night of Sunday, April 8, 2007. He died peacefully in his sleep, in his apartment in Miami Beach,

He left a void in the direct response marketing industry that will never be filled.

Many of us didn't get to meet him in person, but we take solace in the fact that....

He Gave Freely And Never Shied away from sharing his hard-won Secrets.

Now, If you own a business….. and you'd love to do better.... Get more customers, boost sales and multiply profits without the needless frustration and hassle of doing business on the internet...

This letter is going to teach you something valuable.

I'm going to tell you two stories:

The first is about the greatest aha-moment I ever had.

Then the second story involves....

The Escapades Of a Cocky Indian-American and the wife of a popular Hollywood Star...

Okay.

Let's begin with my little story:

I first got bitten by the direct-response-marketing bug in February 2017…..

And you see..... Once you get bitten by this bug, what happens is....

......you lose your mind (in a good way), and like every obsessed would-be Copywriter, you start devouring every advertising classic you can lay your hands on:

Scientific Advertising, The Robert Collier Letter Book, Ogilvy on Advertising, The Boron Letters, All issues of The Gary Halbert Letter, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, The Ultimate Sales Letter, Kick Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel, Hypnotic Writing, Ca$hvertising..... ETC

Name it, I read them all.

Actually, these books (and many more not mentioned here) have become my companions.

However, like 99% of copywriters walking the surface of the earth, I was obsessed with the wrong things and the whole time, I was....

Doing it WRONG!

I just wanted to write…

I focused solely on writing copy….Keeping the essentials of killer Copywriting as close to my heart as your favorite politicians keep thoroughly manufactured lies close to their lips....

However, I was missing one thing... 

The Holy Grail of Killer Salesmanship…

Please note, when I talk about essentials of Copywriting, I'm actually talking about:

A compelling headline, a great opening, a darn good story with lots of visualized benefits, an irresistible offer….. And a supplied impulse to ensure the reader acts now.

So what's this holy grail of killer salesmanship?

Well, keep reading......

Because you're about to discover a cold hard truth about selling.

I had my fair share of successes…..

And of course, LOTS of failures.

But something (voices) deep down --- (maybe it was the devil and all his mistresses) kept telling me there was more to direct response marketing than the mere art of writing copy.

So I kept looking.

Kept digging…

Late nights…

Early mornings…..

Confused afternoons….

The search continued…

Until, accidentally, I discovered…. Why Only 20% Of Marketing Campaigns Succeed, and why the remaining 80% don't even see the light of day!

This was a secret long known by...

Original Mad Men Like Gary Halbert!

This “Aha Moment” would help shape the Copywriter that I’ve become.

In a moment, I'll tell you what this is all about... and how it can benefit your business in ways you never imagined!

But before we go any further....

You remember how I started this letter by saying I was going to tell you two stories? And that one was about....

A Cocky Indian-American and The Wife of a Famous Hollywood Star?

You say you remember?

Good.

Here's what that story is about;

Many, many moons ago.....

Tova Borgnine ----the wife of famous Hollywood star --- Ernst Borgnine, wanted to add a perfume to her line of products.

She traveled the world endlessly paying "sophisticated marketers" to take a shot at creating a fragrance which would please her.

Nothing worked.

Until she met Sir Gary of Halbert!

And here's what the Indian-American did ----- in his own words:

Why was that perfume launch so successful? Because the ad I wrote to promote it was written around a really terrific "BIG Idea." If you've got even one drop of marketing blood in your veins, you'll comprehend this particular "BIG Idea" in a flash as soon as I tell you the headline of the ad. Personally, I think it's the best headline ever written... and... here it is... so... you can decide for yourself: "Wife Of Famous Movie Star Swears Under Oath Her New Perfume Does Not Contain An Illegal Sexual StimulantExcerpt. ---- The BIG Idea ---- The Gary Halbert Letter.

As you probably already know....

Gary Halbert remains one of the all time greats in direct response marketing, and while he lived....He would always admonish his students to.....Focus less on writing copy and....pay more attention to.....developing BIG MARKETING IDEAS!

