A Single-Page Sales Letter So Successful ... They Had to Build A Bigger Bank!

The Single-Page Sales Letter
That Was So Amazingly Successful ...
They Had to Build A Bigger Bank!

It seems I owe you an apology for last week's blog entry.

Somewhere amidst the meetings, phone conferences, and general chaos that comes with launching a business, I overlooked a perfect opportunity to not only present you with a must-have Swipe for your collection -- but also pay tribute to one of the best the business has ever seen.

I'm talking about the late, great Gary Halbert.

If you've been a copywriter or marketer for any length of time, I probably don't need to tell you who Gary Halbert was. Gary is a legend in direct response marketing. He created some of the most well-known sales letters and advertisements around. And he befriended and mentored many of the people considered masters of Internet marketing.

Gary passed away a few years ago. But Saturday, June 12th would have been his 72nd birthday. I had originally planned to share one of his most famous sales letters with you last week ... but forgot all about it until I'd already written and submitted last week's article.

So even though we're a week late, we're going to take a look at ...

Gary Halbert's Legendary "Coat of Arms" Letter


If you're a Gary Halbert fan, you've no doubt seen this letter before. After all, it's one of his most famous (and most successful) pieces.

But depending on your name, there's also a good chance you received it in the mail at some point ... because this little single-page letter mailed over 600 million times.

Let me say that again: This little, single-page letter mailed over six hundred million times.

This baby was in the mail for over 30 years. And at its peak, Gary mailed one million copies (1,000,000) of this letter each week. Depending on the name mailed to, this magic letter pulled in conversions as high as 23% with an average order of $3.00.

Needless to say, it was profitable. Smart marketers -- and Gary was one of the smartest -- don't keep mailing something that doesn't turn a profit.

So how much money are we talking? Well, in terms of today's dollars, this letter was pulling in a third of a million dollars every day. In fact, Gary had to hire a staff of 40 women just to deposit the checks that came pouring in -- as many as 20,000 in a single day.

There were so many deposits to make, the bank dedicated its third floor entirely to processing them. Soon afterwards, it opened an entirely new branch -- just to handle Gary's business!

Now THAT'S what I call a successful sales letter!


So make sure you study this gem in detail. Pick up the nuances in the copy. Count the number of times the prospect's name is used. Notice how everything about it is designed to look and feel like a personal letter and NOT a piece of marketing "junk mail."

This impression was only heightened by the way each letter was delivered -- mailed first class from the Bath, Ohio Post Office in a plain envelope. No teaser copy or address labels to break the spell ... the envelope (like the letter) looked to have been banged out on a typewriter.

And it worked like gangbusters.

As I said above, at its peak this letter was mailing 1 million copies a week -- and bringing in a third of a million dollars a day. Before the Internet. You can see why I consider this a must-have Swipe for every copywriter's (make that every marketer's) collection. So if you don't already have a copy, click here to download it now.

Until next time...

Best wishes for success!

Len

PS: I owe special thanks to Mark Joyner for his interview with Gary Halbert, in which Gary spilled the beans on many of the details mentioned above. As well as eleven "hidden persuaders" he used to virtually ensure the letter's success. I strongly encourage you to listen to the audio of this interview at least twice. You can download it free over at The Gary Halbert Letter. And if you aren't already familiar with Mark, be sure to check out his site:

Mark Joyner's Blog: Atomic Mind Bombs (Personal Development Brain Puzzle Cartoons).

Feel free to tell him I sent you.