Please know that what I am about to say may come off as pompous, bragging or self aggrandizing but let me assure you I fully understand that what I am about to tell you is more of a reflection of my father but here is why you should consider listening to us.

Ask anyone who knew him and you will learn that Gary Halbert was all marketing all the time and simply never turned it off so… almost anyone around him got a world class education BUT….

I was the first to hear everything!

My father was fired from his last job on the day I was born and only worked in the business about 9 years before teaching me everything he knew and he also taught me how to think like a world class marketer and all because of… a real turning point which came when I was around ten years old.

It was so pivotal that my father never forgot it and even mentioned it in his cult copywriting classic book “The Boron Letters” in which he said,

” … you once said the smartest thing I’ve ever heard a kid say. You said that you were luckier than XXX because when XXX lived with me I was already rich and that you get to be with me when I am not rich and, therefore, you get to learn how I solve problems, especially money problems.”

I remember that original conversation very well. We were walking to get breakfast at his favorite coffee shop called Zuckies in Santa Monica when I said it.

This was the exact moment when my father decided to put a lot of effort into my marketing education.

By the time he wrote the Boron Letters I had accompanied him on business trips all over the country and even the Cayman Islands.

He would take me out of school to attend high level masterminds (they called them brainstorming sessions back then) with the biggest names in marketing but that’s not all.

My father would explain what he was looking to accomplish and his game plan while we traveled to these meetings.

At first I would only sit in and pay attention but soon I was adding contributions my father was proud of and this is all before I was old enough to drive.

He would also recap what really went down at meetings we just finished and explain what everyone was really going to do and how business really works underneath the empty promises and compliments.

This went on for many years.

Heck my first job outside the family business was at a list brokerage.

Anyway, I quickly became my father’s right hand man and eventually I was his most trusted adviser because…

He trained me to think like he did.

You see most of the time we humans get so emotional about our own problems we can’t see the forest through the trees.

My dad and I are no different.

Because we both have the same thought patterns and processes…. he would rely on me whenever he was too close to a problem to see the solution and I of course relied on him.

We ended up saving each others bacon over and over again.

When he finally decided to teach copywriting, I had already heard every lesson and their variations because I was always the original pupil.

In other words nobody on earth knows more about Gary Halbert and how he operated than yours truly but I have my own accomplishments to brag about.

After running things for my father my brother Kevin and I broke out on our own and did quite well if I do say so myself.

Kevin built and runs The Gary Halbert Letter website which has been up for over 20 years and he too spent an entire childhood predicting response rates, developing hooks and ideas etc.

Together Kevin and I generated millions in the info marketing game and then we dipped our toes into deal making where we put together joint ventures which generated up to $23,000,000!

But now we found another calling…

I rarely discussed marketing with anyone else because I was busy running a business and after hours with pop I never felt hungry to talk shop but that all changed.

Once I didn’t have that creative back and forth going I found myself in a funk which I chalked up to missing my father like anyone might miss a loving parent but the funk stayed with me even after the depression started to fade.

But then…

Kevin and I were invited to a mastermind meeting which made all the difference.

I didn’t speak much because I have always been in the habit of hiding what I know. In fact until a few years ago I lied about my marketing experience for two reasons.

First, nobody believed me. It’s hard to explain you really do have 20 years of direct mail and marketing experience when you are 30 and saying it’s a family business usually doesn’t help. People would have no clue how this was not like having a dad who went off to work but someone who lived his whole life right in front of his kids.

The other reason I stayed low key is some bad experiences.

Watching my dad get rich, go broke, get rich again….. I developed a different outlook on goals which didn’t include working to death or a financial roller coaster ride.

I chose a useful pickup truck over a Porsche and I measure money in time not toys and…

I never forgot how our home invasion robbery affected my dad and to make matters worse…

About ten years ago I was targeted for kidnapping.

The LAPD had found my bank info amongst the papers the Russian mob was using to pick kidnap victims.

They killed several guys and dumped their bodies in a lake after getting paid far less than what was in my account.

So you can see why I have never been one to toot my marketing horn or brag until now.

In fact this is the most bragging I have ever done and it’s already making me very uncomfortable so I’ll wrap this up.

Nowadays Kevin I get invited to a lot of very expensive masterminds as idea men and we recently started sharing our knowledge which brings me to our calling.

It dawned on me that not only was I there for the vast majority of my father’s professional life as a marketer but…… I was by his side and paying serious attention the ENTIRE time he TAUGHT marketing.

Kevin too.

We not only know his lessons better than anyone else but we have improved and updated many of them.

I dare say if there is one thing we do far better than our dad it’s show people EXACLTY how to write copy.

We know ALL our father’s lessons and here is how we differ…

He mostly focused on teaching basic theory to newbies and advanced theory to professional copywriters.

He never really gave step by step copywriting instructions because that was never his goal!

People don’t know it but The Gary Halbert Letter was never designed to make money or teach you to become a great copywriter.

It was designed to be a huge calling card and branding vehicle.

Talk about establishing preeminence.

Folks ready to read many books and study how to become a writer were not likely to become a client but if he spoke the unvarnished truth they would surely;y help spread the word and help his brand.

People looking for a copywriter would often hear the name Gary Halbert and when they read the letter they knew who they wanted to hire if they ever had the money.

But…

I don’t take clients which means I’m fine with sharing specific instructions.

Plus while everything my father taught is relevant a lot of it needs updating which is where we try to fill in the gaps.

I hope you will excuse the bragging but the way I see it is my father gets credit for ANYTHING we do right. Plus, sometimes people don’t know what you don’t show.

Peace,
Bond

PS When you sign up for the newsletter be sure to enter a primary email address you check often because we really do send out special content we only share via email and we throw a lot of last minute online events you won’t want to miss.

Don’t worry about spam. You won’t find anyone who has received spam from us and we make it easy to unsubscribe.