Why? Because....

It's So Damn Valuable!

The strength and appeal of the idea behind your marketing campaign can mean.....The difference between a home-run marketing campaign and a complete waste of time and money.

You see…. in direct response marketing.....

When it comes to persuading complete strangers to give you their hard-earned money….. far too much attention is paid to the writing of copy.....

And far too less on the concept, the appeal, the idea... 

The big overarching promise that makes a marketing campaign a Money-Minting Machine!

Listen:

Once you get the concept right, Once you get the appeal right, once you’ve found that big idea upon which your marketing endeavors will be built…..

It becomes 20X easier (and quicker) to come up with a compelling sales message that will take your prospect through....

 The Adventure of a Lifetime.

Once you have a big “not-messing-around, go-get-them-by-the-throat” idea or a very compelling concept for your product.....

......you can still sell a ton of products even if the copy is weak.

But if you don’t get the concept right… or the idea right….Even the Strongest Copy in The World Won’t Move A Single Soul in The Hungriest of Markets….

And that's because people (your target audience) are not exactly looking for strong copy

No. No. No!

What they’re looking for, is a big, emotionally compelling idea that may very well be the answer to their prayers.

Now, don’t get me wrong....

The sales copy is important too --- you should be very thorough with it.

But what I’m trying to do here is illustrate just how important a BIG IDEA is.

The Copy on your sales page is nothing more than the expression of the idea behind your product or service….

And if that idea doesn’t strike your audience as compelling… here's what's going to happen to your marketing campaign............

 It will pass like a ship in the night.

EXAMPLES OF Average "Me-too" Ideas

• How to Make Money From Forex Even Without Experience
• Take this pill and lose weight
• How to make money on the internet from home

EXAMPLES OF Big Ideas:

• OBAMA'S DEADLY REVENGE AGAINST AMERICAN SENIORS (If you're Over 60, you Need to protect yourself Now...)
  ​
• How I use Qwerty Trade Signals to Date Women Half My Age (My secret “Qwerty Investment Blueprint” could make you an Extra $10,600 this Month, no matter what happens to the Economy”​
  ​
• The CANCER MIRACLE That Will Stun The Church!
  ​
• How to Retire Early and Travel the World, Even on a $100 per month Income Alone...
  ​
• The Bikini-Secret of Lazy Greek Women – MELT AWAY Up to 43 Pounds of Unwanted Body Fat… in 35 Days….. With Zero Pills, Dieting Or Exercise.... Just Water & Farm Fresh Leaves.
  ​
• The Easiest Way to Make $850,000 in 2020 – Learn the Simple Secrets Of This Lazy Digital Nomad Who Works Just 3hours a Week…. And Spends The Rest of His Time With Caribbean Women

BIG captivating ideas!

All of them!

Look at those headlines and tell me that they look like the kind of stuff you read everyday....

And that's the problem with 98% of marketing messages out there.....

They all look the same.

No differentiation.

Everybody's saying the same damn thing.

Now, you may look at those headlines again and say….

They’re compelling!

I don’t know if they’re compelling though….

But I think we can both agree that the idea behind each one will most likely hit our target prospect like... 

Breaking news!

Something new….

Something amazing and different from all the various marketing claims and promises they’ve been exposed to in the past….........

And they’re probably thinking….

“Maybe this time, with this product…. My (money, weight etc) problems will be solved permanently.

Okay, one more thing and that's It!

You see, apart from the lessons I’ve learned from all the old masters…. I’ve also learned, from marketing geniuses like Mark Ford, Todd Brown, Evaldo Albuquerque and Ronald Nzimora that as marketers.....

We’re really in....

The business of creating arresting, captivating ideas that bring in money on Autopilot!

So focus on creating arresting, captivating ideas.

Once you understand your market, and you develop your BIG idea…. and you figure out your offer....

The copy almost writes itself because you’ve fed your mind with more amazing information than any sane person can handle…..

That’s it….

More later.

Andy.