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Question for Guru Copywritiers.

by IRON_STRONG
9 replies
A good freind of mine just sent me a copy of Gary HalbertsMaximum money in Minimum Time.

this man was a genious.

His First big succesful Sales letter, (the coat of arms) had no headline, no marked text, and no other inserts.

if that letter was so successful, why are headlines so important? should someone risk putting a headline on their letter and making it look like promotional material disguised in a personal envelope,

or

should it be just that, a personal letter, in a personal envelope, no head line, no flashy test, just good copy with a good offer and a way to get the product?
#copywritiers #guru #question
  • Profile picture of the author Collette
    Can't say this enough: Know Thy Market.

    Gary knew what his market would respond to. It wasn't yellow highlights or screaming headlines. It was a solid offer, addressed to their interests, and giving them something they valued in exchange for a "fair" price.

    So simple in concept... not so simple in execution. And the baseline is ALWAYS: Know Thy Market.
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    Gary also did full page ads, with headlines. Gary also did sales letters, with headlines. I haven't done any specific count, but possibly most Gary Halbert salesletters (not in the newsletter) had headlines.

    Letters with teasers outside on the envelope still work.

    In other words, it really depends on the situation. In most every case you're risking little or nothing by testing a headline -- within two seconds the reader is going to know it's a sales letter, either way.

    "Dear Friend" is not a salutation you see in anything but sales letters.

    An exception might be where you 1) Have the name of the prospect and do a mail merge, using the prospect's name in the letter instead of "Dear Friend." 2) Are writing to existing customers who've bought multiple times.

    There is no law against testing both. In most situations, you're not "risking" anything. My guess is you're just not comfortable with direct response, and you're trying to make the format more fitting to your comfort zone. In those cases, my suggestion is to expand your comfort zone -- don't cherry pick Gary's one letter to prove some kind of case. (Gary Halbert ads are a poor choice to build that particular case around).

    Most people would rather risk going out of business than make sales in a way that nudged the outside edge of their comfort zone. Now that's what I call risky.
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    • Profile picture of the author IRON_STRONG
      thanks for the response. im no more "uncomforatble" with direct response than any young entrepenuer trying their first real marketing approach.

      just trying to look at all the scenarios here. i know the logic behind headlines and flashy text etc etc.

      belive me this next promotion comdined of direct mail sales letters, free offers, online opt in form, online sales letters, google ad's and such is way out of the comfort zone.

      but i know thats what it takes, so "here' goes". thank you both for the responses!
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  • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
    People respond to the genuine. honest words of a friend rather than the sales pitch of someone trying to make money from them. That's why his letter worked. Know your audience as Collette states and don't try to sell them but provide a service whereby they can acquire something they need and probably can't do without.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wedding
    Interestingly enough, the Wall Street Journal letter didn't have a headline either.

    I wouldn't right a piece without a headline whether Halbert did or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author IRON_STRONG
      Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding View Post

      Interestingly enough, the Wall Street Journal letter didn't have a headline either.

      I wouldn't right a piece without a headline whether Halbert did or not.

      Actually i forgot about that. thats been known as the most successful sales letter in hisotry hasnt it?

      This really raises interest to me. im not knocking eadlines but they can look real hokey and sound rediculous. none the less i am going to stick with what i've got for now.

      i will most deffitnetly test this in the future though. i am going to write a non marked up, know headline, personalized letter and send that out as well. ill track the results and see what works better.
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      • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
        I may be confusing Halbert's letter with one by Ben Suarez
        that used a similar tactic - mailing every household
        in the USA.

        In one of these cases they printed up a bunch of letters
        to Mr. Smith and sent it to all the Smith households and
        maybe a lot of non-Smiths as well. It was all in playing
        with the numbers that Halbert and Suarez figured they
        could make a profit.

        In Suarez's case it was a horoscope I think... with an
        upsell that would come with the $3 horoscope for a
        more personalized reading.

        Anyway, it was the POSITIONING of the offer that made
        the headline unnecessary.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidJohnson
    I'd like to chime in on this one because I think it a good question to ask. To headline or not to headline?

    I'm definitely going to second Collette on this one say that you must know your market. Sometimes a headline is what gets people to read other times the fact that it's so obviously an advertisement will get it thrown in the trash.

    If you believe what Joseph Sugarman said, and I do, he said the only job of the headline is to get the first sentence read.

    Too many copywriters spend way to much time on the headline thinking that it will sell whatever it is you're trying to sell when in fact it's just to get the reader to read the first sentence.

    I make this distinction because it's equally important to have a good first sentence if you want the second sentence read, a good second sentence if you want the third, and so on and so forth.

    Take a look at the first sentence in the Coat-of-Arms letter and you will see, "Did you know that your family name was recorded with a coat-of-arms in ancient heraldic archives more than seven centuries ago?"

    I don't know about you but I think that would make a great headline and the fact that this letter didn't look like an ad is what got the first sentence read. Gary Halbert was one hell of a salesman and knew what it would take to sell the coat-of-arms.

    And that brings us full circle to Know they Market (thanks Collette)
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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      You have to understand the marketing strategy behind the letter to understand its formatting.

      The Coat Of Arms letter was made to look like a personal letter from Mrs Halbert offering a few extra copies of a coat of arms with your family name.

      The letters were actually addressed to the name of the recipient eg. Dear Mr Halbert.

      Gary could do this because he was sending thousands of letters to Mr Halberts or Mr McDowells all across the country (originally he got the names and addresses out of the phone book then it progressed to something far more sophisticated).

      This was a powerful strategy because it was before the age of word processors.

      Computer created personalized letters were unheard of.

      Also the letters were sent by snail mail...a medium with far more impact than an online sales letter.

      The closest equivalent we have to this online is the email and strangely enough many emails that sell have quite a similar format to the low key, personal, personalized tone of the Coat Of Arms letter.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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