Ben Settle

The other week I brain farted out 9 words:

(in an email)

“If it ain’t fun to write, toss it out.”

“Email Players” subscriber Andrea Tomio replied:

“And there are people that say you don’t give “value” in your emails. I own all the major email marketing courses (paid lots of cash for them) and NOBODY is saying the above. (potentially worth more than the price of a whole course). Plus your email players book and your newsletter were the only ones than motivated me to actually implement (because of simplicity).”

’nuff said.

Another brain fart:

It endlessly amuses me how many people are infatuated with complicated, and stubbornly insist they won’t succeed unless their business is wrapped up in a 17-step sales funnel, run by multiple “tech-unfriendly” shopping cart programs that need professional programers to manage, hooked up to half a dozen different split testing and analytics programs, all being overseen by a high priced coach and judged by the random opinions of an even higher priced mastermind full of people who aren’t even in the same market as them.

When, in many cases, it’s the simple & *actionable* things that have the most impact.

All right, enough amusement for my soul.

On to the important stuff.

The sales pitch:

To start learning the simplicity of making a ton of sales using easy-to-write, plain text emails people love to read and buy from, check out the “Email Players” newsletter right here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Comes a not-entirely-unexpected question:

“Ben what is a fluffpreneur you keep using that word alot”

I’d love to take credit for coining it. But, I first heard Justin Devonshire drop it while we were hanging out at the Biz N Brewz event. It’s very fitting, too — as it’s all about the feelz for the fluffpreneurs, and feeling good and inspiring people, etc.

Nothing wrong with those things on their own.

But if that’s ALL you have to feed your customers, you’re only hurting them.

Lemme think up an example.

Ah, I know:

Let us harken back to the days of when elBenbo was but a pre-teen. I used to get in trouble because I’d make these sammiches (back then I had to make my own sammiches — rough childhood…) that consisted of:

1. Wonder bread
2. That caramel spread people use for fruit dip
3. Half a bag of chocolate chips

Oooooh yeah!

Pure sugar.

And I loved every overly sweet mushy bite of it.

But you know what?

While it tasted good, it had zero nutritional value at all, and was silently doing damage to my body in ways I shudder to think of today (inflammation, tooth enamel damage, high blood sugar, fat build up, creating an addiction to sugar, the list goes on…).

That’s what fluffpreneurs do to their customers.

There’s no real sustenance.

It’s just a wonder bread, caramel spread, and chocolate chip sammich.

You see it in their videos.

You see it in their lame social media posts.

And, you even see it in their idiotic facebook memes.

It’s all feelz good at the expense of preparing people for the trials and tribulations of having a real business. Probably they mean well. But the damage they do to someone by filling their head with nothing but feelz good fluff vs giving them some raw, nasty tasting medicine when they need it (i.e. the truth) is something that can keep someone broke and chasing that next sugar high of fluffy nonsense.

So anyway, that’s my opinion on it.

You can eat wonder bread and chocolate chips as a treat sometimes.

But, you can’t live off it.

Not if you want to be healthy and have all your teeth.

For details on my anti-fluffpreneur “Email Players” newsletter go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Last week Yours Unruly got tagged on an amusing facebook thread.

It was a thread with people lamenting all the daily emails being sent these days, with the typical facebook drama queening for attention. (In this case, complaining about the emails they get each day to lists they willingly choose to stay opted in to — willing victims, not innocent victims.)

Of course, I shared it in one of my facebook groups.

And, we had a merry ol’ time mocking it all.

