Yesterday while walking my dog on the beach, something hit me.

I ain’t talking about seagull poop, neither.

No… I was hit by a realization.

The realization of just how much impact all those years of mindlessly reading comic books had on my business, my marketing and even my income.

Yes… I’ve spaketh of this before.

But here are a few MORE things comic books do for marketers:

1. Make the complex simple

Comic book writers are forced to make complex concepts (like physics, chemistry, psychology, etc) easy for younger minds to grasp. Sales (and, thus, the writers’ jobs) depend on it. This skill can’t help but rub off on anyone who’s read a few hundred issues of X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman, etc.

2. Direct response indoctrination

Pre-1990 comics are PACKED with the best direct response ads you’ll ever see. Those copywriters were sales letter “super heroes” themselves (they probably even wore capes) that made the stoopidest things (X-ray glasses, sea monkeys, glow-in-the-dark neck tie, etc) irresistible.

3. Cross-selling

Those comic book publishers are the best in the world at leaving you on a “cliffhanger” each month so you’re forced to buy multiple other comics to see how the story ends. You may THINK you’re just grabbing an issue of Batman… until you realize you have to buy Superman, Green Lantern, Justice League and a half dozen other titles for the FULL story.

4. Personality

If you want a world-class education on how to inject personality into your writing, just crack open any of the old Stan Lee comics from the ’60’s and ’70’s. There’s a reason HIS characters (Spiderman, Hulk, X-Men, etc) are responsible for raking in billions of dollars in sales.

5. Outside the box thinking

My subconscious is bursting with strange and bizarre ideas from all those comic book stories that I often apply directly to my ads, books, emails and other writings today.

Anyway, those are some reasons marketers should read comic books.

I think you’ll find it extremely profitable reading.

And who knows?

You may even have a little fun on accident.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you’re interested in having a bunch of direct response comic book ads for ye old swipe file, check out the CD that comes with “The Copywriting Grab Bag” at:

Yesterday’s email (about swipe files) prompted a question.

And that is why I don’t “swipe”?

Since I like to talk about swipe files, and own a swipe file and USE my swipe file (often), I thought that was a great question, and I think an explanation is due.

So here are just a few of the reasons:

1. It can sometimes be borderline copyright infringement

2. Kinda makes me mad when people do it to me

3. No need to swipe anyway, if you know your market

4. Usually makes for weaker ads than if you think and work (yes, I realize that’s the opposite of what most goo-roos say)

5. It’s laziness and lazy copywriters have skinny kids

Now, don’t get me wrong here.

Swipe files are fine and I still use mine for ideas, inspirations and ways to structure my sales arguments.

So I’m definitely not “anti” swipe file.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to use them.

The wrong way is (for example) taking whole stories or entire paragraphs from one ad… and then using them verbatim (or almost verbatim) and creating what someone (I think it was Peter Stone?) once described as a “Frankenstein monster” ad.

I realize that’s a secret goo-roo way of doing it.

But even if you get away with it, it’s still a big fat mistake.

Why?

Because copywriting is not really about the words and the “writing” — it’s about the IDEAS and how you arrange those ideas to persuade someone to buy.

So that’s why I don’t do the swipe thang.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to know the right way to swipe (the legal, ethical and, yes, most profitable way), check out Appendix 1 in “The Copywriting Grab Bag”:

Here’s an interesting question that just came in:

“Ben, what are your favorite swipe file ads?”

Good question.

I don’t really “swipe” anymore these days.

But even so, I thought it’d be fun to list some of my favorite sales letters and ads to study for ideas, ad structures (very important), and inspiration.

So here goes — my top 10 ads (in no particular order):

• Scott Haines’s “Trump University” sales letter

• Gary Halbert’s “Betty’s Diet Book” print ad

• Gary Bencivenga’s “Interviews That Win Jobs” print ad

• Eugene Schwartz’s “The TV Owner’s Guide” print ad

• John Carlton’s “Combat JKD” print ad

• Jim Rutz’s “Integrated Health Solutions” sales letter

• Mel Martin’s “What Never To Eat On An Airplane” sales letter

• Gary Halbert’s The “Crime Connection” sales letter

• Gary Halbert’s “The Josh Abraham Letter” sales letter

• Gary Bencivenga’s “Lies Lies Lies” magalog

Now, luckily, you can find some of these ads online free.

