Finally revealed after years of being shared ONLY with Insiders…

The Notorious "20 Clicks" Report

Outlining The Fundamental Genius Of Gary Halbert's Most Treasured

"First-Choice" Marketing Tactics

 

By The Guy Who Rolled Up His Sleeves

And Waded Into Gary's Head To Uncover Them…

John Carlton

 

Howdy…

 

            What you are about to read has been a main go-to resource of mine -- and many, many other top copywriters and marketers -- for almost two decades.

 

            By "go-to resource", I mean that I have referred to this amazing list of marketing insights and strategies over and over again when creating copy and consulting on business ventures. 

 

            You will recognize many of the items presented… because they are classic tactics, and because many have been featured in various books or have been the favorite tool of certain well-known marketers.  All professionals have various types of memorized or actual "cheat sheets" they refer to when plotting campaigns, or doing interviews, or lecturing, or wowing clients.

 

            But what makes this particular list so stunning… is that it really is a shorthand collection of ideas and tricks that have been tried… tested… and proven by one of the most famous and celebrated marketing wizards of all-time:  my dearly-missed old pal and all-round genius ad-man Gary Halbert.

 

            To the uninitiated rookie, an hour spent listening to Gary could make your brain explode.  He seemed to have an endless supply of wisdom, advice, plans and experience to draw on regarding any subject related to business and advertising.

 

            It was only because I spent so many years road-dogging and hanging out with Gary that I began to slowly see that there was actually a bit of a pattern to his thought process.  He could -- and did -- still surprise me, even after our second decade of friendship… and I would never say that I "figured him out" completely.

 

            Way too much pure, raw brilliance in the man for that to ever happen.

 

            However, I did (after careful study) finally break down a good part of his "first choice" marketing ideas -- the tactics and advice he used most often to get the results he became justly famous for.

 

            I originally created this list for my own use -- I was up on the stage, next to Gary, so often during our intense "seminar era" (from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, when we sometimes produced or attended a couple of events every month), that I felt I needed to be absolutely conversant with the theories he had developed about making advertising and marketing work.

 

            It was self-defense.  They guy could be brutal about one-upmanship, and much of the energy we generated came from our public competitive natures -- the trash talk, the practical jokes, the set-ups and knock-downs that was an integral part of our schtick on the stage.  In private, we were the best of friends, but we never censored our thoughts… and never missed a chance to embarrass, shock, or otherwise get a rise (or a laugh) from each other.

 

            It could get gruesome.  (And we would never allow anyone else to insult either of us and get away with it -- the high-energy competition was strictly a privilege of our friendship.) 

 

We both enjoyed the one-upmanship immensely… but since he was much better at it, at first, I had to scramble to get even.

 

            I had already mastered "sounding" like him on the written page… the "nuts and bolts" of keeping all copy cohesive and coherent, when working with him on a project.  (Since we both took whacks at many copy jobs, I had to be able to seamlessly adapt to his writing style.)

 

            But here's a big secret for you:  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.

 

    John Carlton

 

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.  However, Bond and Kevin insisted that I give you a way to discover the many things I offer copywriters and marketers.

 

So… I will happily offer you another free report… which consists of 7 killer marketing strategies and pro-level insights that will be emailed to you. 

 

Just hop over to www.marketingrebel.com, scroll down to the box where I offer the "7 Strategy Lessons", and leave your email address.  We'll email you the lessons right away.

 

Or, you can go to my blog, www.john-carlton.com -- there's a place to sign up for the 7 lessons there, too.  (There are also many years worth of blog archives available on that site -- another goldmine of info, tactics, advice and insight, if you're hungry for more.)

 

Enjoy the notes.  Remember -- 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:

            HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE IN THE COMING FINANCIAL BLOODBATH

            THAT WILL BE CAUSED BY DRUG DEALERS AND OTHER CRIMINAL

            SCUM!

 

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:

                        CRAZED GERMAN AUTOMOBILE EXPERT INVENTS A UNIQUE

                        BALLPOINT PEN THAT CAN BE USED FOR UP TO SIX HOURS OF

                        WRITING WITHOUT YOUR HAND GETTING SORE OR TIRED!

 

                        AMAZING BOOK BY FRUSTRATED FEMALE FORMER MEDICAL

                        STUDENT REVEALS CURE FOR PMS! … and it costs less than a

                        single doctor’s visit!

 

                        KANSAS CITY HEADHUNTER REVEALS 7 AMAZING SECRETS

                        ON HOW TO “STEAL” TOP EXECUTIVES FROM RIGHT UNDER

                        THE NOSES OF YOUR STIFFEST COMPETITORS!