For example:

“Email Players” subscriber Michael Cheney (who mails 4 times per day) responded:

“Yes emailing multiple times a day is NOT a good idea please don’t do it. And definitely don’t sell stuff to people or market to them either. Just send a weekly “digest” email summarising all the free stuff you are killing yourself by giving away and then apologise for pitching them one link. That should do it”

“Email Players” subscriber Phil Hawksworth also chimed in:

“I never got why people see their email as some holy place you shouldn’t contact too often… Then actively spend hours a day on Facebook where nobody offers value or relevance to the reader; just posting cat pictures, selfies, selfies with dog ears, emotes about their first world problems and selfies…”

Finally, “Email Players” subscriber (seeing a theme here?) Ron Sell closes with:

“The comments are frightening. I don’t understand how they can complain about being emailed when they subscribed and they also have the power to unsubscribe. Either they secretly enjoy being a victim of the “evil email marketers” or they are just too dumb to be on the Internet.”

Anyway, the point:

The above are three of the best descriptions of the typical facebook fluffpreneur mindset with email I’ve ever seen.

They are also the kind of people I actively repel.

Not only from buying from me.

But, also, from subscribing to my list at all.

I would recommend you do the same…

All right, on to bid’niz:

If you want to learn how to write emails people look forward to reading and buying from (while sending the facebook fluffpreneurs out into the streets weeping and gnashing their teeth), check out the “Email Players” newsletter over yonder:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Re: my “How elBenbo stole $30k and got away with it” email last week.

What do I have against high ticket coaching and masterminds?

Nothing.

I have even participated in a few.

And, have done guest trainings at several (ranging from $10k to $20k or more just to be in the room), plus the Oceans 4 Masterminds my pals and I put on (although the $5k Ocean 4 is a drop in the bucket compared to the $50k+ ones I have heard about, I suppose.)

I think high quality coaching and masterminds can be great.

And, some of them change lives.

That said:

What I’m not a big fan of are high ticket coaching and masterminds that are either (1) sold by people who have little or no real world experience or substance, just fluff, book knowledge, and/or woo-woo magic facebook unicorn burp nonsense, or (2) are targeted to people who are newbies, desperate, or don’t have the money, experience or the knowledge to put the info into context. Even my own products, I tell people not to buy if they have to go into debt over it. They should get their financial houses in order first. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize it was nothing short of a blessing to be buried in debt when I got started. I simply didn’t have the money to afford all the high priced stuff. I started with low priced books like Dan Kennedy’s “Ultimate Sales Letter”, for example, which was like $8. Then, when I was able to afford it (using money earned from *applying* what I learned in the first book), started spending money on the more expensive stuff.

Obviously people can spend their life savings on these things if they want.

But, I get an earful about this stuff from spurned folk regularly.

So, I write about it.

And, pass it on to you.

Accept or reject ye the advice as you see fit.

But, don’t say you weren’t warned…

Moving on:

If you have a list and a working offer, and if you can afford it check out the “Email Players” newsletter at the link below. It’s not not for people who can’t focus on one thing and complain about information overload… Or those who are on a tight budget… Or goo-roo fanboys who think they can learn a super secret ninja email trick today and be rich by next Thursday.

But, it works for a lot of other folks.

And, could work for you, too.

Details here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. Came a reply to the aforementioned “How elBenbo stole $30k and got away with it”:

(to illustrate the power of *implementing* what you invest in – regardless of price)

I just had to send you a quick note to let you know that I am SO glad I found you! (I’m a new subscriber to EmailPlayers for a couple months now).

I’ve been down the road of high priced Masterminds & coaches as well (had some amazing experiences, it wasn’t all bad), but have learned more from what you’re teaching (because I’m implementing) than any ‘high ticket’ group program.

I’ll have some stats to share with you soon (conversions from email), but wanted to send a quick note of appreciation. I’m having a ball writing and know this process is a game changer for me.
Thanks for being so damn entertaining too…

Have an awesome weekend,

Kim Doyal
The WP Chick

Let me tell you a story:

Last month while speaking in Boulder Colorado at a health profits event about email, I ended up meeting and hanging out with one of my Internet marketing heroes Jonathan Mizel. I’ve learned much from him over the years. And, have profited a lot from his teachings. Anyway, the last day of the event, we all went out to dinner. And, during the talk, Jonathan made a very accurate assessment of your boy elBenbo.

