Ben Settle

Sometimes a website reader will ask why I don’t sell a one-shot product on email marketing.

Something easily pimped out via affiliates.

Easily accessible.

And, easily downloaded in pdf.

I’ve rapped about this many times before.

But, there’s one reason I’ve never revealed:

I have to teach month-to-month because it is, in many ways, like a professional monthly period. What I mean by that is, it’s uncomfortable making sure I don’t phone anything in. (I’ve rewritten entire issues from scratch because they didn’t meet my standards.) It cramps my fingers on the keyboard writing it. (Ask any subscriber… each 16-page issue is wall-to wall text, very little white space and zero filler). I get irritating hot flashes of ideas for other emails, products, ad copy, etc I have to constantly pause to write down before continuing, which slows my momentum while writing it. I become moody and lash out at anyone bothers me while writing it. My conscious gets bloated with anxiety in making absolutely SURE I’m delivering information that, for someone who implements, will *easily* make back their monthly investment (many times over in the short term, and hundreds and thousands of times over, over time…) And, it cleans out my mind of all the lessons and ideas always hatching in my mind.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

“Ben that’s such a crude analogy!!!”

Meh.

Imagine me rubbing my fingers together.

You know what this is?

It’s the word’s smallest violin.

Save the complaining for someone who cares.

It may be crude, but it’s accurate.

In fact:

I can tell right now, just by own tone in writing this (as I read it over) it’s time to start writing another issue.

I’ll even give you a “sneak preview” of what’s in March’s issue:

One thing I cover is how to sell in virtually ANY market you want… even if you know zilch about that market now… using plain old, “retro” email, and in just 60-minutes or less.

I’ve used this secret several times.

And, each time I made out like a bandit.

Methinks you will, too.

That is, if you’re a subscriber.

And, if you implement the info.

(Which is very “newbie friendly, good jumping-on issue.)

Subscription details here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Okay, so here’s the scoop:

If you sell or buy anything in the dating niche… or even have half an ear dialed into the popular culture these days… sooner or later you will hear a term called:

“The Friend Zone”

What that means is this:

A guy likes a girl.

Girl decides said guy is not worthy of her affections for whatever reason, so she places him in the friend zone: She’s happy to be “friends” with him, but she finds him as sexually attractive as a garden slug.

Sure, she’ll let him give her his attention.

She’ll let him do stuff for her.

She’ll let him pick her (or her friends) up from the airport, let him help her move, let him listen to her cry on his shoulder about yet another doo-bag that broke her heart, let him listen to all her drama, and the list goes on.

But, she won’t date him.

Won’t kiss him.

Won’t even hold his sweaty little hand.

That’s the friend zone.

And, unless a dude understands what’s going on (most never do), once you get in there you have a better chance of escaping Alcatraz than the friend zone.

Anyway, we have a bit of this online, too.

Except it’s not called the friend zone.

It’s called the free line zone.

The “free line” is the idea where you give lots and lots and lots of free stuff away (often during a launch) so that people think, “zowie! if this is what he’s giving away free, just imagine what’s in the PAID product!”

This creates *some* customers, true.

But mostly, it creates entitled freebie seekers.

(And refunders, but that’s another email…)

People who place you square in the free line zone.

(i.e. they will gladly partake of all your free stuff, but have no intention of buying from you, and why should they if you are foolish enough to give away all your best stuff free?)

More:

Some people think there’s some so-called “law of reciprocity” action going on there, too. Where, because they gave the little freebie seekers on their list something free, they will somehow magically transform into responsible, paying customers who actually want to do something about their problems, pains, desires (whatever it is your product grants), instead of continuously wandering the goo-roo casino raking in all the FREE!!! stuff they can find.

I won’t say this free line stuff never works.

Or, that you won’t make sales with it.

But, compared to selling?

’tain’t even close.

Being a give-away artist is not selling.

And, while certain gurus with huge lists and rabid fans who treat them like the proverbial rockstar (and would buy their grocery list — no sales pitch needed — if offered) can get away with being give-away artists, most blokes I know simply can’t.

That’s why I get so many testimonials that talk about this.

People used to give away hard content in their emails.

They got poor, maybe even decent, results.

Then they use my system and sales explode. Clicks explode. And, yes, the number of people eagerly opening your emails explode.

That’s what happens when you write emails people enjoy reading.

Enjoy responding to.

And, yes, enjoy *buying* from.

It’s what I teach each month in the “Email Players” newsletter.

And, I can teach you, too.

But, only if you’re an investor-minded person. (Not an opportunity-minded person like 99% of people online.) And, only if you’re willing to work.

This ain’t fantasy land.

If you subscribe I expect you to work.

I expect you to write emails every day.

And, I expect you to implement.

Otherwise, you’ll fail.

And, then, what would be the point?

All right.

If’n you want more info, go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Here’s what’s in today’s “Ben Settle Show” podcast:

• 3 ways to make haters look dumb when they comment on your posts.

• The power of bringing a bazooka to a knife fight.

• A weird thing some girls do when they flirt with guys. (It makes no sense, but if a girl ever does this to you, there’s a good chance it’s her goofy way of flirting.)

• A counter intuitive action to take when someone paints you as a “villain” in social media (or in any other situation).

• One of the best Hollywood movies to watch if you are a man and sell in an all-female market. (The advice one of the characters gives in this movie was worth a lot of sales to me when selling in a female market.)

• What never to say in your copy if you sell to women.