 

                        HOW TO GET BACK ALL THE GAS MILEAGE THE

                        GOVERNMENT TOOK AWAY FROM YOU… Andy Granatelli’s

                        former-mechanic swears this ugly thing really works!

 

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

            (a) Personalized by city:

                        AN OPEN LETTER TO EVERY BUSINESS OWNER IN MIAMI

                        WHO SECRETLY KNOWS HIS ADVERTISING SUCKS!

 

                        AN OPEN LETTER TO EVERY PUBLISHER IN NEW YORK

                        WHO HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF BY A PRINTER!

 

            (b) When nationalized, personalized by group:

                        AN OPEN LETTER TO EVERY INSURANCE SALESMAN WHO’S                                 FINALLY SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING BIG MONEY!

 

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 all benefits.

                        EXAMPLE: THE LAZY MAN’S WAY TO RICHES.

 

            ANECDOTE: The “Tugboat” Theory of lead generation.  How tugboats are able to move much larger vessels in a harbor.  Heavy chain is attached

to heavy rope, to lighter rope, finally to light line, so the process of

attaching a tug to a ship needing towing is gradual.  This works for bringing prospects into your business… starting easy and slow, gradually moving up from lead generation to selling the high-ticket products.

 

                        EXAMPLE: Blind ad, letter, video, follow-up letter

                                    and phone call.  Earned over $2.7 million in one year for one marketer.

 

2c. “Small” ads.  Usually with free report or free recorded message offer, part of 2-step.

                        FREE REPORT BY L.A. AD WIZARD REVEALS 7 AMAZING

                        SECRETS THAT CAN MAKE YOUR BUSINESS GROW LIKE

                        CRAZY ALMOST OVERNIGHT!

 

                        FREE RECORDED MESSAGE BY LOCAL MEDICAL DOCTOR                          TELLS YOU HOW TO GET INSTANT RELIEF FROM PAIN!

 

                        FREE RECORDED MESSAGE BY “MR. X” REVEALS 7 AMAZING

                        SECRETS ON HOW AND WHERE TO PICK UP GIRLS IN ST.

                        LOUIS!

 

                        HOT NEW (FREE) REPORT BY ALAN ALDA REVEALS AMAZING

                        SECRET OF MAKING MONEY FAST!

 

2d. Testing.

            (a) For business markets, test in Investor’s Business Daily --

·        It’s the hottest of hot Wall Street Journal readers.

·        There is almost no hassle getting ads accepted.

·        Reliable response at fraction of WSJ rates.

(b) Roll out in Wall Street Journal.  Remember, there are regional issues

                        available.

(c)    For consumer markets, test in the Midnight Star.  Roll out in the National

Enquirer.

 

3.      Classified ads.  Lead generation.  See above for headlines.

(a) Use toll call to further quality prospects.

            FREE RECORDED MESSAGE REVEALS HOW ANY BUSINESS

            IN SEATTLE CAN SAVE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IN PHONE

            BILLS OVERNIGHT!

(b)   Use “audio-text” company to handle many calls at once, make sale on phone.

(c)    HALBERT’S 3-STEP C.O.D. TECHNIQUE (Collect On Delivery):

1.      CALL FOR FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

2.      GIVE SOLID INFO, THEN MAKE SALES PITCH – USUALLY 2-1/2 MINUTES LONG.  MAKE PAYMENT C.O.D.

3.      SEND “THANKS” LETTER BEFORE C.O.D. PACKAGE ARRIVES.  RESELL PROSPECT, HAVE THEM WATCH FOR PACKAGE… AND REVEAL THAT THERE IS A “SPECIAL SECRET SURPRISE” IN THE PACKAGE FOR THEM.

 

4. “Rave Review” PR releases.

            (a) Write it yourself, offer to newswire services as “turn key” copy.

                        HALBERT’S “SNEAKY” PR TECHNIQUE: SLANT HEADLINE SO

                        THAT IT TOUTS THE MEDIUM YOU ARE USING.  “NEW BOOK

                        BY FAMOUS AD EXPERT SHOWS WHY NEWSPAPERS ARE BEST

                        MEDIA BUY IN U.S.!”

            (b) You write it and you place it in the paper as paid advertising.

 

5. Use the Tear Sheet technique on all of above to mail to hot lists.

            (a) First class, handwritten envelope.  Newsprint ad.

            (b) Handwritten Post-It note, or on newsprint itself,

                        “Hey Joe, read this!  It’s great! – J.”

                        (“J.” seems to be the most ubiquitous initial to use.)

            (c) Use “generic” back page, like stock quotes.

