From:

W-A-Y West of Jewfish Creek

Dear Friend & Subscriber,

Every once in a while, someone comes to me and says something like this: "Gary, I've
a world class copywriter in just 30-days? Can you, huh? Can you? Huh? Huh?"

Strangely enough, the answer is yes. Sort of. At least, I can give a "qualified yes"
or she is likely to be able to hire.

Providing, of course, that the person in question has at least a modicum of talent an

Here's how I'd do it: If you were my student, the first thing I'd ask you to do is gi

"Scientific Advertising"
-by Claude Hopkins
"The Robert Collier Letter Book"
-by Robert Collier
"Tested Advertising Methods"
-by John Caples
"How To Write A Good Advertisement"
-by Vic Schwab
"The Gary Halbert Letter" (all back issues)
-by Gary Halbert
"The Boron Letters"
-by Gary Halbert
"The Lazy Man's Way to Riches"
-by Joe Karbo
"Break-Through Advertising"
-by Eugene M. Schwartz
"7-Steps To Freedom"
-by Ben Suarez

O.K., after you had read all of the above, I would further instruct you to read nothi
advertising are not just bad; they are downright dangerous! Many years ago, Claude Hopki
 Truly. Claude further went on to say that the "educators" involved had no right to im
garbage.

So listen: Not only is it important what you do learn; it is equally important what y

Now, about this business of not taking notes: Don't worry. We're not finished with th

However, for now, I want you to just rip right through them, non-stop.

O.K., now that you've read all that material, what's next? This: I want you to get a

"Do You Make These Mistakes In English?"

"What Everybody Should Know About This Stock And Bond Busines

"The Nancy L. Halbert Heraldry Letter"

"How To Burn Off Body Fat, Hour-By-Hour"

"At 60 Miles An Hour The Loudest Noise In This Rolls Royce Is

"Why Men Crack"

"How To Collect From Social Security At Any Age"

"The Admiral Byrd Transpolar Expedition Letter"

"The Lazy Man's Way To Riches"

And, in general, anything you can get your hands on that was written by Gary Benciven

Onward. Now that you've obtained copies of these ads and letters, I want you to sit d
to get you to create a professional package (completely "comped up") that is all ready t

Now, after you've done all this, I want you to actually take one of these packages to
made of it.

Alright. What you have just completed is all the necessary "end steps" of writing out
printer.

Do this. Do it. Do it. Don't be simple-minded. Don't come to me and say, "O.K., Gary,
right Gary?"

Sorry Buckwheat; it doesn't work that way. If you really want to know it, you've real

There are no shortcuts.

 You know, I'm sick to death of people who can't be bothered with the little nitty-gri
something and really not have any kind of "gut understanding" of it at all. I'm sorry, b
understand alcoholics, and not one speck of true advertising wisdom has ever been writte

By the way, did you ever see all those ads by copywriters in DM News and the Reporter

Know this: Not one of the legends mentioned so far in this letter care one iota about
talking about numbers!

Forgive me, I digress. Let us press on. So far, we've only done the "end steps" of cr
First, I now want you to go back and reread all those advertising books and back issues
contained in all that material. What this means, my friend, is that by the time you are

Put these notes aside. Next, go back over all that material and write out every headl
repeated over and over. Especially copy a lot of the "cover blurbs" from Cosmo; they are

Let us review. Here's what you should have done so far:

1. You should have read all the books and newsletters

2. You should have copied out all the ads and direct m

3. You should've had at least one of those promotions

4. You should've reread all the books and newsletters

5. You should've read all those "headline sources" and

Enough review. Next, take all your notes and headlines and put each individual note a
from this stuff. Go play golf for a few days or go back to your normal work routine or t

All rested?

Guess what? We are now ready, after all this "prep", to begin writing that first ad o
you are trying to sell. Take notes. Secondly, read and take notes on every ad or direct

Next, carefully examine the product or service and find out everything you can about

Take notes on all this.

Put those notes on 3 x 5 index cards (one note per card) and put all those notes in a

Go do something else for a few days. And listen: If you have a good idea during that
of you.

Back to work. We are now about to write the first draft of our ad. Go isolate yoursel
through those cards. Read them. Say, "hmn?" every once in a while.
 Now start shuffling through all your other 3 x 5 cards. Think about how all those goo
to work for your current project. Maybe you could change "Do You Make These Mistakes In
An Illegal Sexual Stimulant" could be transmuted to:

Get the idea? Of course you do. Keep shuffling those cards. Keep reading them. Jot do
make more sense. Write a few that start with "How To...." Some that start with "17 Ways

And so on. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write.

And guess what? Out of all this, if you really have done everything I have suggested,
mail package you are struggling to create.

I promise. It happens every time.

And when it does, write it down. If you are writing a direct mail letter, work that c

Now listen up. This is important. What will happen at this point is that your "mental

Write. Write. Write. Write. As fast as you can. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

Don't stop for anything. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

Write. Write. Write. Write. Page after page. Tell everything. Every detail. Every nua

Get it all. Get it all. Get it all.

Write. Write. Write. Write.

Rave! Rave! Rave! Rave! Crow! Describe! Enthuse! Give details. Don't worry about gett

And when you are done, set all this work aside and go do something else for a day or

And when you are ready to go back to work, I want you to go back to your first draft

1. Say something that gets attention.

2. Tell them why they should be interested. (Expand on

3. Tell them why they should believe what you are sayi

4. Prove it is true.

5. Itemize and describe all benefits.

6. Tell them how to order.

 7. Tell them to order now.

O.K., after you have rearranged all your material so it conforms to the above sequenc

Next, read your copy aloud. When you do this, you will discover all those little snag
to another is less than seamless.

Now edit again. Make it tight. Use short sentences. Short paragraphs. Everyday Englis

You could do more. A lot more. This is not, by a long shot, all you need to know to w
brag about their Golden Mailbox and Echo Awards.

And, isn't it wonderful how easy it is? Heck, I bet you thought it was going to be wo

P.S. You want to know what a truly world-class, no-excuse, no-BS copywriter ou
or services.

Pray check out the enclosure.

Ad Creators Collect an

Prizes Ad Nauseam, th
ha
ha
Almost Ad Infinitum
‘N
* * *
“I
Some Entries Are Really Bad, sa
on
Including Some Winners; st

Judges Are Hard To Find No

th
___________________
-T
By Joanne Lipman
-T
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
-T
Hollywood has its Oscars. Television has its Emmys. Broadway has its Tonys. And “r
advertising has its Clios. th

And its Andys, Addys, Effies and Obies. And 117 other assorted awards.

And those are just the big ones.

It seems that the ad business just can’t honor itself too much. At scores of black-
tie galas around the country, participants in sequins and silk await breathlessly,
white-knuckled, praying to be tapped for the best beauty-aids ad or the funniest
packaged-goods radio commercial.

There are contests for TV ads and radio ads, for newspaper classifieds
 Click Here To View
Our Newsletter Archive