Gary C. Halbert
Copywriter, Author The Gary Halbert Letter
“But, before I was able to make the call, I received a letter in the mail. It was a promotion for ‘The Gary Halbert Letter’. And in that promotion, Gary talked about his Tova Ad and I remember that story from the ‘LETTERS TO MY SON’ piece in Jay’s newsletter. I knew instantly that the author of that piece was now revealed to me. It was Gary Halbert. I later found out that the piece was part of ‘The Boron Letters.’ I immediately ordered a subscription to Gary’s newsletter ($195 per year – that was September, 1986). I later found out from his office that I was one of the very first people to subscribe. I was a subscriber for the life of the newsletter and every single copy is in my files. And I wouldn’t part with it for any price. It’s that valuable. But today you can get most of the issues on line for free.“
“Pay careful attention. The ability to write ads and/or letters that sell is by far the most wonderful money-making skill you could ever hope to acquire. If you master this skill you should never again have to worry about money. The ability to write copy that brings in orders on a profitable basis is as rare as hen’s teeth. And, if you can do it, I mean really do it, you can virtually write your own ticket.”
” Take me, for example. I turn down at least 9 out of 10 people who want to work with me, and my office currently has standing orders for enough work to keep me and my staff busy non-stop for the next two years. I can earn my living virtually anywhere as long as I can get my hands on a piece of paper and a ball point pen or a pencil or a crayon. I can do my thing on a boat, in a prison cell, in a submarine and probably, even on the moon. If I chose to work a regular 40-hour week, I’d probably earn at least 10 to 15 million dollars a year. I do not choose to work that hard. I spend far more hours on my boat than I do at my desk (I don’t even have one anymore — I usually work at my kitchen table) and yet, it would be upsetting to me if I had a month where I earned less than $100,000.00.”
— this is an excerpt from the REAL Art of Writing Copy issue. You can get the full issue, for free by CLICKING HERE…or the link below.
Although Gary has passed, he is survived by his two sons, Kevin and Bond, who keep his business and publications alive. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Gary for passing on his expertise and knowledge to us…and to his sons for making it available.
Below I’m going to list three of my favorite issues of his newsletters and a link to the entire archive. Enjoy and profit.
- Scientific Advertising by Claude C. 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
- Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
- 7 Steps To Freedom by Ben Suarez

Gary C. Halbert
One of the World’s Best Copywriters
During a special reception at the Bencivenga 100 Seminar at the Hotel St. Regis in New York City. Left to right: Carl Galletti, Gary Halbert, Joe Polish, John Carlton