Specifically, he said:

“Ben, you have a lot of walls up.”

And it’s true.

I let *very* few people in.

I keep everything to myself and even my friends, family, and customers have felt the sting of my ignoring them when asking me personal questions (or if they engage in any kind of small talk — which I want nothing to do with). I daresay my dog knows more about me than most people as she’s my minion and I only tell *all* my wicked plans for world domination to her…

And you know what?

There’s a powerful marketing lesson here if you’re open to it.

The lesson:

Whatever you sell, whoever you sell it to… put yourself in the mindset that they have walls even taller and thicker than mine. They don’t want to let *anyone* in. And, they will never admit their pain to anyone. What do you say to that person? What do you write in an email? How do you scale that wall or punch through it?

All I can say is, I’ve sold to markets like this.

And have penetrated their walls (to sell to them) like the fiery wolf head ram in the Lord Of The Rings movies the orcs used to punch through Gondor’s gates.

To learn my system go right here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I think I found yet another reason for certain high priced coaches and mastermind companies to despise the very air elBenbo breathes.

Here’s what I mean:

Last weekend I posted a testimonial from copywriter and “Email Players” subscriber April Dykman about how she’s gotten more hardcore usable, practical, and, yes, profitable info from my free podcast (which won’t be free much longer, but still…) than tens of thousands of dollars worth of coaching and masterminds she’s invested in.

And guess what?

A couple days ago, another “Email Players” subscriber said:

(Inspired by my “Beaten up by the Email Dummy” email)

“This email actually helped me decide to not join a 30k mastermind group which I was on the fence about and instead invest in more products. Your products as well.”

Ooooh yeah, baby!

Stole away another one!

I don’t know the details on the above mastermind one way or the other.

But, his comment got me thinking about some of these other high priced deals out there.

And that is this:

I’ve long been railing about all the wannabe experts popping up on flakebook over the last several years. It’s gotten to the point where being charismatic, physically attractive, or just having a fun & entertaining personality is enough to sell people on buying high priced products and services (and masterminds, coaching, etc) regardless of how little (if any) real-world knowledge and experience they have. Just throw up some videos, talk about some syrupy fluffpreneur mindset nonsense, drop some social proof and:

Bam!

Instant guru.

No experience required.

Don’t believe me?

Simply lurk on flakebook a while.

Like anything else, when you’re looking for it, you start to see it everywhere.

Anyway, it’s amusing to think about.

Probably not so amusing for people who buy into it, though.

To subscribe to “Email Players” go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

One of the big challenges people have writing ads is when they’re just starting out, or their product is brand new, and they (and their product) have no track record of success, no scrolling box of testimonials, and no marketplace positioning, brand, or recognized name whatsoever.

(Not even anything someone can yet Google.)

It’s quite the pickle.

What do you do in those cases?

That, my little droogie, is what storytelling is for.

It’s astonishing how persuasive a story can be.

People who sell stocks have long known how easy it is to get investors worked up about buying a bunch of stock from a brand new start up that (for all anyone knows) is run out of a shed in the founder’s back yard in the middle of nowhere… just by telling the right kind of story.

You just have to know what *kind* of stories work best in this case.

It’s too much to go into here.

But, I do talk about it in detail in my “Copy Slacker” course.

In fact, copywriter Mary Rose Maquire recently said:

I LOVE Copy Slacker!! I have a new offer for a product I’ve been working on over the past three months. I’m finally getting around to thinking of how to present it. Since I have no testimonials, I have to be creative.

Copy Slacker to the rescue!

Ben explains in the fourth video Storytelling Method #4 and #5 EXCELLENT ways to present your offer, even if your product doesn’t have a track record. I’m going to be working on the #5 method today.

Best part?

The two methods Mary is talking about are ridiculously simple.

You don’t need to attend any storytelling seminars or bootcamps. You don’t need to have read lots of stories. And, frankly, you don’t even have to be a good writer. Anyone can tell a story regardless of writing ability. But, if you want a guide, then elBenbo is only too happy to do the wicked deed.

