The Lazy Man's Way To Riches

[David Babineau]

Hi Fellow Warriors,

Many of you have probably already seen Joe Karbo's legendary ad, "The Lazy Man's Way To Riches":

http://www.teddersrandomnotes.com/bl..._Karbo_Ad1.jpg

I've been studying this ad for about a week now and I think that this has to be one of the (if not, the) best-written pieces of copy I've ever seen.

Look at how everything ties in together and follows logically. Look at how he turns what I suspect was a "negative" (doesn't deliver via C.O.D. or bill them) into a positive, and does so seamlessly. The last 2 lines (and especially the last one) are perhaps two of the most powerful I've ever read.

If I was around 35 years ago, I can pretty much guarantee I would have bought this. And I'm sure if this was "recycled" today in some form it would still work great...

Anyway, just my 2 cents for the day.

Regards,
David

[TristanPerry]

Yes, that's an amazingly written piece

Adverts in magazines and newspapers (the good, intellectual ones, that is) can be a great source for good copywriting - be it a headline or the whole thing.

[Scott Murdaugh]

Funny thing about that ad...

He wrote it in one sitting, no editing, and it was one of the only ads he ever wrote.

Classic.

-Scott

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Funny thing about that ad...

He wrote it in one sitting, no editing, and it was one of the only ads he ever wrote.

Classic.

-Scott

You beat me to the punch. This was written in one of Joe Sugarman's
workshops, but it shows how your copy can FLOW when you write it
in one sitting--at least for me it does. The letter is very natural and
its real beauty is in the simplicity.

-Ray Edwards

[Mr. Subtle]

Originally Posted by Raydal

This was written in one of Joe Sugarman's workshops...

Joe Karbo wrote the ad in 1973. He attended Sugarman's seminar in 1978.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I too got the impression Karbo wrote the ad in his room
during a Sugarman seminar.

In any case, my impression of Karbo from the bits and
pieces I've read about his life is that he had been successful
in mail order for many years and probably written a lot
of ads. Maybe not the full-page format ads though.

I think he might have lost all his money at some point and
the ad for his book about mail order helped him get rich
again. Apparently the first printing of the book was not
very good and he got a lot of returns, but the ad was
a winner, so he improved the product.

[David Babineau]

Sugarman dissects this ad in "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook". As Mr. Subtle states, it was written in 1973 and he attended Sugarman's seminar in 1978. It sold 3 million books - anyone ever read the book?

[Scott Murdaugh]

Never read it...

But you just got me curious enough to check it out on Amazon, and it's got some great reviews...

Ugh... Blowing through the book budget today.

-Scott

P.S. I'm talking about "Lazy Mans Way To Riches"... Not Sugarman's stuff, which is what I think leads to the confusion later in the thread.

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by Mr. Subtle

Joe Karbo wrote the ad in 1973. He attended Sugarman's seminar in 1978.

Just reread Sugarman and realize that Karbo spoke about
writing the ad at Sugarman's seminar, but actually wrote it
earlier. My mistake.

-Ray Edwards

[Mr. Subtle]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Never read it...

But you just got me curious enough to check it out on Amazon, and it's got some great reviews...

Ugh... Blowing through the book budget today.

Dude, you really need to buy and read the basics FIRST before buying some $100 book that you mentioned in the other thread. Betcha every dime in my pocket that 5 of my top 10 list of copywriting books (see sticky) are going to teach you a TON more than that Garber book.

I can't believe you haven't read Sugarman's book new for $15 or used for $10... and you're buying some $100 book that is going to rehash stuff you can get for under $10.

[maximus242]

"Sugarman dissects this ad in "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook". As Mr. Subtle states, it was written in 1973 and he attended Sugarman's seminar in 1978. It sold 3 million books - anyone ever read the book?"

I have first edition of Joe Karbos Lazy Mans Way To Riches. Its a great book, has a section on writing copy.

Someone said its one of the only ads he wrote? No its not, Joe made his living in direct mail.

[Scott Murdaugh]

Dude, you really need to buy and read the basics FIRST before buying some $100 book that you mentioned in the other thread. Betcha every dime in my pocket that 5 of my top 10 list of copywriting books (see sticky) are going to teach you a TON more than that Garber book.

I've read Sugarman... I've read most of the books in the sticky thread.

I think there was some confusion, when I said...

Never read it...

