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How can you tell if a sales letter is a good role model to learn from?

by Delta223
7 replies
I'm starting to copy sales letters to develop a mental muscle memory of how good ads are written. My issue is that in the back of my mind I just don't know if Gary Halbert's old letters have phrasing suitable for today's market. Or if the market has matured to a point that makes his letters non-ideal in the modern era.

I'm using Halbert as an example since I'm starting with his ads. But the same concern applies to John Calton, Clayton Makepeace etc.

My alternate path could see me copying high gravity Clickbank sales letters, but it feels impious to pass over the greats to instead copy faceless but proven sales letters on Clickbank.

Has anyone else dealt with this concern when doing their own hand copying? What are your thoughts on which role models are relevant and best suited to learning from these days?
#good #learn #letter #model #role #sales
  • Profile picture of the author John The Copywriter
    Great questions man.

    As far as the wording and phrasing goes for Gary Halbert's old letters and the greats like John Carlton and Clayton Makepeace, the way I see it, I try to focus on the psychological triggers rather than the specific wording that is used.

    As long as the copywriter/copy has a track record, makes money and you like their style, then that person is the right mentor for you. The whole point is to get better right?

    Psychological triggers > Wording

    Also, rather than looking for new sources to learn from, I started to go back and re-read and re-write the same old copies over and over again.

    It works.

    I hope this helped.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    A sales letter is good if it works. Whether it worked in the
    past or is doing so presently there is something to learn from
    that letter. Persuasion is an old art so I doubt you have to
    worry about studying "dated" materials.

    This may help ...


    -Ray Edwards
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    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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  • Profile picture of the author Evangelos Mintzioris
    Such a fun topic for me actually as in my opinion there is no right/wrong answer! Sure thing is that with all those "great" ads people are so fed up that have become apathetic to any(?) stimuli you might throw to them (and that's the nightmare of every marketer). Now if you ask me, i believe that there are some things you can do and they are hidden in patterns you see on the web. It's just more of a combination of intuition and some considerable amount of knowledge. I will be keeping an eye on this thread as i find it really interesting.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Delta223 View Post

    I'm starting to copy sales letters to develop a mental muscle memory of how good ads are written. My issue is that in the back of my mind I just don't know if Gary Halbert's old letters have phrasing suitable for today's market. Or if the market has matured to a point that makes his letters non-ideal in the modern era.

    I'm using Halbert as an example since I'm starting with his ads. But the same concern applies to John Calton, Clayton Makepeace etc.

    My alternate path could see me copying high gravity Clickbank sales letters, but it feels impious to pass over the greats to instead copy faceless but proven sales letters on Clickbank.

    Has anyone else dealt with this concern when doing their own hand copying? What are your thoughts on which role models are relevant and best suited to learning from these days?



    Keep in mind the copy isn't always what sells.

    Sometimes the selling is done just because of the person promoting the offer/product.

    A desperate niche on it's own can also make sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Gotta figure how most myths & legends we can relate to don't got no smartphones, selfies or vajazzlery bustin' outta their narrative arc.

    But we still understand these timeless tales ... still can relate ... an' I would wanna predict with sum degreea certainty that 50 years from now, Bambi still gonna make alla the cyborg kiddies weep their frickin' hearts out.

    I guess triggers're like miniature Suns in that way -- sureheart focal points around which varietous words an' word forms may wanna orbit.

    Gravity always gonna fix on the Sun ... sum burnin' heart need sumone got.

    So you gotta recreate the universe in superdesirable 3D all kinda Sun-centric, I guess.

    Sun center, orbit systema mutable nouns in workably active motion, plus or minus stoopid adjectives an' adverbs for effect.

    Gotta figure how the present moment rewrites itself over an' over -- fresh, noo, vibrant & pulsin' out -- to a script etched deep in the DNAa all chestnuts.

    Point is, anythin' gone before can be rewritten either BETTER or MORE CONTEMPO.

    Otherwise (an' I imploreya to take a breath here...)













    (real deep & sweet)














    we (along with all invention) 're srsly f*ckoed.
    Signature

    Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

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  • Profile picture of the author dddougal
    Its the techniques that work, you can just tell by reading them.

    The wotding of the old ads are a bit dated but it doesnt take much effort to bring them upto date.

    Im not sure claytons ads are outdated btw
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    First off, I would never rely on an easily manipulated stat like CB gravity to determine if a sales letter works or not.

    Second, If you think what you are looking at is outdated (I assume you are using online examples), start reading your junk mail rather than tossing it in the can. Yes, it's possible that the letter you get is a test package rather than the control, but even if it is, it's been deemed good enough to mail.

    Get yourself on the mailing lists of companies like Agora, Rodale, etc. and study their current packages. I guarantee they won't be out of date.
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