by Joe Vitale
 

     Bruce Barton, legendary advertising giant, wrote letters that
got staggering results. He wrote fund raising letters for Deerfield
Academy that broke all records and helped raise enough money to
secure that Academy's future. He wrote a letter for Berea College
that brought in an amazing 100% response! (You can read the entire
letter in the new book, The Seven Lost Secrets Of Success.)

     When you consider that the average successful letter gets
about a 0.02% response, Barton clearly leaped way past anyone else
in his letter writing skills. But what was his secret? How in the world did
he ever get such high responses from his letters when so many of us
barely nudge up to that 0.02% response rate?

     After studying Barton's letters, books, private memos,
speeches, and advertising campaigns, I've discovered Barton's
"secret formula." I've used this method to write my own letters and
I've been astonished at the results. One letter got a 20% response.
Another nailed a 10% response. Still another is approaching a 97%
response (ninety-seven per cent!)!

     I haven't told any of my clients this secret method. Now, for
the first time, I will reveal here the technique I've been using:
Bruce Barton's "Secret Formula."

Barton's Magic Formula

     Bruce Barton said that good advertising copy (and letters are
advertisements) had to be three things: (1) Brief. (2) Simple. (3).
Sincere. In an eye-opening essay he wrote back in 1925, Barton said
the following:

     About Brevity: "About sixty years ago two men spoke at
Gettysburg; one man spoke for two hours. I suppose there is not any
one who could quote a single word of that oration. The other man
spoke about three hundred words, and that address has become a part
of the school training of almost every child."

     About Simplicity: "I think it might be said, no advertisement
is great that has anything that can't be understood by a child of
intelligence. Certainly all the great things in life are one-
syllable things---child, home, wife, fear, faith, love, God."

     About Sincerity: "I believe the public has a sixth sense for
detecting insincerity, and we run a tremendous risk if we try to
make other people believe in something we don't believe in. Somehow
our sin will find us out."

He Used All Seven Secrets

     Barton's letters followed every one of the seven secrets
revealed in the book The Seven Lost Secrets Of Success. But his letter
writing skills revolved around the three steps mentioned above. Let's look
at those three steps a little more closely.

     Brevity. A short letter isn't necessarily what Barton meant.
I've read many of his letters and memos. Most of them were so brief
they were blunt. But those were not sales letters. When Barton
wanted to persuade you to donate money to a good cause or buy
something he was selling, his letters were longer, sometimes
several pages long. (Again, see that sample letter in The Seven
Lost Secrets Of Success.)  Barton knew you had to give people a
complete explanation before they would buy. His letters were long
enough to state his case -- and not a word longer.

     Simplicity. Barton's letters were always simple and easy to
read. As with everything he wrote, he strove for clarity of
communication. No big words, long sentences, or convoluted
passages. He was clear and direct and conversational.

     Sincerity. Barton was always sincere. He once dropped a
million dollar advertising account because he didn't support the
client. That sincerity came through in everything he wrote. You
could feel it in his letters.

     Finally, Barton's letters were "...phrased in terms of the
other man's interest." Barton said your letters had to go straight
to the reader's selfish interest to be successful. He said the
favorite song of every reader is "I Love Me." As Barton said in
1924, "The reader is interested first of all in himself...Tie your
appeal up to his own interests."

     The next time you have to write a letter, consider Barton's
formula. It helped him write letters that are still talked about
today, and it helps me write letters that are making my clients
rich. Now use it and see what the formula will do for YOU!
 

-----------------------

Joe Vitale is the award-winning author of several books,
including The Seven Lost Secrets Of Success. To order the book
please send $12.95 (plus $3.00 rush shipping; $15.95 total) to Joe
Vitale, PO Box 300792, Houston 77230-0792. Or call (713) 999-1110.
Or FAX (713) 999-1313.
 
 
 

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