But you just got me curious enough to check it out on Amazon, and it's got some great reviews...

I was talking about "The Lazy Mans Way To Riches". Not Sugarman.

As for buying the Garber book, he's a master of direct marketing offline... I work primarily online and feel like there's a lot about the offline world that I could learn from him.

Anyway, just for clarification, I have read the basics. And I'd be the first to agree that people should read the "must read" books before investing in anything else.

Peace,

-Scott

[David Babineau]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Never read it...

But you just got me curious enough to check it out on Amazon, and it's got some great reviews...

Ugh... Blowing through the book budget today.

Haha.. I've added it to my Amazon wishlist too (among with ~ 200 other books I have on there!) The annoying thing with living in Canada is that many of these "older" books aren't available to be shipped here...

maximus242 --"I have first edition of Joe Karbos Lazy Mans Way To Riches. Its a great book, has a section on writing copy."

Thanks for the feedback -- I'll try to get my hands on it..


Back to the ad, noticed something interesting...

You know how they say "talk about them" and not about yourself? Well, here are a few word counts on this ad (boxes excluded):

I / I'll / I'm -- 48
We -- 3
Me / My -- 16
You / Your -- 32

So basically 67 to 32 or a 2:1 ratio of "forms of I" versus "forms of you".

Now obviously this doesn't mean this works all the time but as always, there are exceptions to every rule. Anyway, food for thought...

[Loren Woirhaye]

well, it is conversational to use these pronouns a lot.

There's a book called "The Art of Plain Talk", by Rudolph Fleisch.
He devised a system for assessing the sorts of sentences and
words that engage people's attention.

In a nutshell: don't use abstractions if you want maximum
engagement from the broadest audience. Use short sentences,
use lots of pronouns and names. Have people doing things
to other people, with other people, or have animals as named
or "pronoun-ed" participants in the story.

I wrote briefly on my Warrior blog, on a lark, about this a few months
ago:
http://www.warriorforum.com/blogs/lo...your-copy.html

I haven't located evidence to support it, but I have a personal
theory that hearing simple stories releases endorphins in the brains
of most people. It may be a learned, Pavlovian reaction from
childhood, of it may be something in our DNA.

Along the same line some friends and clients will waste your time
(they have mine) wanting continual support, encouragement
and, basically, to hear other people speak warmly to them.
Some folks like going to church for this reason too. They like
to hear good news, spoken to them by somebody who seems to
care. In writing this is a useful thing to be aware of if
storytelling doesn't come naturally to you.

[David Babineau]

Great insights Loren and thanks for sharing that book..

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye

Some folks like going to church for this reason too. They like
to hear good news, spoken to them by somebody who seems to
care.

I happen to be one of those people. Never thought of it that
way. I even speak the "Good News" sometimes.

-Ray Edwards

[gjabiz]

Originally Posted by David Babineau

Hi Fellow Warriors,

Many of you have probably already seen Joe Karbo's legendary ad, "The Lazy Man's Way To Riches":

http://www.teddersrandomnotes.com/bl..._Karbo_Ad1.jpg

I've been studying this ad for about a week now and I think that this has to be one of the (if not, the) best-written pieces of copy I've ever seen.

Look at how everything ties in together and follows logically. Look at how he turns what I suspect was a "negative" (doesn't deliver via C.O.D. or bill them) into a positive, and does so seamlessly. The last 2 lines (and especially the last one) are perhaps two of the most powerful I've ever read.

If I was around 35 years ago, I can pretty much guarantee I would have bought this. And I'm sure if this was "recycled" today in some form it would still work great...

Anyway, just my 2 cents for the day.

Regards,
David

Yes, it is considered ONE of the great space ads ever written. Now this information comes from Harvey Brody, one of Joe Karbo and Joe Sugarman's mentor.

Karbo liked to say he wrote it in one evening, and perhaps he actually sat down and did write it, but, it had been tumbling around in his brain for weeks. When he sat down ad "wrote" it, it only took an hour BECAUSE he had THOUGHT it through for long periods of time.

Joe Sugarman put on his "seminar in the woods" about 7-8 years after he had atteneded A Harvey Brody seminar in S. CA. By the way Hrvey Brody MANAGED both Karbo and Suigarman's list.

I'm just coming off a summer of intense study into Karbo and Bud Weckesser, another known genius for space ads.

