Summary

Gary Halbert's copywriting wisdom, encapsulated in his book "The Boron Letters," provides seven key lessons to elevate copywriting skills, focusing on mindset, market selection, customer understanding, attention-grabbing techniques, and continuous optimization.

Abstract

Gary Halbert, renowned as a copywriting legend, has set the standard for successful marketing campaigns across various niches. His teachings, as outlined in "The Boron Letters," emphasize the importance of a strong work ethic and the right mindset as the foundation for effective writing. Halbert advises marketers to identify a market with a high demand before creating a product, ensuring there is a "starving crowd" eager for the solution offered. Understanding customer behavior is crucial, as it allows for the creation of copy that resonates with what people actually buy, not just what they say they want. Halbert's AIDA formula serves as a cornerstone for capturing attention, maintaining interest, creating desire, and prompting action. He also stresses the significance of crafting a compelling offer that motivates readers to act, and the continuous process of optimization through testing and refining sales messages.

Opinions

Halbert believes that persistence and the willingness to keep trying are what separate successful copywriters from those who give up.
He suggests that finding a market with an existing demand is more effective than trying to create demand for a product.
Observing what people actually purchase, rather than what they claim to want, is a more reliable method for deducing market desires.
Getting attention in marketing is likened to sorting mail into an "A pile" for important messages and a "B pile" for junk; effective copy must stand out to be noticed.
The AIDA formula is championed by Halbert as a timeless structure for creating persuasive sales copy.
An offer within the sales message is considered the most critical element, as it can make or break the reader's decision to purchase.
Halbert advocates for rigorous testing of sales letters with a test audience to refine and optimize the message before a wider release.

7 Lessons From Gary Halbert to Make You a Better Copywriter

#5: Follow the AIDA formula

Gary Halbert is perhaps the G.O.A.T. of copywriting.

He’s had more multi-million dollar winning campaigns in different niches than any other copywriter — living or dead. And his copywriting book the Boron Letters happens to be one of the best books ever written on the topic.

So, without further ado, here are the top seven copywriting lessons that we can all glean from Gary Halbert:

1. Always Start With Your Mindset

Perhaps the biggest teaching from Gary Halbert is that great writing always starts with the right mindset.

In the Boron Letters, he gives the following advice to his son Bond,

“Everyone wants to climb the mountain, but the big difference between those at the top and those still on the bottom is simply a matter of showing up tomorrow to give it just one more shot.”

And I think it’s correct. If we don’t fix the fundamentals, no amount of tactics is going to improve our writing.

When most people get stuck, they quit. And they never improve enough to become successful. What Gary Halbert is trying to teach his son applies to all of us, we must start with our work ethic and be willing to put in the hours to write a successful campaign.

2. Find a Starving Audience

“You must always find a market first… and then concentrate on a product!”

As Halbert points out, where lots of people get stuck, is they try to manufacture passion for a product. They write amazing copy and market their product masterfully, yet they still can’t convince readers. There’s simply no demand for what they’re selling.

Instead, Halbert advocates that we find a thriving market and then find a product to supply the existing demand. Once we already know that people are desperate for our solution, the copywriting process becomes much easier.

In the book, Gary tells an interesting game he’d play at seminars, where he’d ask people what one selling point they would choose if they were running a burger stand. Some say superior meat. Others say sesame buns. A few mention location. And someone usually requests having the lowest price.

What does Gary ask for? A starving crowd.

3. Know Your Customers

“The way to deduce what people want to buy is to simply observe what they DO buy!”

Humans are complicated creatures. Most of the time, what we say and what we do are two completely different things.

And as marketers, it’s our job to know what people actually want to buy. We study the data and learn about the buying habits of our customers.

The only way to find a starving audience is to understand the actual behavioural habits of our customers. What are they really buying?

It’s a great reminder that in the world of online, we shouldn’t be mobile-first, we need to be data-first. That’s the secret.

If we base our copy on concrete data, we know that customers will be more likely to be interested in what we’ve got to say. And therefore more likely to buy something.

4. Get Attention

In the days of direct mail, Gary Halbert said there were two piles, the A pile, and the B pile.

When we view our mail, we filter out the important messages from the junk.

Whether it’s your company emails, social updates, or paid ads — it’s vital that we get on the A pile.

There are two ways to do this:

1. Clearly distinguish the value proposition and relevance to the reader

We’re far more likely to pay attention to content that clearly establishes its audience and value upfront. No tricks or B.S.

For example, we’re far more likely to read a personally addressed and carefully considered email than a generic email blast.

So ask yourself, will this tempt my reader to put my copy into the A pile?

Side note: I’ve written about this principle in a previous article, where I broke down Gary Halbert’s most successful sales letter.

2. Make your writing stand out

In lots of industries, we’re inundated with sales promotions and discounts. We’re desensitised.

If that’s the case in your business, try to do something a little different to attract the right kind of attention.

For example, Gary Halbert would often attach gifts like old coins or bags of dirt in his letters. These items would be enough to arouse curiosity in readers to put the letter into the A pile.

Often it’s just a case of considering, what’s a novel way of communicating with our audience. Is there something that we can do to separate our writing from the rest of the pack?

5. Follow A.I.D.A.

When Gary Halbert outlines his writing techniques, he never diverts aways from the A.I.D.A. formula. As a tried and tested structure, it forms the foundation of almost every top-performing sales letter ever written.

Here’s what it stands for:

Attention: An attention-grabbing headline that makes a promise to readers.

Interest: A hook that expands on your headline promise — it adds clarity.

Desire: Product benefits that entice your reader to buy.

Action: An irresistible offer that convinces them to buy now.

If you stick to this formula and apply it correctly, you can’t go far wrong with your copy.

6. Write a Compelling Offer

“Your offer… is by far the most important element in the entire sales message.”

The reality is that if your offer doesn’t convince readers to take action — it’s failed.

If your readers have gone through all of your sales copy and still decided that it’s not worth their time, it might be time to improve your sales offer.

You’ve already done all of the heavy-lifting and written a compelling page that’s aroused their curiosity. It’s now just about figuring out what will push them to make that extra step and make a purchase.

Gary Halbert used to spend the majority of his time copywriting creating irresistible offers. Whether it’s a powerful guarantee, an exciting bonus, or an unbelievable discount — it’s important to get it right.

It can be intimidating to make a bold offer, but it’s always important to weigh it against the benefits of increased sales and customer satisfaction. When you see your sales offer from this perspective, it’s an essential asset.

7. Keep Optimising

When we picture copywriters like Gary Halbert, it’s easy to get a distorted picture of their success.

It can seem like they just stumble upon million-dollar ideas, but this isn’t even close to reality.

The secret behind all the best sales letters is obsessive testing. They would send out a sales letter to a test audience (low risk) and analyse its performance before expanding its circulation.

It’s a great reminder that good ideas aren’t made overnight. They occur infrequently and are only discovered through rigorous testing. The beauty of this is that you don’t have to waste large budgets gambling on the wrong idea — you invest in what works.

As Gary Halbert illustrates copywriting success is just a matter of following the tried and tested techniques, and also maintaining the right mindset. Your copy may not be great immediately, but if you persevere and continue trying to fill a gap in the market — it will happen soon enough.