It’s a big reason why I got into copywriting in the first place.
To this day, I still study Gary Halbert’s ads and read his newsletters.
I recommend you do the same.
Because studying Gary’s work will quickly turn any confused, struggling copywriter into a money-making machine.
That is what this post is designed to do…
I’m going to reveal the top 10 lessons I’ve learned from studying Gary Halbert. These action-packed lessons will expand your mind and help you write better copy TODAY… if you apply them.
Who is Gary Halbert?
If you don’t know who Gary Halbert is, you are at a SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE to other copywriters.
Gary Halbert is probably the most famous and successful copywriter who’s ever lived.
He’s revolutionized the copywriting industry and has birthed thousands of successful copywriters and entrepreneurs through his teachings.
Halbert began his career in the 60s as a direct response copywriter. He specialized in direct response advertising.
He has sold billions worth of products through his ads.
Including, The Coat of Arms Letter, which is the most mailed piece of advertising in US HISTORY.
Gary has a loooooong success record filled with blockbuster ads, world-famous clients and countless successful business ventures.
Why Should You Study Gary Halbert?
The fastest way to become a kickass copywriter is to learn from the elite few copywriters who have achieved the desirable results you seek.
Gary Halbert has proven his success as much as any other copywriter.
Not only does he write killa copy, but he is also a great teacher.
I recommend every copywriter to read The Boron Letters, The Gary Halbert Letters and to study his ads via copy practice (read them out loud, analyze them and write them out by hand – I explain how to do this in this blog post)
Where to Find Gary Halbert's Ads, Courses and Books
Over the years, Gary has created tons of books, courses and trainings on copywriting.
Here are a few of my favorites:
This interview he did with Michael Fortin.
In addition to reading his books, you should also study his ads…
10 Gary Halbert Ads Every Copywriter Should Study
- 57-Year-Old Swimsuit Model Ad
- Attractive Women in Miami Ad
- The Amazing Black Jack Secret Ad
- Face-Lift-In-A-Jar Ad
- Amazing Money Making Secrets Ad
- Weight Loss Ad
- Famous Dollar Letter Ad
- Coat of Arms Letter Ad
- Government Owes You Ad
- Social Security Ad
10 Copywriting Lessons from Gary Halbert to Improve Your Copywriting Skills
1. Eye Relief
In The Boron Letters, Gary wrote about the importance of providing your readers with “eye relief.”
You want your copy to look inviting and make it as easy as possible to read your message.
If you do not provide eye relief for your readers (hard to read), they will avoid reading your copy.
6 ways to provide your readers with “eye relief”:
- Add parenthesis - You can make your copy easier to read by the judicious (when it makes sense to use) use of parenthesis. Parentheses make your copy easier to read, easier to understand and provide sweet “eye relief” for your readers.
- Use short sentences & short paragraphs
- Use wide side margins & lots of white space on the page
- Use large font (18-20px on web)
- Break up text with sub-heads, images and videos
- Variety of paragraphs… mix up the length of your paragraphs & sentences. For example, break up a long 8-sentence paragraph with a 2-word paragraph.
2. How to Murder Writer’s Block
One of the main reasons why I’ve never experienced writer’s block in my 4+ years of writing copy is because of what Gary Halbert said in The Boron Letters.
There is NO such thing as writer’s block.
It’s not real.
The cure to this imaginary “disease” is to write.
Whenever you sit down to write, WRITE.
Write whatever comes to mind.
Do not edit.
Write fast and you’ll quickly pick up momentum. Only edit after you’ve finished your 1st draft.
This is also the secret to becoming a better copywriter.
Write lots of copy, every single day.
3. Storytelling
Gary Halbert was a master storyteller.
When you study his ads, you’ll notice that 80% of them start with (and are based around) an exciting story.
Whenever studying Gary’s work, look for stories.
Analyze how he grabs your attention and keeps you glued through the fascinating stories he tells and how he effortlessly ties in his product or service at the end.
In Gary Halbert’s magnificent interview with Michael Fortin, he was asked about the power of storytelling to sell products.
Gary replied with a wild and engaging story that made me want to buy the imaginary product he used as an example to demonstrate the power of storytelling.
Listen to this interview and study how he tells this story. It’s black magic at work.
4. A-Pile vs B-Pile
This is one of Gary’s most famous lessons.
You see, Gary mostly wrote direct mail ads.
He came up with a genius way to get his mail delivered and read by more customers.
How?
He broke down the process that people go through when they open and read mail.
He figured out that most people open their mail next to a trash bin.
And they sort their mail into 2 piles.
B-pile: blatant advertisements that get tossed in the trash.
A-pile: personal-looking letters that get saved for later.
Gary boosted his response rates and made a king’s fortune by writing sales letters that looked personal (from the outside cover to the words written inside)
He also wrote in a very conversational tone. How a relative or close friend would write.
You can use this concept to improve your response rate on ANY platform (social media, Google, YouTube, etc.)
How?
Put yourself in your reader’s shoes.
Break down the exact process your readers go through on whatever platform you’re writing for.
Do so by consuming content on this media.
As you do…
Ask yourself:
What grabs your attention?
What kind of content gets you to stop scrolling and read more?
What makes you instantly ignore posts and scroll right past them?
Did any content entice you to click a link? If so, why?
Break down this process. Figure out what type of content gets people to stop scrolling, read and click on, then… model your writing off this.