When Harvey Brody set up one of the first Computer Managed list service, Joe Karbo, Joe Sugarman, Gene Schwartz and many others used his service.

By the time Karbo spoke at Sugarman's retreat, he had hit his home run, and was never ablle to get close to it again, his Direct Mail letters were quite good too. Joe Sugarman encountered the alphabet government and it was a costly experience for him.

Many of those OLD masters have passed away or retired...funny thing, at 77 years old, their old mentor, Harvey Brody, is still going strong. Even Dan Kennedy givesHarvey credit for helping him to "see the light" regarding Safe Harbors and Toll Positions.

gjabiz

PS. Not only did I read the book, I bought it from Joe's office, and on the way out, I literraly bumped into Joe Karbo. He was amused I was so distracted with his book. We spoke several times while I was a student in Huntington Beach. Joe Karbo was a really nice man besides being an advertising genius.

[David Babineau]

Originally Posted by gjabiz

Yes, it is considered ONE of the great space ads ever written. Now this information comes from Harvey Brody, one of Joe Karbo and Joe Sugarman's mentor.

Karbo liked to say he wrote it in one evening, and perhaps he actually sat down and did write it, but, it had been tumbling around in his brain for weeks. When he sat down ad "wrote" it, it only took an hour BECAUSE he had THOUGHT it through for long periods of time.

Joe Sugarman put on his "seminar in the woods" about 7-8 years after he had atteneded A Harvey Brody seminar in S. CA. By the way Hrvey Brody MANAGED both Karbo and Suigarman's list.

I'm just coming off a summer of intense study into Karbo and Bud Weckesser, another known genius for space ads.

When Harvey Brody set up one of the first Computer Managed list service, Joe Karbo, Joe Sugarman, Gene Schwartz and many others used his service.

By the time Karbo spoke at Sugarman's retreat, he had hit his home run, and was never ablle to get close to it again, his Direct Mail letters were quite good too. Joe Sugarman encountered the alphabet government and it was a costly experience for him.

Many of those OLD masters have passed away or retired...funny thing, at 77 years old, their old mentor, Harvey Brody, is still going strong. Even Dan Kennedy givesHarvey credit for helping him to "see the light" regarding Safe Harbors and Toll Positions.

gjabiz

PS. Not only did I read the book, I bought it from Joe's office, and on the way out, I literraly bumped into Joe Karbo. He was amused I was so distracted with his book. We spoke several times while I was a student in Huntington Beach. Joe Karbo was a really nice man besides being an advertising genius.

Thanks for sharing your story - that's amazing

It also reminds me that I have a report from Harvey Brody somewhere that I need to read...

Best,
David

[jasondinner]

Originally Posted by David Babineau

Sugarman dissects this ad in "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook". As Mr. Subtle states, it was written in 1973 and he attended Sugarman's seminar in 1978. It sold 3 million books - anyone ever read the book?

YES, I am reading the Revised Edition with Richard Gilly Nixon for the second time and just
finisehd going through the companion "Roadmap To Riches" workbook for the first time.

IT CHANGED MY LIFE - (no bull****)

The first half of the book is all about YOU, then when he helps you get your head straight,
then he gets into the marketing of products part of the book.

Best book I ever read.

I read my declarations daily and do all the other stuff too.

It wasn't my first exposure to this type of philosophy on self development (first learned about it in Napoleon Hill's Think And Grow Rich), but it was THIS BOOK that made me
finally take action on it.

My life is already changing for the better and what he teaches can truly help you
get everything you ever wanted.

I also have the original book written by Joe and will be reading that after I finish book 2
of the revised edition.

And that ad is definitely one of the best I've ever read. The person I bought hte book from
on amazon included a copy of the original ad.

Truly a copy masterpiece.

But the book is even better than the ad that sold it.

But more importantly, READ THAT BOOK and do what Joe says. IT WORKS. I doubled my income about 30 days after doing what he says to do in that book.

Maybe it's a coincidence, but nothing happens by coincidence.

All The Best,
- Jason

[jasondinner]

Originally Posted by gjabiz

PS. Not only did I read the book, I bought it from Joe's office, and on the way out, I literraly bumped into Joe Karbo. He was amused I was so distracted with his book. We spoke several times while I was a student in Huntington Beach. Joe Karbo was a really nice man besides being an advertising genius.

That is so awesome that you actually met him in person.

