The Boron Letters: Chapter 7

We’re back, baby. Gary Halbert’s Boron letters, chapter 7.

Quick recap: he’s one of the most successful copywriters in history. He went to prison for mail fraud. While in prison, he wrote 26 letters to his son, teaching him everything he knew.

In chapter 6, Gary explained how he’d beat out every burger stand in America. Simple: he just needed the hungriest crowd.

Then, he walked through 10 different mailing lists, worst to best.

The best mailing list? Your own customers.

But that was all last week. It’s in the past.

This week, we’re tackling chapter 7.

Before we get to the summary and the takeaways, as always, take out a pen and paper and write the letter out by hand.

TL;DR of the letter

Letter 7 gets right back into it. He starts with a quick recap of last time (which I did for you above, you’re welcome). Next?

The three guidelines to picking a direct mail list.

“Recency”, “frequency”, and “unit of sale”.

• Recency - the more recently a person bought (by mail) something like what you’re selling, the better. Odds are higher they'll convert.

• Frequency - the more often someone buys a specific item, the more they’ll want something like it.

• Unit of sale - A prospect who paid $100 for diet pills is better than one who paid $10.

Of those three, recency is the most important.

He then talks about how you actually go about finding this type of information out. Newspapers, magazines, publications - all which mail order companies love to advertise in.

After venting about clients who are taking advantage of his situation, he closes with some great advice.

Take note of ads you see over and over.

There’s a reason you’re seeing them everywhere. They probably work. Really well. And you can copy their strategies.

But the important part is observing that!

Let's get some takeaways.

Takeaways from Gary Halbert’s seventh Boron letter

Sell people what they want to buy

You should be thinking about this all the time - in your copy, in your titles, and your storytelling.

Gary spends half the letter explaining the best ways to find this information. 

Once you do, you’ve got a hot market. People are in a buying mood and they’re itching to pull that trigger - if it’s the right product.

That’s why recency is the best indicator.

Always take note of great copy. Then steal it.

The easy part is observing. You have to constantly be on the lookout for things you like. Great ads. Killer transitions between paragraphs.

I keep a swipe file of words / phrases I like, as well as ads that I love.

For Gary, it helps him get an edge. And he’s not above copying strategies.

You shouldn’t be, either.

Until next time.