The Boron Letters

I am blessed with a copy of the original, hand-written Boron letters and have read it several times over. The tactics are priceless and should be considered the Marketer's Bible. This is more than a "How-To" manual, it's lessons learned (with personal insight) from the greatest copywriter ever to walk the face of the earth, Sir Gary Halbert. The Boron Letters is a page-turning thriller into the mind of the World's Greatest Copywriter, along with rock-solid techniques that have withstood the test of time for developing Ad Campaigns that will stuff your wallet with cash. What you will learn are the techniques Halbert used to make himself and clients millions. This is Evergreen knowledge (stuff that never gets outdated) and will work whether you market by direct mail or online. There are some GREAT experts in the copywriting industry (most, if not all, trained by Gary) but, the one person who has received the most one-on-one time from Gary (in both business training and his personal life) is his son Bond, who has done an A+ job carrying the torch forward. It is a pleasure to not only have the added commentary (with added insights from Bond and how the Boron Letters are being applied in a world where marketing mediums are constantly growing and changing) but to have a Kindle version (my precious original NEVER leaves the office). You get more than just business and copywriting strategies that work. You get what Gary did on a day-to-day basis that made his copy rock-solid and kept him at the top of his game. If you are a marketer of any kind, this is a MUST READ and a MUST RE-READ several times a year.

Simply put: this book is much about marketing as it is about life lessons. I've studied Kern, Carlton, Kennedy, and was Neil Strauss' mentee for a time. But, of all that, I wish I'd read this book first. In fact, I wish I'd read it as a teenager. (Bond, you are a lucky so-and-so.) And I say it is as much about marketing as life lessons because... well... it is. The book shares insights on success, being your best, how not to get taken advantage of, how to make better decisions, friends to keep, and dead weight people to throw away. My only complaint is the number of typos. They don't ruin the book, but they do often interrupt the flow. However, these are personal letters collected into a book. That said, I've recommended this book to all my friends regardless of occupation. Now I'm recommending it to you, reader. EDIT/Additional point: You must read this book in the context of the time and place it was written. I recommended it to a young writer who later became apoplectic about some of the language--different time, different place, different circumstances, and different world view kids. If you're easily offended, don't read this book. Or... better yet, read it and take the good while ignoring the less than perfect societal views and use of language.

This book is written in a form of letters from a caring father, Gary Halbert, who is serving time in Boron prison to his son, Bond Halbert. Through these letters Gary is giving advice to Bond related to general health, well-being and conduct in life, as well as to direct marketing and copywriting. The letters also contain brief descriptions of incidents from prison life. Bond says he left them in this book, so that the reader would have an idea under what kind of conditions Gary wrote these letters. Gary walks his talk and is trying to teach his son through examples from his own life. Among those suggestions for well-being is the advice to run for half an hour or for an hour each day, or for that matter to engage in some form of physical exercise, not just for the sake of exercising the body, but because neuro-science has indeed proven that if you move your body, your brain works better, which would then influence your ability to think and come up with better ideas for direct marketing and copywriting. His next suggestion relates to eating fruits and fasting at least one day a week. Again, the idea is that if you have a healthy body, you'll be able to be more productive in your direct marketing and copywriting attempts. Gary then shares wonderful insights for direct marketing and copywriting, though in sporadic fashion, as they occur to him and sometimes he's not sure what should he mention next. In other words, they were written for Bond, who was at the time of writing these letters 16 years old and who also mentioned in the book that his father has been taking him to various direct-marketing and copywriting events or seminars since he was 9 years old. Even though these letters were written in the 80's, many of those insights are timeless, like different tips and tricks on how to attract attention, stimulate interest and desire, and call for action; how to go about getting the leads, to write simple and to read your copy aloud several times until it reads smoothly. Gary would mention what to do and what not to do - for example that you should first find the hot market, and then the product, rather than the other way around. And he'd describe the general process of developing and testing direct marketing packages, for example to start with 5,000 letters, and depending on response increase it to 50,000 or more. Since these letters were written in the 80's, Bond has added his commentary underneath each letter in an attempt to correlate those principles to internet marketing. I got the book in a kindle format, which may differ from the paperback. The edition of the book I purchased contains typos and grammar errors in the commentary, which makes you feel like eating a super delicious apple and finding a worm inside.

Non solo un libro che contiene i segreti di uno dei più grandi copywriter, maestro tra genio e sregolatezza... Ma anche l'emozione che scaturisce e traspare dai consigli che Gary Halbert dispensa all'amato figlio Bond dalle 4 mura di un carcere. Lettere semplici ma preziose, dal doppio valore. Se sei interessato al copywriting dei grandi maestri non puoi perdertelo, e ti ritroverai a ricacciare indietro qualche lacrima mentre ti metti nei panni di un genio incompreso che tenta di recuperare il dialogo con il figlio, trasmettendogli i propri trucchi del mestiere.

Gary Halbert was probably the best direct marketer and copywriter of the 20th century. In this exceptional book made up of letters from Gary to his son, Bond (himself a top copywriter and marketing consultant), he imparts his lifes wisdom. The letters were sent from the Boron Federal Prison and the original letters have become a cult classic. What makes this book so special is the updating of the letters in the form of a commentary by Bond telling how they apply today. From the basics of copy to what really gets people to buy to lessons from some of Gary's top converting offers (which led to billions in sales), the Boron letters is a must read. This is a must read for any student of marketing or indeed life... and that's no hyperbole!

You will learn a lot of good copywriting tips, and it’s a fun story, but don’t expect a solution to all your troubles. You’ll still have to put in the (road) work.

Das Buch wurde im genannten Zeitraum geliefert, ist unversehrt angekommen.

Au premier regard, ce livre de moins de 150 pages, dont la dernière édition mise à jour date déjà d'une dizaine d'années, n'invite pas particulièrement à la lecture. Le texte des fameuses "lettres" est présenté dans une typographie rappelant une vieille machine à écrire, et les pages ne sont même pas numérotées - un choix éditorial déroutant. Pourtant, derrière cette présentation austère se cache un véritable trésor de connaissances et de sagesse que j'ai trouvé profondément enrichissant. Gary Halbert y développe plusieurs thèses fondamentales qui transcendent largement le domaine du marketing direct pour toucher à l'art de vivre et de réussir : L'harmonie corps-esprit comme fondement du succès Halbert commence par une évidence souvent négligée : notre clarté mentale dépend directement de notre état physique. Il préconise l'exercice quotidien (jogging, marche) et le jeûne hebdomadaire pour "ordonner" respectivement la journée et la semaine. Ces habitudes simples mais puissantes améliorent considérablement la concentration et la créativité, qualités essentielles pour tout rédacteur. La persévérance et la discipline comme sculpteurs de réussite L'auteur nous révèle ce qu'il appelle "la magie de la seconde tentative" : répéter une tâche difficile au moins deux fois en facilite énormément la maîtrise. Cette approche devient la clé d'un progrès continu dans tous les domaines. Le marketing direct comme science du comportement réel "Pour savoir ce que les gens veulent, regardez ce qu'ils achètent réellement" - cette maxime simple mais profonde rappelle l'importance d'étudier minutieusement les marchés, les listes de diffusion et de segmenter avec précision pour créer des offres véritablement irrésistibles. L'enthousiasme comme moteur de rentabilité Halbert défend une vérité souvent oubliée : nous gagnons de l'argent là où notre enthousiasme est le plus vif. Non seulement cela attire naturellement l'attention des autres, mais c'est aussi la condition indispensable pour maintenir un travail de fond rigoureux sur la durée. Le copywriting comme architecture et expérimentation perpétuelle Des accroches puissantes aux post-scriptum stratégiques, chaque élément d'une lettre commerciale doit être testé méthodiquement pour maximiser les taux de réponse. L'auteur nous guide à travers ce processus avec une précision chirurgicale. Au fil des 25 lettres, Halbert navigue entre conseils pratiques de santé, techniques de marketing direct, méthodes de rédaction persuasive, stratégies d'optimisation de campagnes, et profondes leçons de vie. Il aborde la gestion financière, l'art de se vendre, l'importance cruciale de la confiance en soi, la persévérance face aux obstacles, et la préparation mentale nécessaire pour affronter les inévitables échecs. Plus qu'un simple manuel de technique, l'auteur invite finalement son fils Bond (et par extension chaque lecteur) à entreprendre un véritable cheminement personnel : identifier nos croyances limitantes héritées de l'enfance ou de notre environnement, puis adopter un "nouveau rêve" fondé sur l'intégrité, la curiosité permanente et la responsabilité individuelle. Cette transformation nous conduit vers une authentique liberté où marketing et copywriting deviennent non seulement des compétences maîtrisées, mais s'intègrent dans une vision globale où enthousiasme, discipline et créativité s'unissent pour forger une réussite profonde et durable.