Ben Settle

A courtesy heads up:

Tomorrow through Labor Day I’m going to be sending a lot of emails selling a $297 copywriting product for just $20. It’s an extremely generous offer. And, whenever I mail offers like this, every. single. time. someone will contact me after the deadline asking if they can still get it. I also get at least one or two wannaprepeneurs who quote the lame “less is better” quote they heard from some other wannapreneur and think it applies to emails, when it demonstrably doesn’t.

(Not when using my system, at least).

So expect an onslaught of emails the next few days.

And, a deal so good, it borders on ridiculous.

If it becomes too stressful pushing the delete button, simply scroll down to the bottom and remove yourself from the list.

Easy-peasy-Japanesey.

The onslaught begins tomorrow.

Until then… giddy-up.

Ben Settle

“Well he don’t know talkin’ good like me and you, so his vocabulistics is limited to ‘I’ and ‘am’ and ‘Groot,’ exclusively in that order.”

— Rocket Raccoon
“Guardians Of The Galaxy”

A few months ago I bloke was pestering about all the “typos” in my emails. He didn’t mean anything malicious about it.

But, it was getting annoying.

(More annoying than typos.)

For 2 or 3 days straight he went out of his way to say, “there’s a typo” in different ways. Again, not maliciously. Just his nature probably.

So what did I do?

What I always tell people who complain about typos:

Nobody cares.

When he replied saying *he* cared, I simply said:

“If you are going to keep wasting my time nattering on about typos each day, then opt out and cancel your email players subscription or I will do it for you. It’s simply not for you. Plenty of others you can learn from, instead. On the other hand, if you are open to learning and not just assuming, I’ve tested and written about this extensively, typos are a non-issue:”

Then listed several blog posts I’ve done about this.

He agreed he was open to learning and we were cool after that.

Anyway, the point of this?

A lot of people who complain about typos should be more focused on writing better emails than having better spelling, grammar, and syntax.

They’ll make a lot more of the green stuff.

And, be less annoying.

Also, speaking of typos:

The biggest complaint about my first two novels was the spelling. And, yes, I admitted it sucked. Especially “Zombie Cop”. But we were anxious to get it out there and, well, why so serious?

Still, we’re always looking for more.

(I don’t care if typos are in my emails, but I don’t want them in my novels).

So, here’s a deal:

Since we updated “Zombie Cop” with the spelling errors fixed not long ago, here is a challenge:

1. Buy and read “Zombie Cop” (the most recent version, as of 30-days ago)

2. If you find a typo, I’ll give you a free copy of the second novel in the series “Vampire Apocalypse”

3. If you find a typo in “Vampire Apocalypse”, I’ll give you a free copy of my soon-to-be-released novel “Demon Crossfire” (part 3 of the series) after it launches

Here’s where to get “Zombie Cop”:

www.EnochWars.com

Happy hunting…

Ben Settle

The following reviewer finds my “Vampire Apocalypse” novel warped, stomach-churning, and so revolting she wishes she could “un-read” parts of it.

Yet, she couldn’t look away…

As much as I really needed sleep, I just had to find out how this book ended!

The author makes it impossible for me to data map anything with even a sliver of accuracy. This is rare in novels these days.

The characters in this sequel are more developed than those in Zombie Cop (which I love). In fact, “Granny” still creeps me out, makes me sick to my stomach, and leaves me wishing I could erase her from my memory all together.

Loved this book! I had committed to reading two chapters a day for one week.

Wishful thinking.

I read the whole book in about 4 hours time over three days!

That said, I recommend this book to anyone who likes to have their mind bent in a messed up sort of way and to anyone who has an appreciation for monsters and the supernatural in general.

If you’re nitpicky about minor spelling issues…well, there’s a note from “Fezziwig” on the very last page. Start there. 🙂

Now, an admission:

This review is from my ex-copywriting apprentice and so could be (and, let’s face it, it probably is) a bit on the, uhm, *biased* side. Still it’s true she read it in a few days and couldn’t put it down (not even for the 15 minutes it’d take her to drive over and make me a sammich…)

Anyway, you can read the first chapter of this and the first novel in my “Enoch Wars” series free here:

www.EnochWars.com

Also one more thing.

I’m a few weeks from finishing book 3.

After that it gets edited and sent to the cover artist.

Hoping it’ll be published before Thanksgiving.

That’s it for now.

Tomorrow?

Something else…

Ben Settle

Today’s the deadline for the September “Email Players” issue.

Here’s what’s inside:

• A “crash course” in the Johnny Carson school of email marketing. (I’ve learned some of the most profitable email techniques I know from studying Johnny Carson. Here are 5 tips you can start using in your emails in mere minutes without needing to even be a great “writer.”)

• How to use email to turn troll mail into cash-in-the-bank sales.

• A secret way used by professional pick up artists to silence, mock, and (if you wish) humiliate online critics, haters, and trolls trying to ruin your reputation and brand.

• David Letterman’s secret for batting out profitable emails in mere minutes.

• 3 easy-peasy-Japanesey ways to jack up your membership site (or other continuity) sales and retention rates.

• A “paradoxical” content strategy for continuity programs that (1) makes it easier to consume informational products (2) is less work for you and (3) is something hardly anyone else is doing.

• How to pick the best products to sell as an affiliate. (Not only will this beef up your sales… but your list will appreciate you more, too.)

• A little-known secret about making lots and Lots and LOTS more sales even if your sales letters have terrible headlines (or no headlines at all!)

• And a ho’ bunch more…

Plus:

As a bonus, I’m including the transcript of an hour and 55 minute training I gave to a private ($10k+ just to have a seat at the table) mastermind last year.

It’s all waiting patiently for you here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Again, deadline is today so time is short.

Hurry.