            (d) Use saw to cut pages, so they appear torn.

 

6. Telemarketing.

            (a) Can double sales, and “bump” each sale up substantially.

            (b) Numbers, not individual sales, are the key.

                        ANECDOTE: Gary’s encyclopedia experience taught that even a poor

                                    salesman could just learn the pitch by rote, and make a good living

                                    by seeing lots of potential customers.  Most would pass, but a

                                    small percentage would take it.

(c)    “Can” the pitch of your best salesperson, and script it out for the rest of your crew.

(d)   CARLTON’S “CANNED OPTION”:  Live caller offers the prospect a chance

to hear a “guru” or celebrity give his canned talk.

(e)    HALBERT’S DOLLAR BILL 2-STEP TECHNIQUE:

1.      Send $1 bill letter, make pitch.  Ask for a call back.

2.      Wait 3 days, then call them:  “Did you get my letter?  It had a $1 bill attached…”

(f)     CLAYTON MAKEPEACE’S TRULY SNEAKY FED EX TECHNIQUE:

1.      Send your letter by Federal Express.

2.      Send a fax the night before:  “Your Federal Express package is coming tomorrow morning.”

3.      You call them right after 10:30 a.m., and talk about your package.

 

7. Infomercials.

(a)    Defer to experts.  But not to ad agencies!

(b)   Expect to pay minimum $100,000 for good 30-minute show.

(c)    2- and 10-minute slots would be ideal for many products, but no time is available in those chunks.  Game is "over" for most entrepreneurs, after large media companies bought up all "late night" cable and network time for paid programming.

ANECDOTE: The “Get Skinny with Marilyn Show” concept could beat

            the restrictions, offering 3 products in a 30-minute show format.

(d)   Media buying is the crucial factor, and experience counts.  [Update: Online, places like www.bloggingheads.tv may create a whole new venue for producing and showing infomercials again.]

 

8. 900 and 976 numbers.  Pay-to-call technique, opposite of toll-free 800-type phone lines.

            (a) Rapidly changing market.  May come and go as a "go to" tactic, depending on your needs.

            (b) Call forwarding to audio text companies is one way to keep it on auto-pilot. 

 

9. Card decks.  Pre-packaged mailers where you share the package with other marketers.

            (a) Defer to people who understand how decks are created and distributed.  Some businesses can make this work, but it needs a killer offer that stands out and makes the casual reader pull your card and keep it nearby.  Urgency is critical -- use limited offers.

 

10. “Guerilla” videos/DVDs/streaming video.  Huge, burgeoning market.  [Online marketing has re-created this market again.)

(a)    Cheap to produce, cheap to reproduce.

(b)   Defer to Guerilla Bill and his network of guerilla “video nerds.”  Pay no more than $70 a “finished” minute.  (Versus the thousands an agency charges.)

(c)    “Talking heads” are great, even desirable.  No fancy graphics are necessary in information-specific products!  (Like backhoes or exercise stuff.)  Just “can and clone” your best salesman.

ANECDOTE: The talking macaw video.  Set up TV next to your non-talking

macaw, play video, bird talks, and your investment is worth ten times more

instantly!

(d)   DEPOSIT TECHNIQUE: Offer prospects a “free” video/DVD, but ask for a $20 deposit that’s refundable, or rebatable upon purchase.

(e)    GUERILLA BILL’S PERSONALIZATION TECHNIQUE: Send your prospect a blank-looking video with his name written on it, free.  Include handwritten note that says “Hey Bob – You should watch this video right away.  It’s got an important message you really need to see! – J.”

 

11. Audio tapes.  [Or CDs.]

(a)    Great way to instantly add value to any product.  Even if the tapes are only recordings of the written material, they can double the perceived value.

ANECDOTE: Marketers have discovered that a great majority of people never listen to the tapes, even though the tapes were a major reason they bought the product. They could tell this after discovering that large numbers of tapes accidentally went out with nothing on them, yet no one complained.

(b)   Taped messages are a legitimate part of the “retaining process” (which psychologists estimate to be 17 repetitions).

 

12. Paper and Ink.  The "basics" of direct response marketing.

(a)    Best way for Direct Marketing rookies to get involved.  Become an expert in any subject and sell special reports.

(b)   Best way to cash-in on your expertise in any subject.

HOT NEW REPORT BY TV STAR REVEALS 6 SECRET WAYS TO BREAK INTO SHOW BUSINESS RIGHT AWAY!

(c)    Legally safe.  First Amendment applies to all info products.

(d)   Great to use as “premiums,” added value.

(e)    Combine existing material into special reports that are worth more.  See Howard Ruff’s penny letter.

