Steven Love's Key Ideas from The Boron Letters
by Gary Halbert, Bond Halbert

• Use simple, common, everyday words.
• Write short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Use transition words and phrases to make your writing flow smoothly.
• Ask questions once in a while, and then answer them yourself.

• A good writer is one who makes things perfectly clear.
• The best writing goes unnoticed.
• Your ads should have a crisp, clean appearance.
• Go the extra mile in whatever you’re doing to increase professionalism and perception.
• Never make a decision when you are HALT: hungry, angry, lonely or tired.
• If you offer a promotion, offer a reason to go with it.
• "I am offering you this special deal because you (by virtue of some unique circumstance) are so special."
• Read your writing out loud to improve it.
• Sweat the details. And use exact details in your promotions.

1. Mind follows the body. A regular exercise routine is not only good for your health, but also clears your mind to set you up for a productive day.
2. Find a hot market first. Only then should you begin to look for a product to sell.
3. A good writer makes things perfectly clear. Use simple words, short sentences, and many transitions to make your copy flow.
4. Get their attention. It doesn’t matter how good your copy is if nobody bothers to read it.
5. Use specific details and emotional descriptions. Both will increase your reader’s interest in what you have to say and boost your credibility.

• Try things at least twice.
• Just the second attempt at anything hard will be much easier. Not a little bit but by A LOT. It is true of almost everything, not just sports.
• Everyone wants to climb the mountain, but the big difference between those at the top and those still on the bottom is simply a matter of showing up tomorrow to give it just one more shot.
• As someone once said, “Most of the world’s work is done by people who don't feel like getting out of bed.”
• You Don’t Have To Get It Right… You Just Have To Get It Moving!
• Just do it, and keep on moving on.

When it comes to accomplishing things, most people fail to even try. There is no benefit in dealing with people who have nothing but negative things to say.

Sometimes there is no use wasting time and energy fighting established beliefs by arguing, and it is better to just silently go about proving or accomplishing your goal.

When most people tell others of any plan to make money, they are met with instant negativity. Once you set out to actually do something which may elevate your status, many people will tell you it can’t be done, or simply isn't worth it.

• Going over and over plans is a good way to make sure everyone is on the same page and remembers small things.
• Write down your goals and go over them every day, not just once a year.
• Sweat the details.

• A fat, sloppy, or skinny and weak body tends to broadcast to the world that the owner of that body is lacking self-respect.
• Defensive behaviour invites aggressive action.
• Rely on your own strength instead of somebody else’s compassion!
• It is important to know that often, self-reliance is the real motive of great businessmen and not money.
• It doesn’t matter how much you learn if you don’t use what you learn.

• Money, in my opinion, especially big money, is most often a by-product of enthusiasm.
• The money is where the enthusiasm is. Please remember this!
• When hiring, always look for the most enthusiastic person, not necessarily the most qualified.

1. You must become a “student of markets.”
2. The first and the most important thing you must learn is what people want to buy.
3. The way to deduce what people want to buy is to simply observe what they DO buy!
4. If you want to be a top-notch marketing man, you have to know how it is. How it really is. Not how people (or you) wish it was or how they think it is. No. You must become a “student of reality.”

If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who would sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side?

A) Superior meat to make your hamburgers

B) A street corner location with high foot traffic

C) The ability to offer the lowest prices

Answer: NONE OF THE ABOVE!

The best advantage of all is a STARVING CROWD.

The best list of all is your own customer list.

Nothing will add to your bottom line as fast as selling something new to your existing customers and sourcing new prospects.

Characteristics of “Hot” Lists

• Recency (most important): The more recently a person has purchased (by mail) something similar to what you are selling, the more receptive he will be to your offer.
• Frequency: The more often a person buys a particular item, the higher his desire for that type of production service.
• Unit of sale: Those who spend more money on a product.

When you get stuck or emotionally jammed up one of the ways to get yourself unclogged and flowing again is just to keep moving. Run. Walk. Jog. Write. Do the dishes.

Write from start to finish in one sitting so your different moods on different days don’t seep into your copy and make it disjointed.

After the initial copy dump where I pound out all my thoughts for a sales letter on a keyboard, I re-read whatever I wrote and apply the “so what” test.

In your attempts to stand out, try and fight any urge to sound like a cliché and use phrases that a reader could finish on their own.

• Use simple common everyday words.
• Write short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Use “transition” words and phrases to make your writing flow smoothly.
• The key is to go through many edits, cutting everything out until cutting any more would be cutting something the customer would like to know.
• Ask questions once in a while and then answer them yourself.

When a person first looks at something you have written it should be something that looks inviting to read.

This means wide margins, a certain amount of white space, double spacing between paragraphs, short words, short sentences, short paragraphs and an attractive, inviting layout.

Whenever you write an ad it should look, in so far as possible, exactly like a rave review written by a reporter.

1. Most of the time, a person will never alter his original impression. Most of the time he will simply “edit” all new info that comes to him and “process” it in such a way as to validate his original opinion.
2. Make sure your promotion has a “crisp” look about it. In other words, the layout should be clean, there should be a lot of contrast, and it should look easy and inviting to read.
3. If you use pictures they should be, as a general rule, of an upbeat nature.

• The first thing to do in the morning? Get outside and get walking.
• Fast one day per week.
• To figure out what people want to buy? Just look at what they do buy.
• Segment your marketing - be specific in who you are targeting, and custom tailor your ads to them.
• Work on subjects you love - the enthusiasm will make it easy.
• Keep two lists - one of tough tasks and another of tasks you can do regardless of mood. That way you can be productive regardless of your state.
• Work in the library, or somewhere else people are working - as social animals, it’s hard for us not to work in places like this.