I want to thank him for helping me take my life to the next level.

[NyceGuy]

Originally Posted by jasondinner

IT CHANGED MY LIFE - (no bull****).

This is just out of curiosity. How did it change your life, exactly?

[jasondinner]

Originally Posted by NyceGuy

This is just out of curiosity. How did it change your life, exactly?

Hard to explain EXACTLY how, but it encouraged me to finally implement
what I have read about in the past from other authors such as Napoleon Hill
and Chad Helmstetter.

And by doing so it opened my eyes to even more possibilities and keeps me
focused on my goals and desires I want to and will accomplish in my life.

It reinforced the importance of daily declarations and super suggestion.

It's really all about controlling your thoughts and what you say about yourself out loud.

Joe refers to this as Dyna/Psych and whether you know it or not, you are practicing it
every day.

Being aware of this FACT is what change my life and I am in total control of my thoughts
and the words that come out of my mouth and this has made all the difference.

If none of that makes any sense to you, then it's even more of a reason for you
to invest in this book.

Chances are you aren't where you want to be in several aspects of your life in addition
to the financial side of things.

This book can help you with that.

A 30 second conversation with you can tell me whehter or not you need to read this.

Or even just reading some of your posts can tell me a lot about you as well.

Hope this helps
Jason

[zapseo]

Yep. Love the ad. Bought the book.

Wrote it in 1973 ? Dang, could have sworn I was a teen when it
came out.

That ad did exactly what good ads are supposed to do: kept me up at night (well, maybe not at night) -- but it definitely did keep me thinking about it.

And yah, both the ad and the book are great.

I don't remember everything in the book (in probability) dang little.

@Jason -- yup, Dyna/Psych, hypnosis, affirmations -- all great stuff.
We don't go through life without leaving a trail. It's not hard to follow
the trails -- unless people are trained in how NOT to leave a trail.

Ah, fond memories.

@OP(?): Thanks for the link to the ad!

And about endorphins -- no doubt. Check out the fMRI studies that folks are doing, studying buying behavior. (And re-defining death, apparently! Separate study, but same technology -- I think that's in Deepak Chopra's latest book. About death, that is.)

But endorphins don't necessarily relate to buying behavior. After all, laughter & humor are known to boost endorphins -- but that's not a good reason to use them in your copy! (Although sometimes people jump to similar kinds of conclusions...)

Live JoyFully!

Judy

[David Babineau]

Originally Posted by jasondinner

IT CHANGED MY LIFE - (no bull****)

...

Best book I ever read.

...

But more importantly, READ THAT BOOK and do what Joe says. IT WORKS. I doubled my income about 30 days after doing what he says to do in that book.

Wow Jason that's an amazing story! Can't wait to read it...

Judy - no problem


For further Karbo reading here's an interview with him...

The Lost Joe Karbo Interview…Was He Really Lazy?


Cheers,
Dave

[mccflo99]

Yep, good ole' Joe Karbo.

Good find with that ad.

Chris Elliott

[MikeMarin]

How does the revised version compare to the original? Ive read the original and is one of the best books I've ever read

[erwindegrave]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Funny thing about that ad...

He wrote it in one sitting, no editing, and it was one of the only ads he ever wrote.

Classic.

-Scott

Really? It was written one time sitting with no revisions at all? It's great!

[jasondinner]

Originally Posted by MikeMarin

How does the revised version compare to the original? Ive read the original and is one of the best books I've ever read

I've only read the revised edition (reading original after 2nd go around with this one)
and found it to be great (see above testimonial in previous post).

BUT, the first time around I did not have the companion Roadmap To Riches workbook
which the revised edition pointed to throughout the book.

Not having it while going through this version made me want it really bad as if I was
missing out on something.

So I found one on Amazon (there are usually only 1-3 copies available at a time) and
coughed up $100 just to get my hands on it.

THEN, I read The Lazy Man's Way To Riches again with the workbook close by and
went through all the steps and that is why my life has changed and is changing.

The workbook leads you through the actual steps Joe Karbo tells you to take.

But you have to be ready for it.

Don't buy the workbook if you won't do the exercises. Let somebody else that WILL do
them get their hands on it.

Good luck finding a copy

Jason

[doctfeelgood]

YES, I am reading the Revised Edition with Richard Gilly Nixon for the second time and just
finisehd going through the companion "Roadmap To Riches" workbook for the first time.