Ben Settle

In today’s depressing (not really) “Ben Settle Show” episode:

• Robert Downey Jr’s guide to creating a lifestyle where stress doesn’t bother you.

• How being out of “balance” (emotionally, psychologically, professionally, physically, etc) puts your company, health, and even your very life in danger.

• 2 examples of why blindly trusting anyone in business (even people who have been with you for years) is a bad idea.

• How to grow your business by creating your own “currency.”

• Why I ignore practically all unsolicited advice (even if it’s GOOD advice)… and why you should too.

• Why I don’t sell any of my products via affiliates.

• Why I purposely turn away lots of profitable opportunities that would double, triple, even quadruple my income.

• A real life example of why I’m potentially screwed and vulnerable to losing my podcast.

• Why so many wealthy people are miserable. (And how to avoid being miserable yourself when you reach that level.)

• The important success lesson behind how my podcast almost died in the first 20 episodes.

• How I pick and choose which guests (in the rare times when I have guests) to have on my podcast.

• And lots more…

Download your lovin’ here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Ben Settle

Just to show how elBenbo is sometimes a walking contradiction…

I sent you an email a couple hours ago about share bearing.

And, the dangers of it.

Well here’s the One Share-Bear to rule them all:

A few weeks ago Michael Senoff interviewed me for 3 hours sucking every single drop of email and copywriting information he could. Everything from email writing and strategy… to creating obscenely high converting sales letters… to building lists of buyers (not just browsers)… to getting clients (even if you are dropped in the middle of a strange town with zero contacts)… to list management and customer psychology… to getting paid lots more of the green stuff for your products and services than you get now… and, all the gooey stuff in between.

Ooh yeah.

More:

Michael has this strange ability to get far more info out of his guests than his guests intend to give (Michael is notorious for this). And, while I would have preferred to make this interview private (for his HMA customers and my Email Players subscribers) he insisted on making it public, and why so serious?

Anyway, this is easily the most valuable interview I ever done did.

And, it’s like a freebie-seeker’s wet dream.

Yes, even though freebie-seekers won’t do anything with it.

(As I explain in the interview, freebie seekers are literally addicted — via a dopamine drip — to the thrill of new information, which is why they will always be losers unless they change their wicked ways.)

Okay, enough.

It’s broken up into 3-parts.

And, you can find it at the link below under the interview titled:

“elBenbo Reveals How To Win The Internet”

(The 6th interview down the page)

https://bensettle.com/blog/media-interviews

Love it, use it, profit ye from it.

And, if’n you’re so inclined share it, too.

Ben Settle

And the mush cookie of the month award goes to…

This bloke:

Bummer, Ben,

I open and read your email with the intention of what you promised in your subject line.

(HINT: I do not do that to my prospects.)

Please unsubscribe me.

Sheesh.

It’s 2015 and a “marketing” guy can’t figure out how to click an unsubscribe link…

Anyway, this got me a-pondering.

He didn’t really think his complaint through.

The email (from this morning) he was bummer-ing about did have a “how to” subject line. And, the email was all about how to do what it said (get better retention for continuity). It did not necessarily promise you the specifics on it, just the theme/subject of the email.

Just like, you know, ads have done for over 100 years.

Practically all ads do this.

(A lot of the successful ones, at least.)

Email, sales letters, space ads, ppc ads, video sales letters, informercials, etc. Probably many of my mush cookie friend above’s ads do, too, unless he gives all his info away in his ads.

Moral of the story?

Not sure there is one.

Except, mush cookies gonna mush.

Hey, might as well flip their mush into emails that sell.

And, I show you how (for realz) in the September “Email Players” issue.

Grab it here before it goes to the printer (a week from today) here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

In which the money question is asked:

First of all thanks for Email Players. Ideas from the book and the newsletter are having a big impact on the way I work.

Here’s my question…

I’m struggling somewhat with retention on my membership site (I teach English to non-native speakers). 

My churn rate is hovering around 45%… and while this isn’t so bad that I’ll go bankrupt, I’m certainly not happy with it.

One of the things I think you do really well is keeping me on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next EP issue (i.e. retention).

Any specific advice and pointers you can give on this?

To quote the old “Grey Poupon” commercials:

But of course.

In fact, there are 3 things I do specifically (each very simple and meat & potatoes — not sexy at all) to do just as you described.

And guess what?

I reveal them in the September “Email Players” issue.

(Hint: I’m doing one of the tips “on you” now…)

But, she goes to print next week.

Time’s short.

Subscribe here to get it while you can:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

There’s a thread running in my private Facebook group (for people who have bought products from me) about hate mail and troll attacks.

One of the members posted a screen shot for us.

It was quite the nasty comment, too.

And, the guy who sent it clearly has issues.

Anyway, so the thread started talking about various ways people deal with trolls. Some people ignore the trolls (which is often the best response — trolls thrive on attention, if you ignore them you are basically starving them, they hate that). Some people have replies meant to make the troll look and feel like an idiot. And some, are way too nice for ol’ elBenbo’s tastes.

My contribution to the thread?

This:

“I like to publicly mock the trolls by putting their idiotic comments (and my reply) on display and frighten off the others. Kinda like they did to the orc heads in Lord of The Rings…”

And then, I put a picture of what I was referring to.

(It’s from the movie “The Two Towers”).

Anyway, trolls gonna troll.

You can ignore them.

You can try to silence them with niceness.

Or, you can put their heads on display and publicly mock their stupidity using the method I teach in the upcoming September “Email Players” newsletter. Not only does my method scare off other trolls, but it lets you profit from them, too.

And, sometimes, force them to renounce their wicked ways.

(As I’ve done, not all trolls are lost forever…)

Anyway, time’s running out.

Subscribe in time to get this issue before it mails here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle