Best Blackhat Forum - [GET] A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE: GEORGE W. HAYLINGS

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
George W. Haylings

The Info Marketer Who Laughed at the Depression

Anyone care to join me for a sentimental stroll down memory lane...?

In this edition, I'm posting a memorial to famed marketer George Haylings. Few of you BBHF members are old enough to know who I'm talking about but some of you do.

Here's a brief overview of Haylings' background:

- He got his start at age 19 during the Great Depression, when he left Detroit for a new start in southern California
- He didn't have a job, a boss, or much money
- He sold his car for $200 and lived on a beach in a camper
- He truly lived a life of leisure --- enjoying the surrounding nature, bartering for services, living off the land, etc.
- He didn't have a family to support (as a young man) and had a lot of free time
- He wrote and sold info-products using tiny classified ads
- These ads offered FREE BOOKs that were actually sales letters to entice his readers to buy his info products
- He ended up becoming a best-selling author and entrepreneur
- He was little-known but become a direct mail legend

Do you remember classified ad headlines and info product titles like these "back-in-the-day..."?

* DISCOVERED! 505 Odd Enterprises [A 1949 classified ad in a business opportunities magazine]
* 125 Ways to Make Money With Your Typewriter
* 2042 Unique, Proven Enterprises [A classified ad in Popular Science magazine]
* Profitunities: A Most Unusual Book
* Vacations Unlimited: A Retirement Kit Comprising Plans, Data and Secrets Dealing With Early, Successful Retirement (as you can see from the illustration in my post header, Amazon is charging nearly $1,000 for this Haylings classic).

Like any marketer, Haylings' efforts produced some winners and some losers. His depression-era small business products were perennial winners but his coin investing advice product flopped. Check out these blog posts for the details.

GEORGE W. HAYLINGS

Magic Button :

And while InfoMarketingBlog.com's title, "The Info Marketer Who Laughed At The Depression" is a tongue-in-cheek expression to entice blog readership, Haylings didn't literally laugh --- but he embraced it because he saw a ripe opportunity where others saw adversity. He saw fortune where others saw misfortune. He flourished where others floundered.

It's all about the mindset.

Unfortunately, his works --- classics like A Lifetime of Homework (sometimes referred to as A Lifetime of Leisure) and his classified teaser - FREE BOOK: 2042 Unique, Proven Enterprises --- are all but impossible to find.

But you're in luck because BBHF's very own taharoyal52 posted a mirror link for A Lifetime of Leisure that was shared on BBHF in 2014 and the Mega link still works as of today (Thursday, April 21, 2022)!

Get it here...

A LIFETIME OF LEISURE - GEORGE W. HAYLINGS:

Magic Button :

That download consists of these 4 PDFs:
- A Lifetime of Homework - ebook.pdf
- Bonus: Complete Money Making Kit.pdf
- Bonus: Overseas Mailorder - ebook.pdf
- Bonus: Think and Grow Rich.pdf

Also, I was quite lucky to find a website that has hyperlinked chapters of two of Haylings' other products. I'll share them further below.

So, in the spirit of nostalgia (and in the interest of getting inspired ideas for selling your own info-products in tough economic times) please read Haylings' works. You will certainly learn a thing or two.

RIP GEORGE W. HAYLINGS

August 27, 1912 - July 13, 2003

Old George is no longer on the face of the earth; actually, he's been gone since 2003, but his 2042 Unique, Proven Enterprises freebie came to mind out of nowhere today and, for me, it brought back memories of a simpler time.

People were more trusting because marketers were more trustworthy. They put out products that gave value in exchange for their customer's hard-earned money. Unlike today, there were no $2,500 courses with a gazillion mp4 videos that drone on and on.

Haylings' indomitable marketing savvy was the stuff of legend and his methods are as timely today as ever before with all the news about inflation, recession, and emerging COVID variants.

Times may be hard but that's when savvy marketers profit most.

As you read Haylings' stuff, keep in mind, this guy went from unemployed and virtually penniless as a young man during the Great Depression, to a wildly successful direct marketing legend over his lifetime --- mainly with small ads in magazines like Popular Science and on the back pages of small business opportunity magazines.

Most people struggle with writing a long-form sales letter. Imagine selling info products from a tiny classified ad with cramped text like Haylings did here (I put a red box over his ad to highlight it)...