But you may have to drop a little scratch to get your hot little hands on the rest of them (or ask the copywriters).

And hey, that’s as it should be.

We get way more value out of things we have to hunt, sweat and pay for than if they’re handed to us on a silver platter.

Anyway, that’s it for this time.

To see how the world’s best copywriters write their ads, check out:

Ben Settle

Below is the Scott Haines interview.

Scott is easily one of the world’s top direct response copywriters. He’s written for everyone from infomercial gurus and New York Times Bestselling Authors… to $100+ million per year direct marketing companies… to even business giants like Jay Abraham and Donald Trump.

Scott could not answer everyone’s questions due to time constraints.

But he did get a good chunk of them.

And I would highly suggest printing this entire blog post out and reading it multiple times. There’s so much “gold” inside, it’d be impossible to dig it all out on just one reading.

Ready?

OK then, here it is…

QUESTION: What do you do daily/weekly/monthly to keep your copywriting edge as sharp as possible?

SCOTT HAINES: As a busy freelancer, I write a lot of copy. Also, I coach copywriters (I’ve been a featured coach in every one of John Carlton’s Simple Writing System Workshops… plus… I have a handful of private coaching clients.). And I still read a lot of good copy. Beyond that, I reread the classic marketing/advertising books periodically. These five more often than the others…

1. Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins

2. My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins (NOTE: You can get both of Hopkins’ books in one combined edition.)

3. Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples (4th Edition or earlier, if you can find one.)

4. How To Make Your Advertising Make Money by John Caples

5.The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier

I used to copy out sales letters by hand… and also… lots of headlines. Not so much anymore. I talk more about doing those things in my Shortcut Copywriting Secrets(tm) Mini-Course. I’ll reveal how you can get a free copy a little later.

QUESTION: What was it like working directly with Gary Halbert, and what were the top 3 “gems” you learned from him?

SCOTT HAINES: Working with Gary was the very best thing that ever happened to me. As far as what it was like… there’s just not enough space here to do it justice. I could easily write a whole book on our strange and crazy adventures together. And someday I might.

I will, however, give you three gems I learned from him…

1. One time, on his houseboat in Bayside Marina in Downtown Miami, he asked me this question…

I thought about it and replied, “Sure, self-interest.” Then he told me something I’ll never forget, he said…

He then went on to say, “Sure, self-interest is very important, but curiosity trumps it.”

I can’t give you a whole lesson here on how to put curiosity to use in your copy but, I can tell you, at the very least, curiosity needs to be a strong element in your headlines and bullets.

2. “Nothing is impossible for a man who refuses to listen to reason.” This was one of Gary’s favorite sayings. And it’s how he lived. He didn’t let anything stand in his way. I saw him get things done that bordered on the impossible… and… it’s because he didn’t listen to most people’s “reasoning” or pay attention to their idea of “common sense”.

He lived a “No Limits” lifestyle. In fact, he had a dive watch that had “No Limits” on the face of it to constantly remind himself of how to think.

3. “More answers will be found through movement than will ever be found through meditation.” Another Halbertism I strive to live by. Here’s a quick “Gary story” that explains this aphorism fully:

Many years ago we were in Key West–at our good buddy Rocko’s house–looking for places to stay. And we were searching thorough the classifieds in the Key West Citizen newspaper. Anyway, after I looked for awhile, I started discussing options with Rocko. You know, why this or that may or may not be a good idea… and so on. Well, after about five minutes of this uncertainty, Gary grabbed the paper from me, and literally said…

Then, he picked up the phone, went down through the classifieds, and in two, maybe three minutes tops was talking to someone about coming by to see a place “right now”. And in less than 10 minutes, he and Rocko were out the door. And in about an hour, he was back with the keys to his new place.