Anyway, yes, Copy Slacker is expensive.

And, no, it won’t make you a “world class” or “A-list” copywriter.

But, it can make you lots of sales.

And, it can make those sales in a way that’s so simple it just might astound your righteous self.

Go here to get your eager hands on it today:

www.CopySlacker.com

Ben Settle

An “Email Players” subscriber asks:

Hi Ben,

How do you keep your motivation to consistently create and send an email on a daily basis?

To paraphrase the brilliant sales trainer, speaker, and author Barry Maher:

“Writing emails is like sex. If you don’t enjoy it, you ain’t doing it right…”

Here’s my take on it:

I have this mindset that if what I’m writing isn’t exciting me, then I throw it out and write something that *does* excite me. Otherwise, if I’m bored by my own writing, then I know my audience is most likely bored out of their minds reading it.

Yes, I know.

Not all writers share this mindset.

Some even say it’s like slitting your wrists and bleeding on the page.

Bah!

What a miserable existence.

So anyway, that’s my take on it.

If it ain’t fun to write, toss it out.

That way, sitting down to write is like always eating dessert first…

Of course, it helps to have guidance on how to get ideas. Like for subject lines, body copy, and all the other parts of a high-selling email.

If you want that, go ye here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Last week I got the following question:

“I would like to buy all of your products where can they be found?”

I’m always (justifiably) suspicious of such questions.

It’s usually (not always though) one of the marks of an opportunity-buyer mindset, and I don’t cotton to them folk.

But, what the hay.

I’ll answer it anyway:

The answer is several places.

Obviously, there’s “Email Players” — my main thing:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Plus, there’s a bunch of my products at my podcast store:

www.BenSettleShow.com/store

But, a warning for ye procrastinators:

This store won’t be accessible to the general public soon.

There’s also my Copy Slacker product:

www.CopySlacker.com

And my Crackerjack Selling Secrets eBook:

www.CrackerjackSelling.com

Anyway, most of the above stuff is high ticket. That’s just the way we roll around here. But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t heard the cries from the price shoppers, too, and that I have not taken mercy on them. If that’s you, I also have a bunch of “bargain basement” priced books (most are $2.99 or so) here:

www.BenSettle.com/kindle

I got books that run the gauntlet of topics:

• Copywriting

• Email

• Traffic

• Negotiation

• Affiliate marketing

• Marketplace positioning

• Joint ventures

• How to profit from print newsletters

• And even specialty books on topics like Christian business secrets… building a swipe file… and, yes, my kooky monster novels.

Most of them priced in the $2.99 range.

And, many of them very short and to the point — so you can read in one sitting, and profit in another sitting all in the same day, if’n you so choose.

Anyway, there you be.

All my products (big and small) linked to in one tidy email.

More:

I have some additional products coming out this year, too.

On the podcast side, we’re building a membership site containing 4 extra exclusive podcasts per month (we’ll be eliminating the free podcast, or keeping it to just one free podcast per month), a Facebook accountability group with direct access to me and my jolly podcast friends, Mystery Settle Theater 10,001 movie night with elBenbo (which is something only my ex-copywriting apprentice has benefited from until now), Q&A call in days, exclusive interviews with A-list marketers and copywriters (not the wannabes you see on flakebook but “for real” A-listers), annual mastermind in some tropical location, and more — I’ll be obnoxiously and relentlessly mailing about this more next month, don’t worry you won’t miss it…

Another product:

I’m teaming up with the prestigious AWAI.

Specifically:

A product on how to create a business (you can run without any VA’s, employees, affiliates, or team of people where you have to constantly be doing endless launches and beg affiliates to promote for you just to keep the lights on and make payroll) where you can make 6-figures (or more) per year writing just one or two emails per day.

I’ve been doing this for the last several years.

And, it’s high time I systematized this, no?

More on that as it progresses.

Until then?

Keep writing…

Ben Settle