First-Choice Marketing Tactics

The Notorious "20 Clicks" Report Outlining
The Fundamental Genius Of Gary Halbert's Most Treasured
"First-Choice" Marketing Tactics

Finally revealed after years of being shared ONLY with Insiders.

The REAL money in most projects comes from the strategy… and not just from clever copy.
In fact, great copy can't make a bad strategy work at all.

But a killer tactic -- like the dollar bill letter -- can work even with sub-par copy (as long as you cover the fundamentals of the sales process).

It's only when you combine brilliant copywriting with genius marketing… that the magic happens. The best copywriters remain in demand and at the top of the "A List" because they are also savvy marketers.

So, yeah, this discovery of mine -- that Gary's "bag of tricks", while huge, was still not so infinite that I couldn't spread it out and examine each item -- was a turning point in my ability to finally understand the "game" of high-end marketing at a deep (and proven) level.

This list is priceless. You literally cannot put a value on it -- for anyone with the brains and cojones to use the insights and specific strategies presented here, the sky's the limit on your bottom line.

Quick story, before you get into the list: I almost misplaced the damn thing, and lost it forever.

Years after those heady days of frequent seminars… while moving my office from one cluttered joint to a nice, clean new joint (which would soon be just as cluttered as the old one)… I came across a beat-up banker’s box stuffed with dog-eared files that hadn’t seen daylight for years.

Treasure, to anyone involved in marketing.

Among these files were the original notes I’d taken years ago, during one of our infamous "hot seat" seminars down in Key West, Florida, after I'd had my little epiphany about digging into Gary's bag of tricks.

Now, I had helped co-produce most of Gary’s biggest seminars and boot camps, and helped him develop the unique “hot seat” segment that became the highlight for most attendees. (To be fair, I believe Jay Abraham actually coined the term “hot seat,” but we ran with it.)
We called it “giving them their moment under the lights” – by bringing attendees up on stage with us, one at a time, putting them in the hot seat, right there in front of everybody, and grilling them about their business, their advertising, and their problems. All the experts and specialists in the crowd were invited to give their two cents, and attendees in the audience loved to get involved, too.

Sometimes, huge bells go off in your head while watching experts tear apart someone else’s problems. And it was a rare day when the person in the hot seat didn’t walk away from the experience with enough new marketing ideas to go home and earn a fast, fat fortune.

Hot seats remain one of the best features of marketing seminars given around the world.

Anyway… as I watched Gary perform his magic with each new hot seat (and we would often do upwards of 40 at each seminar), I began to take notes on the “menu” of marketing solutions in his head.

These were solutions he had discovered, honed, borrowed, stolen or created from scratch over his long career as marketer and copywriter.

Each one, all by itself, has been responsible for a separate fortune being made by some client, at some time – often Gary himself. This is proven stuff.

They are all mini-lessons in brilliant marketing strategy – the kind of lessons most advertisers never come close to receiving on their own.

So, during this one particular seminar, I paid very close attention to that “menu” in his head. It was a tough job, since I was on-stage while I scribbled my notes, participating in the hot seats. I was multi-tasking like a mad man.

But I also felt like Indiana Jones, discovering a previously unexplored mine brimming with precious gems.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of what Gary used in marketing himself… because he continually came up with new strategies, and continually changed old ones to fit new paradigms (such as the Web, which wasn’t yet a viable marketing source when I took these notes).

Nevertheless, this list pretty much outlines Gary’s “bag of tricks” circa 1990 – a time when his “batting average” for forcing projects to be successful was probably the best in the history of advertising.

In short… this is priceless material.

It is not “dated” at all, despite the focus on direct mail and print ads… because you would have to lack even a drop of salesman’s blood in your veins not to immediately see how these amazing (and proven) strategies and ideas could easily and quickly fit into any marketing problem today.

Yes, even on the Web.

I called them “clicks” because, as I watched him work, it was as if each strategy was a gear in a huge wheel in his head… and as he listened to the person in the hot seat, and weighed the options available for fixing any problem… that huge wheel would spin around, “test driving” each strategy, searching for the right fit.

And when he hit upon the strategy that best fit the solution needed, I imagined that wheel locking into place with a huge “click,” and bells going off and lights whirling like a carnival game, where a big winner has just been announced.

Whir, whir, whir… click. BANG! (Whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop…)
Mediocre marketers – and, Lord, don’t we have enough of them on the scene – seldom have a “bag of tricks” with more than two or three “clicks” in them.

Few businessmen alive have the breadth of experience, the inherent brilliance, or the street-level savvy that Gary Halbert brought to bear on even the most standard-issue marketing problem.
He never guessed when making a marketing suggestion. He really did have an answer that would work, and work well, if followed up on with guts and enthusiasm and some real-world salesmanship.

So, here it is -- my "raw" notes, laid out in stark terms.

You may have seen versions of this report elsewhere – like a fool, I let another writer gain access to them soon after that seminar, and the cat was out of the bag.

Still, there’s something unique and useful about having the original notes.

I typed them up without editing from my handwritten pages (which are now lost). It’s interesting to note that this was done on a then-state-of-the-art dot matrix printer, and each page probably took 3-4 minutes to print.

Ancient machinery.

Another world, seemingly a lifetime away.

But that only means that this is a true piece of history you hold in your hands, and damned valuable.

Enjoy it, respect it, and use it.



P.S. By the way… I'm sharing this with you as a favor to Bond and Kevin, simply because they asked me to. I have been urging them to keep this site alive and vibrant, and I'm honored to be one of the first of Gary's loooooong list of friends and colleagues who will also submit material.