Me? When they returned, I was still looking at the classifieds with no place to stay (except on Rocko’s couch).

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. It was one of the most dramatic demonstrations I’ve ever witnessed of someone getting something done immediately.

Sure, finding a place to rent may seem like a trivial or small thing… but… Gary could just as deftly and quickly knock out monstrous obstacles and problems, as well.

QUESTION: What is the best way to gain trust with a customer when all you have is their mailing address and they have never heard of you or what you do before?

SCOTT HAINES: Mail them what Halbert called an A-pile letter. An A-pile letter is a simple, white, #10 envelope with a typed or handwritten address–in blue ink, if handwritten–and a corner card that only reveals your return address with a “live” first-class postage stamp. Do that, and if you are selling something, do a complete sales job.

Better: Offer them something free… no strings attached. Or a free trial. In the long run, that’s usually the most profitable–although not the least hassle-free–way to do business. It’s how Boardroom, Rodale and many other large direct marketing companies operate.

If you’d like to see an example of how I’ve used this technique, click on the link below. It’s an ad I wrote (actually a tear sheet ad that was mailed) that gave away a free book. It was extremely successful to cold lists (people that had no idea who my client was). (Of course, we had a high-priced–$3,995–back-end product we sold to people who requested the free book. And by the way, we sold–by mail–well over a million dollars worth of the book before we tested offering it free. And “free” was more profitable overall… by a pretty large margin.)

QUESTION: What are the ‘key takeaways’ you learned while mentoring with Gary?

SCOTT HAINES: There are too many to list… however… I gave you three very good ones earlier.

QUESTION: What have you done over the years to increase your production SPEED? Do you start with the order form as some people recommend? Do you write all the way through and then go back to edit? Do you write in blocks then piece the letter together?

SCOTT HAINES: Write! It’s that simple. The more you write, the better/faster you will get.

Some things that help: Timed writing periods with breaks. By now, most copywriters have heard the late, great Gene Schwartz’ advice about writing for 33 minutes and 33 seconds… and then… taking a 5 or 10 minute break before starting again. It works. It keeps you fresh.

The thing is, I strive (and you should also) to do as much work as possible, while staying as fresh as possible… which… by the way, is something I learned from a Russian workout book. Timed periods with breaks help with that.

If you want a neat (and totally free) desktop clock/timer to help you with this, you can download one here…

Having a daily writing goal helps, too. Such as, 2 pages a day… or one or two thousand words. Writing first thing in the morning helps. Also, consistency. If you write every day at the same time, your subconscious gets used to the routine and tends to help you out a bit more.

I don’t start with the order form. I know direct marketing legend Ted Nicholas is a big proponent of that technique–and I don’t really disagree with his reasons for starting there–it just doesn’t work that well for me. I usually start with the headline.

Sometimes, if I’m having a little trouble getting started, I’ll write the bullets first… which is something I learned from my long-time friend and colleague, John Carlton.

I often do write a piece from stem to stern. But I also write in pieces. It varies depending on complexity, my energy level, workload, et cetera.

QUESTION: What is the method you use from start to finish for doing the information gathering from clients (audio, phone, internet research etc.)?

SCOTT HAINES: Here’s the short answer (because the complete answer takes up a whole section in my copywriting course): I mostly have them send me everything (product, promos, results, any and all data). Then, I block out a day, or two, or three and go through it all.

After that (and also during the process), I develop a list of questions and then get on the phone with them. Sometimes, however, I just hop on the phone with them blind. Sometimes, I have multiple phone calls. I may or may not hop on the Internet for research… it just depends on how complete my start package is.

QUESTION: What are some of your most secret tricks to writing the best bullets?

SCOTT HAINES: Another subject that takes up a whole chapter in my copywriting course… so… I just don’t have the space to answer that question here.

QUESTION: What are the things that you do differently (if any) with your copy when selling a $19 book vs. a $10,000 course? Or do you follow the same principles no matter what?

SCOTT HAINES: I see you’ve read my bio. Anyway, I do a complete selling job regardless of price. Of course, it’s less of a chore to get someone to part with $20 bucks versus $20,000. That is, the higher the price, the more you need of everything — words, proof, risk-reversal, and so on.