GEO. W. HAYLINGS STUFF: The links below go to an web page of chapters for the two Hayling's info products listed below. You can read the e-books online or use a print-to-PDF tool to capture each chapter and save them to your computer.

Magic Button :

So, could Haylings' marketing methods work today?

Maybe...

Maybe not...

If you "can't see the forest for the trees," you will only see Haylings' methods for what they were. In that regard, it becomes harder to sell directly from tiny classified ads today because fewer people read them. Many magazines have gone digital and direct mail can be quite expensive for small businesses. Postal mail delivery today leaves a lot to be desired.

If you're willing to "think outside the box" you will be able to take from Hayling's methods what could still work in today's marketing environment and add enhancements using current best practices that could kick your marketing efforts up to Next Level status!

It's all in your mindset.

You are in a unique and advantageous position that the internet affords average people. It leverages the playing field. You can go digital and enjoy benefits that George Haylings didn't have.

It starts with being like George Haylings. When times are hard, try to look for the gems of opportunity hiding in plain sight.

Not many people will see them so you stand to benefit when you think them through then take action.

VIRUS TOTAL: Please run a local scan on your downloads.

If you're seeing this post anywhere other than bestblackhatforum.com
or being shared by anyone other than Layna61524, then that's where/who
THEY TOOK IT FROM!

Enjoy the read and the links!

Thanks

Layna61524

WOW, amazing share mate @Layna.. Timeless classic are always good to read, and the process detailed always works, only the medium might have changed! Will have to read them.

@layna61524, you never cease to amaze me but today, you've outdone yourself. I was surprised when you posted about Dr. Jeffrey Lant but George Haylings . . . ?
You've made me walk over to one of my book shelves to pick up MY copy of 'A Lifetime of Homework' for a trip down memory lane. For those who don't know about Mr. Haylings, you should know the following:
- he started a mail order business in 1931 (ie. the Great Depression)
- he lived in and ran his business (initially) from a tent
- his most valuable possession was his typewriter
- it was valuable because he typed each mail order report he sold, one at a time!
- the business grew, became profitable and he ran it for 48 years

It's an amazing story and the next time you feel like complaining about your slow internet connection or email thats not working (we all do it), take a moment and think about trying to build a mail order business from a tent in Carlsbad CA in the depression . . .

Thanks Layna,
NoJob

@discomix: Thank you for the post, friend, and the kind comments. I really believe that odd, unusual ideas for enterprises could work today if the idea has been properly vetted and there is a sufficient number of people interested to profit from. It may be a side hustle rather than a long-term business but it all depends on the person and the idea. If George Haylings can become a direct mail legend during the Great Depression --- without the technology we take for granted today --- there's little real excuse for anyone living today, even in these tough times.

Some of these book titles bordered on sensational, I'll admit, and were dramatized to enhance sales. Certain businesses promoted back then wouldn't stand a chance of working in today's economy --- like real estate. Take a look at some of the books I'm sharing below and you'll see what I mean. There's one entitled 209 Fast Spare-Time Ways to Build Zero Cash Into 7 Figures a Year in Real Estate.

Noooo way today.

@NoJob: Thank you very much, buddy. I appreciate it. Yes, imagine trying to sell info-products written on a typewriter!

I'm so glad you added this overview. I was being kind when I called his abode a "camper." You're right --- he literally lived in a makeshift TENT right off a beach in Carlsbad, CA.

I don't know why but the morning of the day I wrote the original post, Hayling's 2042 Proven Enterprises came to mind out of nowhere. I fondly remembered writing off for it and getting the little package that described the guide.

It displayed a bulleted "teaser" list of some fairly outside-the-box ideas that ordinary people were working at and making pretty decent money.

I used to read voraciously books from "old school" marketers --- people like Tyler G. Hicks, Zig Ziglar, J.F. (Jim) Straw, M.R. Kopmeyer and others --- because they were so darn inspirational and motivational. This was a time when you got real value between the covers of a book.

Not so much anymore.

NOTE: I just learned moments ago from a PDFDrive link that M.R. Kopmeyer's given name was Marion Rudy Kopmeyer.

Below, I'm dropping a few links to some of those oldies-but-goodies.