5. Curiosity
There’s a great interview about Gary Halbert with two copywriting legends, Ben Settle and Scott Haines.
Scott Haines (Mongo) worked closely with Gary Halbert. He was one of Gary’s few protégées.
Anyway, Ben asked Scott what he learned most from Gary Halbert.
Scott’s response shocked Ben (and myself).
Gary told Scott that the number one reason why people buy is CURIOSITY.
Not self-interest.
Curiosity is the single most persuasive sales technique to use in your copy.
Curiosity works wonders because it grabs your attention and creates an intense itch that must be scratched. And the only way to scratch this itch is to buy your product.
2 best places to add curiosity:
- Headlines/subject lines
- Bullets
To get a full course on how to apply curiosity in your copy, and profit from it, study Gary Halbert’s ads.
Pay special attention to how Gary piques his reader’s curiosity with his headlines, stories and bullets.
Speaking of bullets…
6. Bullets
Another surprising lesson Gary taught was how headlines are NOT the most important part of your ad.
Bullets are.
Bullets reign supreme.
Why?
People often buy from the bullets.
In fact, many products have been sold by one bullet (out of dozens) that just “got em” (usually from piquing the reader’s curiosity).
Gary’s ads are filled to the bucket with fascinating and curiosity-piquing bullets.
I’ve learned so much on how to write great bullets from studying his ads, writing his bullets out by hand and reading these two newsletter issues:
"Meditation For Miserable People"
In this one the first one, Gary breaks down his entire process for creating powerful bullets.
And…
In the 2nd, he gives you 100s of bullets to study and write out by hand to improve your bullet writing abilities.
7. Keep your message SIMPLE
“No man ever went broke overestimating the ignorance of the American public.”
Gary preached how you should ALWAYS keep your message stupidly simple, clear and easy to understand (at a glance).
It’s not that your readers aren’t intelligent, but their attention runs thin.
Nowadays, we are bombarded by ads on a daily basis.
We have a million different ads, messages, notifications, fighting for our attention at once.
So, to cut through the noise and increase the chances of getting read, make your ad extremely simple to read and understand.
2 ways to achieve this…
- Write at a 5th grade level. Use the Hemingway app. Simply copy and paste your text into this app and it will tell you what grade level it is. If your copy is above a 5th grade level, it’ll provide tips for making it easier to understand.
- Use simple everyday language. Simply write as if you’re talking to a close friend at a bar.
8. Operation money suck
John Carlton (another copywriting legend) worked closely with Gary Halbert.
He shared a BIG lesson he learned from working with Gary…
The two copywriting giants were about to get down to business and start writing copy when Gary’s secretary bursts into the room with a whole bunch of “urgent” problems.
Carlton was disappointed because he was eager to start writing.
However, Gary surprised him.
He told his secretary to deal with the issues herself because he was busy bringing in the money.
The lesson?
You want to spend the majority of your time on the ONE THING that brings in the money.
For you, that’s writing copy for your clients.
Everything else can wait.
Your job as a copywriter is to make your clients rich (which in turn, makes YOU rich).
I’ve taken this lesson to heart.
I write first thing in the morning, for at least 1 hour.
I do NOT look at or reply to ANY messages from clients during this time.
When I write, I write without distraction.
9. The Hidden Reason People Don’t Buy
Gary revealed that there is a hidden reason why people don’t buy offers EVEN when they want the product, can easily afford it & believe all your claims.
The reason…
They don’t believe in THEIR ABILITY to use what you sell.
Maybe it’s a lack of confidence, or they don’t believe they are intelligent enough or whatever… but this poses a BIG problem for us copywriters.
Because this means you can write great copy but STILL get shit poor results.
However, there is a solution to this copywriting conundrum…
Express how easy it is to use your product and ACHIEVE the desirable results.
Give exact, step-by-step instructions and stress how the results are instant.
Also…
Motivate your readers on themselves.
The easiest way to do this is through social proof and stories.
Tell stories about people your readers can relate to who have faced similar challenges but have achieved the desirable outcomes your readers seek (despite their setbacks).
10. WHAT is More Important than HOW
Listen up…
This is probably the most important lesson Gary taught...
Your success as a copywriter has everything to do with WHAT you write, and little do to with how you write it.
How you write is the mechanical skill of writing. Your writing style and copywriting techniques –attention-grabbing headlines, listing all the features, adding urgency to your CTA’s, using power words, etc.
WHAT you write is based on what your market wants.
Their emotions, desires, problems, needs, etc.
You are writing to flesh and blood humans.
And the only way to write copy that gets them to read, respond and buy, is to write about WHAT they’re interested in and makes them tick.
You uncover this info from market research.
Oftentimes, if you have the right message to the right market, you can get away with crappy writing.
But you can have the best writing in the world and still flop like a flounder if you do not craft the right message.
For example:
Matt Furey (email legend) tried selling wrestling products to wrestlers. However, they flopped. Was it because of his copywriting? No. They flopped because wrestlers did not want to learn more about wrestling. Most of them were broke college kids who couldn’t care less about learning another wrestling move or technique.
How to apply this…
Find out WHAT your readers want and display it in the most persuasive way.
Conclusion
To get the most out of these copywriting tips…
Read The Gary Halbert Letter, The Boron Letters and study his top ads.
As you do, look for how he applies these 10 lessons.
And if you apply these lessons to your writing, I can almost guarantee you’ll transform your skills and make more money as a direct result.
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