Having said that, though, I believe I have had good success selling the higher-end stuff because of my confidence or my mindset. I just don’t hesitate when offering something expensive. I write with full conviction and fully expect them to buy. A lot of people have mental hurdles when it comes to asking for a considerable amount of money… and… it shows in their writing. I don’t. And that, again, I believe makes the difference.

QUESTION: I’d like to ask Scott about getting clients when you don’t have a huge track record. I’ve written some high performing website copy, and five sales letters that turned around the businesses response by more than 300%. But I don’t have a “binder” full of successes yet. How do I get to the big bucks?

SCOTT HAINES: You don’t get to the big bucks until you earn it. It sounds like you are on your way. Keep it up. Add to your successes until you DO have a big binder full.

If you want some advice on leapfrogging your way up the ladder, read Robert Ringer’s book, Winning Through Intimidation. (The updated version has been retitled: To Be or Not to Be Intimidated? That is the Question. A much lamer title, by the way.)

Just be careful of what you ask for. It’s a lot of responsibility to take someone’s business and ten to fifteen thousand (or more) of their dollars into your hands. If you do so before you’re ready, you’re going to be in for a very bumpy ride.

QUESTION: Have you been able to make a compiled list payout? If so what?

SCOTT HAINES: No, I’ve never tried. Halbert did it a couple of times. The first time with his Coat-of-Arms promotion. And he did it with at least one diet promotion (maybe more than one, I can’t remember) by choosing people in the DMV database (or various DMV databases) based on their height/weight on their Driver Licenses. I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think you can access that information anymore.

QUESTION: If you were self-studying copywriting, today, what type of daily curriculum would you set up for yourself?

SCOTT HAINES: I have a report that details exactly what I’d do titled:

I’ll tell you how you can get a copy in just a minute.

QUESTION: If you still were a relatively new (but accomplished) copywriter with a good track record of performing for a single client thus far (i.e. made them almost $500K in the last six months), how would you position and effectively market yourself to land newer and higher paying clients in 2010?

SCOTT HAINES: Keep working at it. Use that success story. Build upon each success you have. That brings something up… I’m in my 15th year as a freelancer, and there are guys out there in their first few years trying to charge as much (and in many cases, much more) than I do. It’s ridiculous. They don’t have the chops or the track record. And, like I said earlier, be careful, getting a lot of money for something you’re not prepared for is a recipe for disaster.

QUESTION: As Scott got started what were his steps to A class? I’m new, I graduated from John Carlton’s SWS and I realize that is a first step, but what’s next in the whole picture?

SCOTT HAINES: John’s Simple Writing System is superb. As I mentioned before, I’ve been a featured coach every time he’s held it. But, if you’re truly new, you need to fill in the gaps in your education. You need to read the classic texts on marketing and advertising and get grounded in the basics.

Here’s a quick story to illustrate what I mean: 10 years ago, I had a meeting with Jay Abraham in his office. During the meeting, Jay asked me how many times I’d read Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. Proud of myself, I said, “Seven times.” And he immediately shot back with, “That’s not enough. I’ve read it over 50 times.”

Jay probably has the best marketing mind of anyone alive. And, before he ever did any of his seminal thinking on the subject, he immersed himself in the greats who came before him.

You should do the same.

QUESTION: Here’s my problem. I need to clear $150,000, after taxes by December 31, 2010 (next year). This allows me to get debt-free.

What I’ve chosen to do is sale nutritional supplements (Virility,Bladder Control, Prostate, etc.)

My first promotion will offer the product at a pre-sale/pre-formulation discounted price.

Here’s my question to Scott.

How and what would you do to generate that kind of money?… i.e. Copy strategies, marketing strategies, etc…to get it going.

SCOTT HAINES: I’m not trying to be rude, but if you’re starting from dead scratch with little to no money and little to no experience in this market, you’re delusional. It’s a very good market, but it’s also highly-competitive with pretty sophisticated customers.