"OLD-SCHOOL" MARKETERS
WHOSE GOLDEN WISDOM
I WAS INSPIRED BY

209 FAST SPARE-TIME WAYS TO
BUILD ZERO CASH INTO 7-FIGURES A YEAR
IN REAL ESTATE - TYLER G. HICKS

Magic Button :

BETTER THAN GOOD: CREATING A LIFE YOU
CAN'T WAIT TO LIVE - ZIG ZIGLAR

Magic Button :

HERE'S HELP - M.R. KOPMEYER

Magic Button :

HOW TO BUILD A MILLION DOLLAR FORTUNE - TYLER G. HICKS

Magic Button :

HOW TO GET WHATEVER YOU WANT - M.R. KOPMEYER

Magic Button :

HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE IN FINDER'S FEES - TYLER G. HICKS

Magic Button :

HOW TO START AND OPERATE A
FINDING SERVICE: EARN YOUR
FORTUNE IN FINDERS FEES - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

HOW YOU CAN GET RICHER QUICKER - M.R. KOPMEYER

Magic Button :

INTERNATIONAL WEALTH SUCCESS - TYLER G. HICKS (Newsletter Issue)

Magic Button :

MUSTARD SEEDS, SHOVELS AND
MOUNTAINS - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

STRIKING GOLD IN THE
FINDER'S FEES BUSINESS - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

THE $100/DAY LETTER - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

THE MOST POWERFUL WEALTH BUILDING
SECRET EVER TOLD! - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

THOUGHTS TO BUILD ON - M.R. KOPMEYER

Magic Button :

YOU CAN BE A MILLIONAIRE IN
ONE YEAR OR LESS - J.F. (JIM) STRAW

Magic Button :

Here's the sales copy for the above "Be A Millionaire" download...

Magic Button :

YOU WERE BORN RICH - ZIG ZIGLAR

Magic Button :

VIRUS TOTAL: If you download these, please run a local scan.

Thanks for walking down Memory Lane with me. I truly enjoyed the company.

Thanks

for reading!
Layna61524

@Layna61524,
Thanks for these added gems. These are the kind of people I learned from and still do. People like Jay Abraham, Gary Halbert, Zig Ziglar and Dan Kennedy shaped my thoughts and my business. In fact, I was fortunate to attend a Peter Lowe Seminar that featured both Ziglar and Kennedy.
Ziglar was almost evangelical in the way he approached career and selling while Kennedy was doing the "No BS" thing. 2 VERY different approaches, but they both understood, entertain first, then educate and sell. That's something most marketers don't understand these days.
Anyway, down off my soap box . . .
Thanks again,
NoJob

A nice trip down memory lane. I remember those classifieds from the 40s-90s in Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and other magazines, and also the compellingly-written full-page direct-response ads.

Jeffrey Lant used to send free copies of his books for review. I remember receiving one from him back in the early 90s.

Thanks for the memories, Layna!

Been many a year since I placed a small classified ad in the back of Mechanix Illustrated.

Perhaps you might remember this?

[Image: SMC-MAIL-ORDER-BOOK.jpg]

I also have the Mellinger Import-Export course from 1969 and their mail order course from 1971.

Somewhere around the barn I think I still have my original copy of Melvin Powers "How To Get Rich In Mail Order", a classic.

I still remember typing ( NO COMPUERS BACK THEN!!) my sales letters and then taking them to the print shop to have a few hundred printed up so that I could mail them out.

Did fairly well with one info report called "How to live Free With No Property Taxes'.

Well, thanks agsin for some old memories of a by-gone era.

12days says Thanks

and reps

Wow-wow-wow! You guys are making me stroll a lot farther than I planned and THANK YOU for the memories.

@NoJob: You're welcome, friend. Dan Kennedy is another of my favorites but since I have dedicated entire threads to him, I left him out but yep... him, too!

@webgoonda: Yes, Jeffrey Lant is another of my favorites. And compelling is exactly the right word to describe those full-page direct response ads. My dad used to get salesmanship magazines delivered to the house because his side hustle was door-to-door sales of encyclopedias, Bible study programs and other products.

I was only knee-high to a gnat when, as a very young child, I would rummage through his bottom dresser drawer to pilfer these treasures 3 and 4 at a time to pore through while he was at his day job.