IT CHANGED MY LIFE - (no bull****)

What a beatiful story, i too have read Napoleon Hill and i am about to try and order the one you are referring too sounds really good. I am so pleased that it all worked out for you.

[mark z]

Yes, Karbo`s copy is really masterpiece of copywriting.

It is interesting how "lazy man" described his real life in `75 interview:
"The idea of being lazy is appealing, but doing it, or rather not doing anything, is not my idea of a way to pass the time."
Say no more.

[wizard77]

I read that book around 40 years ago. Yes, I'm old. But it's one of the few books and ads I still remember. The book was a road map to self motivation and building a successful mail order business. Long since lost the book in several divorces and moves, but maybe I'll buy it online again.

There's a site in Nevada that seems to be offering Karbo's products. Not sure it's still a working site, but here it is: The Lazy Man's Way to Riche$ | News & Information Homepage .

The ordering/DL parts aren't working for me today, but the main site seems to come up OK.

Good luck.

wizard77

[Don Schenk]

Originally Posted by Scott Murdaugh

Funny thing about that ad...

He wrote it in one sitting, no editing, and it was one of the only ads he ever wrote.

Classic.

-Scott

Scott, did you ever read the book? I was around back then and remember the ad. I also bought the book.

Before writing this post I dug out my copy of "The Lazy Man's Way To Riches."

The first half of the book is about positive mental attitude - he called it "Dyna/Psyc."
The second half of the book is about how to get into direct response advertising. There is even a chapter on how to write advertising copy. He talks about some of the ads he had written. He wrote a lot of copy.

He was an advertising man who bought the all-night air time at a local TV station. This was in the days when TV stations just beginning to be on the air 24 hours a day. He bought the night spot, sold advertising, wrote copy, and put on an all-night program in which he did schtick and played movies.

He then committed to a quarter million dollars worth of purchases when the station decided to drop him. The station figured they could make more money selling that all-night time to other advertisers, so the station management did not renew Karbo's contract to buy the air time.

Here he was in hock up to his eyeballs. A quarter million dollars in the late 1960's would be like 2 million dollars today. He refused to file for bankruptcy, and instead, began researching how to get out of debt. He contacted all his creditors, and let them know they would be paid eventually, then Karbo began selling a book about "How To Get Out Of Debt."

With that, the California Bar Association tried to claim he was giving legal advice without being an attorney. He won the case and continued to sell his out of debt info.

A friend gave him a box full of peep-hole viewers - those fish-eye lens things you find in hotel doors or appartment doors so you can look out and see who is knocking on the door. Karbo repositioned them as the "Amazing Spy Scope" "See thorough walls, see through fences, see through doors." He sold-out of the viewers and had to buy more.

Strangely enough he didn't mail to the list of buyers of his "Lazy Man's" book to sell a back end product to them.

:-Don

@wizard - A fellow named "Richard G. Nixon" (no relation to dead presidents) bought the rites to Karbo's book. He acquired it from Karbo's family in the early 1990s. Nizon then re-wrote the book to add some of his own infirmation to it.

If you look real closely at the ad on that webpage, you will see the name "Richard Nixon" is also on the cover of the book. It's not the same as the original book. Nixon later came out with a workbook as a companion book the TLMWTR book.

[gjabiz]

Originally Posted by Don Schenk

Strangely enough he didn't mail to the list of buyers of his "Lazy Man's" book to sell a back end product to them.

This was one of Joe's mistakes which he readily admitted...he wasn't thinking life time value or long term...however, his "backend" for many years was his list, which was one of the first to be computerized and it rented over and over and over again...for years.

And the money he earned from his list was, perhaps, greater than if he would have had a backend because he didn't have any fulfillment costs with it. But he did later wish he would have developed a "family of products" to go along with Lazy Man.

gjabiz

[Rezbi]

Originally Posted by Don Schenk

A friend gave him a box full of peep-hole viewers - those fish-eye lens things you find in hotel doors or appartment doors so you can look out and see who is knocking on the door. Karbo repositioned them as the "Amazing Spy Scope" "See thorough walls, see through fences, see through doors." He sold-out of the viewers and had to buy more.

That made me smile - I remember the ads.

Is that what they were? Glad I never actually went ahead and bought one.

[FiverrGuru]

that whole book is a great big salesletter