If you think you’re going to swoop in and clean up against some of the best companies and promotions going today, be prepared for a brutal reality check.

Selling nutritional supplements is a business… meaning… you better be prepared to absorb some setbacks while you’re learning the ropes. There’s a lot you can’t know going in… and… you’re going to pay for that lack of knowledge in time and money lost.

Read Michael Masterson’s, Seven Years to Seven Figures. It’ll go a long way toward clearing up your thinking.

QUESTION: There seems to be a growing divergence of opinion on what makes top-selling copy in the “new economy.” There are those in the old school who espouse the long sales letter – problem, pain, solution, offer model. On the other hand, there is a growing band saying that people are sick of being sold to and want a more harmonious, longer-term rapport with marketers. I see successful and unsuccessful versions of both sides. What do you think?

SCOTT HAINES: You’ve got this all wrong. You are talking about a tactic versus a strategy. The long sales letter is a tactic that works… and probably will for the foreseeable future. The other deal is a strategy. And it has ALWAYS been more profitable to do longer-term, educational-based, rapport- building marketing to prospects and customers.

I mentioned Jay Abraham before. He’s a master at this type of overall strategy. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t use the “tactic” of doing a complete sales job via the long-form sales letter when he’s offering something.

QUESTION: Schwartz (and other greats) talks about not drawing attention to the copy – in essence, making the copy transparent. What do you do to avoid drawing attention to your copy? What’s your test?

SCOTT HAINES: Flow and smoothness. A simple, direct style. Very few (if any) ten-dollar words. And always, ALWAYS, read your copy out loud to find the rough spots.

QUESTION: In selling Information/Advice products: What’s your approach? Some suggest mixing “teaching” with “selling” in a promotion. What do you suggest avoiding and what sort of balance do you want to get between information/’golden nuggets’ and ’selling’?

SCOTT HAINES: I generally don’t include much “teaching” in my promotions. Not that it doesn’t work, I just tend to lean more toward a curiosity-building/takeaway approach. So I can’t give you any ratio or specifics. You’ll have to test it for yourself.

(NOTE: If I were writing a magalog or bookalog, I’d include more giveaway info… because… that’s the whole purpose of those formats… to make your advertisement look/read more like valuable content.)

QUESTION: What do you do if a promotion fails? Where do you begin to rewrite? Do you begin with the appeal? The theme or Idea? The Lead? Or do you kill the entire thing and begin from scratch?

SCOTT HAINES: Fortunately, this doesn’t happen very often… but… it does happen. If it never happens, you’re just not doing enough. But if something does fail, the first step is always analysis to determine the possible problem. And, depending on the answer (or answers), I might change offer, pricing, headline, theme… or… scrap the whole thing and try something completely different.

I wish I could give you a better answer… but each case is unique with all kinds of different variables.

QUESTION: How can an experienced writer, but inexperienced copywriter break in and start building clips for a portfolio? You must have a portfolio before anyone will take you serious and pay you accordingly. Do you make up “dummy” copy ads?

SCOTT HAINES: You can do that… but a better solution is to offer to do some spec work. Spec meaning they only pay you if it works. Or, last resort, you can offer to do totally free work on the contingency that, if it’s successful, you can include it in your portfolio… along with the results and possibly a testimonial from the client. And it wouldn’t hurt to try to work in a subsequent paid assignment into the agreement.

John Carlton calls this the “Shameless Whore” phase… and… whether you like it or not, and even though you’re an experienced writer, you’ve got to spend some time there. Everyone does.

QUESTION: How much time do you spend researching in relation to the total project?

SCOTT HAINES: Research can grow beyond 60% to as little as 5% or less. Example: When I first started writing financial promos (more than a decade ago), my research was as much as 75%-80% of the total project. These days, it’s less than 10% and sometimes 0%.

QUESTION: I know that most great copywriters read a lot of great writing. Who is your favorite fiction author, and why?

SCOTT HAINES: Easy. John D. MacDonald. He penned the Travis McGee series of novels.