Years later, my mom told me she didn't know what was in the pages of those magazines that had me completely mesmerized but once I had possession of them, I would go curl up on the sofa to read. Had she not periodically checked in on me, she said, it was like I wasn't even there! These magazines literally took me to another place in my head.

"Those magazines let me get a lot of housework done," she told me much later, in my teenage years. She called them her Instant Babysitter and it didn't hurt that she didn't have to pay a dime!

At elementary school age, I learned that dad thought it was funny that I'd began filling in the coupons in his magazines to "send off" for the free gifts and books. He would take me to the post office, put a postage stamp on the envelope and let me drop it through the drop box. And it was the most exhilarating feeling when weeks later, I'd get an envelope or small package in the mail!

I was hooked on direct mail at a very early age.

@12days: I do remember Specialty Merchandise Corporation (SMC). Vividly. And wow --- Mellinger Corporation --- Import/Export. I remember, as if it were yesterday, trying to convince my dad to "loan" me the money to buy that kit. He took me to his credit union and actually borrowed the money to front me but he quickly gave me a verbal rundown of why something like that wouldn't work for me. I was half-disheartened because he was quashing my dreams but in reality, he was right. It wasn't that this didn't work --- period --- it was wrong for ME. I was a green-behind-the-ears novice with no idea what I was doing and to invest in something involving international trade was completely over my head. My dad and I hardly ever saw eye to eye but in retrospect, his cynicism actually taught me to vet opportunities a lot better so I turned that lemon into lemonade.

Melvin Powers is another marketer I learned from.

Thank you, my forum friends, for sharing your memories.

This little stroll was a good virtual exercise. I appreciate your input and I welcome anyone else who wants to share their memories of the good ole days to post them here. I'd love to read them!

Thanks

for posting!
Layna61524

While looking for something else I came across this little jewel.

Just goes to show that even an old hand could get screwed back in the early days of the internet!

I purchased this little jewel around 1996 or 97.

[Image: SCAM-PIC.jpg]

Memories are a beautiful thing to withhold!!

12days

Hey Layna!

Thank you SOOO much for this great trip down "Memory Lane," and everyone's else's recollections too- I am of the same fraternity/sorority! I also grew up on these ads and courses- I think they truly appealed to all of us who had that undeniable "entrepreneurial spirit" that, the fact is, not a lot of people (when compared to the unwashed population) really possess-

Even more interesting when hobnobbing with like-minded kinfolk here, those of us who remember life B.I. (Before the Internet), the main thrust of most money-making programs was the inimitable "Mail Order" approach to business-

I picked up early on the irony of the "Biz Opp"world and circuit we all churned through like clothes on the spin cycle-

Buy a "blind ad" Biz Opp through mail order-

Get Biz Opp delivered to us through the mail-

Biz Opp instructs us to create a short report on how to sell short reports through the mail-

Then place a "blind" classified ad selling your own Biz Opp through, you guessed it, Mail Order!

Quite a scheme lol-

Of course, there were plenty of other "plans" and "blueprints" available, but they were all sold through Mail Order and I picked up pretty quick that this was the way to go-

I created some ventures in my late teens that brought in some small cash- The smartest thing I did was listen and believe whoever I learned from to NEVER ask for money in a classified ad- Believe me I was tempted to after spending money on the ad! But I went for the 2-step which worked pretty well- As expected of course, I also got a decent amount of offers from other people trying to sell me from MY ad! Hey wait, that wasn't supposed to happen!

Ok anyway, thanks for letting me walk back down memory lane, and of course, me being me, I don't want to let a good opportunity to share some kind of "Lost" and "Hidden" gem where I can-

So for anybody who wants to look at more of "Tyler Hicks" stuff, I have his long forgotten main course that contains 12 jam-packed money-making manuals- It was his flagship product and I'm sure everyone can get some great ideas, inspiration, and approaches through these manuals, although they are a "little" age-ed-

Thanks again Layna and everyone for the memories! I feel very fortunate to have been awake and aware during those formative years B.I.- I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world-

Enjoy!

Code:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/h6hn20h8kjuyyut/IWS-ULOR.rar/file

P.S. Anybody remember THIS ad????

[Image: duvall.jpg]