If you've been a fan of Gary's work, you know who I am… since I'm frequently cited (and playfully insulted, as was our style) throughout Gary's newsletters. We were damn good friends, and I miss him deeply.

I would gladly have submitted this notorious list here without any notion of getting something "out" of doing so.


While the original notes pre-date the Web, the essence of the tactics are still profoundly valuable, both online and offline.

Mostly, this is an exercise in going deep with classic, killer salesmanship.

Now, roll up your sleeves and dig in…



UPDATED DRAFT

GARY HALBERT’S “First Choice” 20 or so ideas that he has stolen, stumbled upon or created from thin air with the aid of his over-active imagination and a mob of clients willing to let him experiment and prove that certain marketing tactics really do work better…


1. First class $1 bill letter. The elements: Live stamp (no indicia), no I.D. on corner card (except return address for nixies), direct printing of outgoing address (no labels or obvious computer-generated addressing)…

(a) For direct sales of high-ticket items.

(b) For lead generation of high-tickets.

(c) As “congratulations” letters for purchasing, used before package arrives. Great with C.O.D. offers.


1a. Penny letter. Attach real penny to top of letter as "conversation starter".

(a) For direct sales of low-ticket items.

(b) For when a $1 bill isn’t necessary (as in the Ruff Times promotion), or is cost-prohibitive. Should always be tested, nevertheless, against a $1 bill.

(c) For lead generation.



1b. Celebrity letter. Uses photo of celebrity for attention.

Example of headline used with photo:
"ERNEST BORGNINE REVEALS 16 AMAZING “SECRET” DIET TIPS USED BY HOLLYWOOD STARS TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST!"


1c. Personalized letter.
(a) Use name in headline and/or salutation. JOHN SMITH FINALLY GETS SMART, STARTS EARNING OVER $75,000 A YEAR!

(b) Use the new database that gives the name, address, phone, age and birthdate of every man, woman and child in U.S. HOW TO GIVE YOUR 7-YEAR OLD A BIRTHDAY PARTY ON OCTOBER 17 SHE’LL NEVER FORGET!

(c) Use personalized information.

“Dear Friend, Do you still own your 1998 Ford Taurus?”

1d. Endorsed letter. Introducing you, from someone the reader already knows.

(a) From a “guru” to his flock.

From: Howard Ruff
Provo, Utah
August 12, 1989

Re: Your special invitation as a Ruff Times subscriber from Gary Halbert

(b) From a member of a group to the group.

FROM THE DESK OF DR. JOE BLOW Dear Fellow Dentist,

(c) From a recognized authority. FROM THE DESK OF “DIRTY DICK” LAWLESS, ATTORNEY AT LAW Dear Dr. Joe Blow,


This may be the only letter you ever receive from an attorney that actually has good news for you! (ANECDOTE: All professionals desire “Wall Hanging Recognition”… something -- like a plaque or award -- they can put up that makes them look good. Providing a certificate with their name on it get high attention.)


1e. Gimmick letter.

(a) Attach relevant item to letter and refer to it in lead sentence or headline. Examples: Bag of dirt (for real estate offer), bio-feedback card (as general curiosity factor), Japanese Yen (for financial newsletter), condom (for “How to Pick Up Girls” book).

1f. Photo-enclosed letter. Uses a free-standing “mock” photo in envelope. (Print on glossy paper, 8 or more to a page, and cut. Will look like an actual print.) “Dear Friend, Please take a look at the enclosed photo…”

1g. Headline-only letter. The "basic" blueprint for a letter. Example: The Crime

Connection special report had a simple letter with this headline:


1h. Sealed envelope technique. Enclose a separate envelope in the main envelope, sealed. Write “PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THIS ENVELOPE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ MY LETTER!” on the outside.

(a) For “hiding” reply coupons, brochures, etc. that would clutter up the package otherwise.

(b) For placing real sales pitch when used with a cover letter to soften up prospect first.
Say, from a dentist who will “front” for your offer with an endorsed cover letter, but doesn’t want his name on the actual piece. Same with celebrity.


1i. Postcards.
(a) For 21-day contacts with house list… the minimum "gap" you should have without having some contact with your list.

(b) Offer one special product at steep discount, or with free bonus.

(c) Short, powerful story.

(d) Ask for phone call.


1j. When to stop mailing a letter:

When the mailing stops breaking even! Too many marketers mail a great piece just once, and "assume" their entire list has seen it. Not true. Many people throw the first one away, or need to see it a couple of times before responding. Let the initial response dictate what happens -- if it's a killer response, keep mailing. Every 21 days.


2. “Star, Story, Solution” display ads.

(a) Use a "star" celebrity for instant credibility and glamour.

ANECDOTE:
TVQ is the “secret” rating of TV star’s believability. Never use a celebrity without knowing their TVQ.

(b) Create your own celebrity with a story that creates PR buzz
Examples:




2a. “Open Letter” ads. Simple headline device to segment your target audience quickly.

(a) Personalized by city:


(b) When nationalized, personalized by group:



2b. Karbo-type “Blind” ads. For opportunity market, get-rich-quick, multi-level or other markets where you desire to keep the actual product or service a secret until the prospect has been “programmed” to want the results first. (Named for Joe Karbo, of "Lazy Man's Way To Riches" fame.) "Blind" means "actual product is not explained in detail -- you must order to find the answers to all bullets and al