Halbert got me hooked on him and that series. Quick story (that I’ve told elsewhere, but it’s relevant, so I’m going to repeat it here):

Shortly after I first started working with Halbert (back in 1998), we took a trip from Miami down to the Florida Keys. Marathon to be exact. And while in Marathon, we stopped at a bookstore. I picked up a health book to help me with a current project and Gary picked up a few paperbacks. After we got back in the car, Gary handed me one of the paperbacks and said…

And, quite obviously, I still do. In fact, on a somewhat recent vacation to the Keys, I passed by that bookstore and the memory of him giving me that book was as vivid as the day he did it.

Anyway, at that time, Gary didn’t say, “Read this, it’ll make you a better copywriter.” No, he just told me that once I start reading Travis McGee, I’ll become addicted. And I did. Not a rabid addiction, but I slowly worked my way through the entire series (21 books in all) over roughly 10 years.

And now that I’m finished with all the books in the Travis McGee series, I consider that gift one of the most important things I ever received from Gary. Why? It’s simple…

And good storytelling (“in print” or “in person”) is paramount to persuasion and selling.

Also, one of the earlier questions was about making writing transparent. If you want an example of transparent writing, read a McGee novel. You’ll almost never notice his style or the words… you’ll just be engrossed in the story.

QUESTION: How do you get in the right frame of mind to write copy? How do you get your “game face” on?

SCOTT HAINES: In my Shortcut Copywriting Secrets(tm) Mini-Course, I have a whole section devoted to this subject titled…

I’ll tell you how you can get a free copy in my answer to the next question.

QUESTION: Where can I find more of your sales letters to study since “Shortcut Copywriting Secrets” is off the market? I really want to see more of your work.

SCOTT HAINES: True, I did remove my course from the market about six months ago. I did so, because I wanted to focus on some projects in other markets. And I’m still doing that. However, Ben asked me if I’d pull it off the shelf and let his readers have a chance to get a copy.

I agreed under one condition… we have a 2-week time limit on the offer. After that, I’m shelving it again. If you’re interested, you can check out all the details here…

(NOTE: This is an affiliate link. If you decide to buy from it, you get a $200 discount, PLUS if you email your receipt to ben (at) bensettle.com, I will give you a valuable gift — an interview I did with Doberman Dan Gallapoo about his Gary Halbert “war stories.” This is a $67 product that’s yours free when you buy Scott Haines’ “Shortcut Copywriting Secrets(tm)” from the link above -Ben)

I should mention the course comes with a swipe file of my “Hottest Sales Letters” and the quick-start, quick-study guide I mentioned earlier titled: The Haines Method(tm) For Quick Copywriting Mastery!

Also, everyone who orders will receive–within 24 hours, by e-mail–my Shortcut Copywriting Secrets(tm) Mini-Course, a recorded interview discussing the 7 Secrets in the Mini-Course… and… another written report on copywriting.

One last thing: Ben also negotiated a $200 discount off the regular price for you.

Here’s the link again…

(NOTE: This is an affiliate link. If you decide to buy from it, you get a $200 discount, PLUS if you email your receipt to ben (at) bensettle.com, I will give you a valuable gift — an interview I did with Doberman Dan Gallapoo about his Gary Halbert “war stories.” This is a $67 product that’s yours free when you buy Scott Haines’ “Shortcut Copywriting Secrets(tm)” from the link above -Ben)

Last week, my friend Ryan Healy blogged an interesting question.

It was about misleading people in advertising.

And how far is “too far” when telling stories in sales letters, where it goes from a perfectly ethical and legal sales tool to a blatant and misleading lie?

One of his examples was the famous John Caples ad:

Very successful ad.

But, IMHO, misleading.

In fact, here’s what I wrote on Ryan’s blog about it:

Anyway, just one man’s opinion.

To judge for yourself, you can grab the ad here.

And if you’d like to chime in on this, click here.

Ben Settle

P.S. Last week I killed The Crackerjack Selling CD Club.

I’ll explain why in the world I’d end a program which did almost twice as well as expected soon. But for now, I’d like to give a heads-up to those who originally wanted the “Crackerjack Selling Secrets” book without being forced to join the continuity.

