Brent Hodgson, Copywriter

Master Sales Copywriter, Gary Halbert, died in his sleep on Easter Sunday.

• He was the Prince of Print.

• He was one of the fathers of direct marketing copywriting on the internet.

• A man who made (and lost) more money from direct marketing than most copywriters will see in a lifetime

• And a man who delighted in calling practically anyone a “shitweasel” (as an endearing term, or an insult - sometimes both at the same time).

I was shocked to read the news on Ed Dale’s blog, but not surprised.

To tell the truth (warts-and-all), anyone who followed Gary Halbert would have seen his health deteriorate over the years - in fact, Gary regularly wrote frequently and frankly about it.

He didn’t look the best on the video testimonial he did for John Reece’s Traffic Secrets course - and then there was the announcement that he was going into rehabilitation after being on some highly addictive pain medication - and most recently the announcement that Gary Halbert, (a man who had lived his whole life around the printed word,) had tragically gone blind.

As I say, I was shocked to hear about his passing – but not surprised.

It was a sad way for anyone to go – let alone the best copywriters who had ever lived.

And I mean that with complete sincerity - he was the best copywriter who ever lived.

A few years ago I invested in his massive swipe file, Gary Halbert’s “The Motherlode Collection” – and what I received was pure, unadulterated gold.

Look, if you don’t have it already, check out the final ever edition of his newsletter “The Gary Halbert Letter” – in it you’ll find over a dozen of his best-selling headlines and intro’s.

Do any of those look familiar?

I’ll bet they do!

Gary’s work has been so influential in shaping online direct marketing during the internet revolution that I wouldn’t be surprised if his headlines had been “swiped” and used on more web-sites than any other.

Chances are that something Gary Halbert worked his ass off to discover, you swiped and made thousands of dollars off – and didn’t even know it was Gary Halbert’s who was partially responsible for your success.

This is how he left his mark on the world, and how he’ll live on.

It’s a sad day for copywriters everywhere - we’re all a little poorer having lost the Prince of Print, and our favorite shitweasel.

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