Something I’ve regularly read over the years is Gary Halbert’s bit on:
“The Halbert Index”
That one newsletter has guided my business for quite a long time.
And has been a “template” for many things I do.
This is especially true when it comes to how I grow my business, how I curate my lists, how I approach learning new skills, how I go about approaching being both an educator of what I teach as well as a student of what I learn, and most important of all… who I sell to, as well as who I actively do NOT sell to — yes, even if it costs me short term product sales, new subscriptions, opt-ins, and so on.
That last part has by far been the most valuable.
In fact, a big chunk of the issue is about who the best kind of customer is.
He called ‘em:
“Players with money”
And he enumerates many of their traits.
I highly suggest reading it.
And then re-reading it.
And this is especially true if you find you lack many PWM traits.
One of those traits being they:
“…read biographies of successful men and women who have gamely overcome obstacles to succeed big in their chosen occupations.”
This one sentence had a profound impact on my business at the time.
And it’s had probably (no exaggeration) 100xs more impact over the years as I followed it.
For example:
While most marketers are running around primarily studying & yapping only about marketing and copywriting and other marketers and copywriters… I have found biographies and looking at what people (business or otherwise) outside my niche — from great industry giants like Steve Jobs, William Randolph Hearst, & Walt Disney… to popular auteurs like Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, & Ray Harryhausen… to respected military & political leaders like George Washington, Andrew Jackson, & Douglas MacArthur… to insanely successful salesmen like Joe Girard, Ron Ron Popeil, & Dan Kennedy… as well as many of the great master strategists of all walks of life who one can easily read about — are far more profitable and insightful.
Yes, it’s good to know the principles & fundamentals of what you do.
But after that it’s time to go outside your industry & apply what you learn to your industry.
And so it is.
If you want the principles & fundamentals of email then you can read more about Email Players here:
Ben Settle