It’ll be available as a stand alone product probably next week.

Please let me know if you joined the Crackerjack Selling CD Club and did NOT get my special announcement sent to the customers last week.

If you like free stuff (that’s valuable) you’ll love this.

Check out these apples:

Yesterday I got an intriguing email from direct mail (i.e. “junk mail”) copywriter — Richard Armstrong.

Who’s Richard Armstrong?

Richard is one of just a small handful of “A List” copywriters whose clients have included everyone from Rodale, Boardroom and Phillips Publishing… to Reader’s Digest, Men’s Health and Newsweek… to Prevention Health Magazine, the ASCPA and even The Limbaugh Letter.

Lots of copywriting “superheroes” rave about him, too.

Like the late Eugene Schwartz, Gary Bencivenga (universally considered the world’s greatest living copywriter) and even the legendary Bill Jayme (the world champion of selling magazine subscriptions back in the day).

Anyway, here’s what he said:

Hi, Ben!

I’m unveiling a new website today, my first ever to promote my freelance copywriting business. It’s at www.freesamplebook.com, and as the URL implies, I’m giving away a free copy of my virtual sample book which I’ve entitled (somewhat tongue-in-cheekily) “My First 40 Years in Junk Mail.”

I think your readers may find this e-book interesting, because it’s more than just a book of samples.

It also talks about how I made some of the key transitions in my copywriting career. How I got my first job, how I landed my first freelance assignment, how I moved from fund raising to commercial direct mail, how I broke into the lucrative business of promoting magazines and newsletters, how I learned to write magalogs, and so forth.

Hope you’re doing well!

Best always,
Richard A.

Richard’s eBook kicks RUMPUS, too.

No joke, either.

I rarely read eBooks (ever) anymore, but this one is almost impossible to put down.

However, I must warn you:

His copywriting samples will HUMBLE you.

I don’t care how big your ego is, either — Richard’s in a league all his own and you sit there thinking, “How does he come up with this stuff???”

And no… I don’t get paid jack for this.

I just think every marketer (copywriter or not) should have it.

Especially since it’s free

Ben Settle

P.S. And speaking of free books…

Yesterday I updated the Crackerjack Selling CD Club page with more bullets describing the free Crackerjack Selling Secrets book you get with your membership:

It should be ready to go in a couple weeks.

Every now and then, someone finds my writing confusing.

“Ben, what does ‘IMHO’ mean?”

“What’s a goo-roo?”

“Why did you just call me ‘grasshopper’?”

And so on, and so forth.

And so methinks it’s time I released the official Ben Settle “Lexicon of slang.” Some of it may sound strange. And much of it may NOT jive with your dictionary.

But I write like I talk and that’s just how it is.

Cool?

OK then, let’s boogie…

• Booyah = oh yeah!
• Brain fart = a spontaneous idea from seemingly nowhere
• BTW = short for “by the way”
• Dilly-dally = messing around
• Dork = idiot
• Dude = a male person
• Ex-spurt = he who “talks the talk” but doesn’t “walk the walk”
• Gangbusters = something that’s energetic, intense or effective
• Giddy-up = get up and go
• Goo-roo = a “guru” as in “marketing guru” or “the gurus”
• Grasshopper = student (i.e. as seen in the old “Kung Fu” TV show)
• Gummint = government
• Hoopla = excitement
• IMHO = short for “in my humble opinion”
• Moola = money
• Mucho = Spanish for “much” or “a lot”
• Newbies = people new to marketing, sales, copywriting, etc
• ’nuff said = enough said
• Sally forth = suddenly set out to do something
• Scratch = cash flow or money
• Skillz = skills, but with a “z”
• Smackeroos = dollars

Wait a minute… what’s that?

You want to know WHY I would even consider ever using words or phrases that are not immediately 100% clear?

Because, grasshopper, writing like you talk works.

And it often works like gangbusters.

Ben Settle

P.S. For a free “slang swipe file”, go to:

Yesterday’s email to newbies sure rattled some cages!

And the part that made the most noise was when I said:

What did I mean by this, exactly?