 

13. Yellow pages.  Use real ad techniques instead of lame recital of address and phone.  Give reader a REASON to call you:

            WARNING!  DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING A NEW AIR

            CONDITIONER UNTIL YOU READ THIS!

(a)    Offer free report.

(b)   Offer free recorded message.

 

14. How to get your book published.

(a)    Present publisher with a turnkey solution to his problem having to think up ways to sell books by:

1.      Providing camera-ready text

2.      and camera-ready cover art

3.      and a camera-ready, finished ad campaign that includes PR releases, ads, radio spots on tape, TV spots on video, etc.

(b) Sell your book online first, as ebook, and go to real publisher saying "I've already sold thousands of these online… so the market is hot".  He'll have trouble saying "no" to a pitch like that.

 

15. Catalogs.

(a)    Reduce your catalog to just the items that sell well.  (Often only two or three items in a huge catalog.  Operation MoneySuck basic.)

(b)   Sell your hottest products on the front and back pages.

(c)    Sell your hottest, hottest product alone, through a letter.

ANECDOTE: Gary’s coat-of-arms catalog was reduced to a single letter, a single product.  Outsold the original catalog by thousands and thousands of sales.

 

16. Product-Dump seminars.  To sell many products in one seminar.

(a)    More or less blind opportunity letters to select DM lists by city.  Personalize by city.

(b)   First speaker has best results, last has worst.  (Unless you're as skilled as Dan Kennedy, who preferred the final slot.  Tailored his pitch to attract exhausted attendees at end of day.)

(c)    Promoter gets 50% of each sale plus the best spot in the line-up.

 

17. Goldmine markets.  In approximate order:

(a)    Diet.  By far.

(b)   Look younger.

(c)    Get rich quick.

(d)   Business opportunities.

(e)    Pain relief.

 

18. Simplify your marketing as much as possible.

(a)    Simply say what you have to say in your headline, and the rest will just flow.

EXAMPLE OF PROBLEM: The Alaskan shipper who wanted to compete with UPS, but only on 5-day delivery from Seattle. 

Answer: FREE REPORT REVEALS AN AMAZING SECRET THAT LETS SEATTLE BUSINESS OWNERS SHIP ALMOST ANYTHING TO ANCHORAGE AT DIRT-CHEAP PRICES!

 

19. Re-name products and businesses so they clearly describe what they do.

(a)    Not “Those Funny Phones!” but:

HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE IN THE GROWING 900 LINE TELEPHONE MARKET!

(b)   Always use benefits that fill a need in your reader.

The basic “hot buttons”:

·        Greed

·        Popularity

·        Sex

·        Desire to be above the crowd

·        Health and comfort

 

20. Guarantees.  Reverse the risk -- you shoulder all the risk, so buyer is "covered".

(a)    Longer guarantees drop return rates.  Do not fear giving long guarantees.

(b)   Conditional double-money-back guarantees increase initial response.

(c)    30-day holds on checks and credit card charges increase response by decreasing buyer resistance.  Pain for accounting, but results warrant it.

 

21. Pricing.  The "new" paradigm of how to price information products:

(a)    $19.95 plus $3 shipping and handling.

(b)   $39.95 plus $3

(c)    $69.95 plus $4

(d)   $99.95 plus $4

(e)    $199 and up.

ANECDOTE: Gary’s best price for mail order books was $24 plus $1.88 shipping and handling.

 

ANECDOTE: Dan Kennedy found that $49 plus $4 is the best price to use below $99.

 

22. Gary’s “Brain Surgeon” anecdote.  You get an attitude that is not wishy-washy, which dictates that you are in command.  This is why "celebrity" works -- celebs are perceived to be "insiders" with access to better knowledge, better advice, better lifestyles.  Same with doctors, astronauts, special forces soldiers, and anyone else who is in a position of respect or power that most people never attain.

 

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Okay, we went over 20… and counting all the variations, we gotta be over fifty or so useable, tested and proven items. 

 

Such is the nature of going deep with marketing genius. 

 

A few things borrowed, a few stolen, many created from pure testing and gut-feeling risky adventures.

 

All genius, however.  A LOT of money has been accumulated using these tactics as foundations.

 

Go forth, and create your own variations… and let me know what you come up with. 

 

As stark as these notes are, they are nevertheless a candid glimpse into the workings of one the best marketing minds of our era. 

 

Stay frosty…

 

And oh yeah… don't forget to hop over to www.marketingrebel.com or www.john-carlton.com and leave your email so I can send you the those killer 7 marketing lessons.

 

John Carlton

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