Well, I’m not saying ALL launch letters suck. Some are incredibly good and thoroughly tested. But, you gotta be careful with which ones you choose to study, too.

And here are a few reasons why:

1. They Are Sometimes Altered

I personally know at least two top copywriters who slaved away on a big launch sales letter only to see their copy butchered by the client to the point where you had to wonder if a wee kindergardener wrote the dang thing.

2. Some Are (Literally) “Slapped” Together Last Minute

In fact, not long ago, an extremely savvy marketer (a “household name”) even admitted he only spent 3 hours on his big launch sales letter.

The copy was a mere afterthought.

3. Some Work In SPITE Of The Copy

Many launches are brilliantly marketed to the point where people don’t even READ the sales letters. Customers are buying due to brilliant marketing, launch strategy, pre-selling, JV partners and other factors besides copywriting.

Frankly, they’d probably get away with just an “order here” link.

So anyway, I’m not “poo-pooing” ALL launch letters.

Just be careful what you study.

Ben Settle

P.S. Want another reason to “look before you swipe”?

This is from “A List” copywriter Doug D’Anna’s “Copywriting Grab Bag” interview (on pages 255-256):

“You mentioned a swipe file. You had asked me earlier what people do wrong. When I first started out I had a swipe file too. You know what the first thing I discovered was when I realized who Gary Bencivenga was and the game I was in? I threw everybody else’s piece away.

“Why would I do that?

“Because I might have been thinking that I was swiping something that was good or using a model that was a winner when it wasn’t.

“That was the first thing.

“You need to have control pieces in your swipe file. But, you’ve got to remember that control piece worked for that piece at that time in that market in that environment.

“So it’s really more of a case study to look at.”

I swear… I barely have enough energy to write this email.

Not because I’m sick or anything like that.

But because I literally had every crumb (well… almost) of information about finding copywriting clients and writing ads I know sucked out of my brain last night on Doberman Dan’s tele-seminar.

I tell you I can barely stand up!

BUT…

The good news is Doberman Dan IS up and running. And he’s already put our big ol’ fatty **2 hour** rap session on his site.

You can grab it at the “dawg house” now (free) at:

Ben Settle

P.S. BTW, just because the focus was on copywriting and finding copywriting clients, just about ALL of it is directly applicable to any OTHER kind of selling and/or service business. Whether you’re a coach, consultant, Internet marketer, network marketer or (as you will see) even if you sell water filters door-to-door. This stuff works no matter who you are or what you sell.

P.P.S. There is one secret about getting clients on there that DD said we could easily have charged a pretty penny for.

And you know what?

I totally agree with him.

In fact, if you are looking for clients (in any business) and did nothing but hear this one part, I’d bet green money you would find getting clients FAR easier and faster than ever before.

Again, no matter what service you sell.

Got something really cool to share today.

It’s a “snippet” of an email my friend and AdWords “scientist” (literally — he’s a computer scientist) Jim Yaghi sent me yesterday.

Anyway, here’s the story:

I had sent him my copywriting book and (in passing) mentioned how I use the comic book ads included on the CD to write lots and lots of different AdWords ads.

As certain comic book ads make great AdWords ad “templates.”

And that’s when he emailed me an AWESOME copywriting tip I’d never even thought of before.

A tip that’s already making writing ads far easier.

In fact, I found it so valuable, I asked if I could share it.

He gave me the “green light” and so here we go….

Pretty cool, eh?

This is extremely valuable advice.

It’s especially handy when you can’t think of a unique way to describe something.

So thank you Jim!

And by the way, if you do PPC check out Jim’s site.

He’s a computer scientist who figured out some “back door” ways of using AdWords you will probably not hear anywhere else.

Ben Settle

P.S. BTW, if you have already bought The Copywriting Grab Bag and are using AdWords, check out the comic book ads on the CD.

I’ve been using them to bang out hundreds of different ads very quickly.

Those old time comic book ad writers really understood how to write powerful ads that seep right into a person’s psychology and brain in just a few lines.

And they make a great PPC ad “swipe file.”