• What happens in someone’s brain when you ignore them.

• When you should treat someone as just a sheep.

• How to (righteously) use mockery to deal with haters. (Old Testament prophets did this all the time, here’s how to use the same method on Facebook.)

• And a ho’ bunch mo’…

Download your lovin’ here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/itunes

Ben Settle

True story:

A while back I posted a bit of advice in a private Facebook group open only to paying customers.

Most of us in there are dudes.

And someone was talking about selling to women.

Specifically, how guys sell to women (something like that, I don’t fully remember the conversation). What I do remember is, one of the comments I made about how I used a line from a movie to make a lot of sales when selling in an all-female market.

The advice, I suppose, would offend mush cookies.

(mush cookies gonna mush)

And, was worth a bunch of sales to me.

So, I posted it.

Then, I decided to post it on my main timelines for S&G’s.

The result?

A chick I know farted out some dumb comment that made no sense about me having “hate speech”, and it turned into an 80 some comment thread (not a single one agreeing with her) before it died off.

Anyway, the point?

Tomorrow’s Ben Settle Show is about this.

Specifically how to deal with Facebook idiots — people who do nothing but whine, complain, argue, take cheap shots, hate, etc. I also talk about the movie that inspired the above advice. And, some other politically incorrect stuff that can put more of the green stuff in your hot little hand.

It’ll be posted tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out past episodes here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

Ben Settle

In which the inevitable question is axed:

“Your books and newsletter and products are all black on white text. Have you ever thought of doing a more designed look and feel? With pictures, colors, maybe the odd video even.”

My answer:

No, and I’ll tell you why.

Whether any of us like it or not, whether it makes sense or not, the more pretty something is generally the less value its given because it looks mass market — like something that belongs in a book store. And bookstore products usually don’t command much of the green stuff, even if the info is worth hundreds or thousands.

Example?

Nightingale-Conant.

I once read Dan Kennedy talk about how they sold some expensive course on success (something like that) and it was all prettied-up, slick, and “valuable” looking.

The result?

Lots and lots and lots of refunds.

So they decided to make the product ugly — photocopied pages in a binder. No bells. No whistles. The kind of format that’d make a designer weep and gnash her teeth.

What happened?

Refunds dropped like a politician’s pants at a brothel.

Same with ebooks.

They’re digital “air” — with no tangible value.

Many of them are even more plain Jane than my stuff. Yet, they often command $27, $37, $47 or more… while in a book store that same information, all dolled up and designed, would not get even $15, most likely.

There are exceptions to this, of course.

Like, for example, Gary Bencivenga’s DVD course.

But even then, we all would have devoured it even if it was black & white and ugly (wouldn’t have mattered to me or anyone else I know who possesses it).

Anyway, so that’s one reason.

Another?

I’m lazy.

Especially when it comes to video. (It took me about 2 weeks to get around to shooting a 24-second video testimonial for a friend recently, that’s how much I despise video).

Another reason:

My stuff is readable and presentable as is.

So, anyone who would not buy or consume one of my products because the sales letter or product is not dolled up would not be a good customer for me, anyway.

Anyway, that’s why my stuff is ugly.

Plane Jane.

And, not going to win any design contests.

If someone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to buy.

For everyone else:

My flagship product is “Email Players”. It’s a print (black & white) newsletter. It’s 16-pages long. And, each issue is packed from stem to stern with my best ideas for making more sales with email.

It ain’t pretty.

And, it ain’t cheap.

But, it is profitable for people who use it.

Details at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Recently, I did a podcast on my political views.

There was nary a bit of actual content in there, and I was harsh on high tax rates, abortion (which is particularly revolting and gruesome to me), gun control, big government, and a bunch of other things I think are harmful and destructive.

Thus, I expected some shriek mail.

But, got none.

In fact, even those I heard from who disagreed with me were all cordial, polite, and respectful.

In other words… they had lives to live.

Businesses to build.

And, better things to do than get in pissing matches.

Still, one bloke wanted to know if I’d jump in and help him on a debate he’s having on Facebook about some of these things.

My answer?

I’d rather have my blood sucked out by leeches.

Debating on Facebook is the epitome of wasting my time. It’s one thing to present your views about something (anything), make your case, and move on. It’s quite another to get into some long, pointless pissing match with someone that will never change anyone’s mind, regardless of how many facts, statistics, or appeals to authority (“but a SCIENTIST said it, so it must be true!”) you can muster up.

More:

Facebook debates are packed straw man arguments.

It’s like all people do is pick the most bungling voice they want to hate on, and then say “see they’re all stupid!”

Kind of amusing to think about, actually.

That said…

There are people who simply thrive off debating on Facebook. It energizes them, and they insist it helps hone their persuasion skills. (Which I can see being a reason to do it). For others, I suspect it’s like their version of TV — fun entertainment.

(Just a more self righteous brand of it.)

But, I don’t get the appeal of it.

And, probably never will.

Anyway, lemme bottom line this:

If my politics, religion, or any other views (especially business, marketing, sales, email, copywriting, yada, yada, yada) give you heartburn then guess what?

There’s the unsubscribe link.

Don’t be shy about using it.

For everyone else?

Check out:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

“Thanks Ben, you a–hole,” said Producer Jonathan when I gave him the “guidelines” for picking the top 3 iTunes “Ben Settle Show” reviews for the recent contest we had.

“What’s the matter?”

“How’m I supposed to pick the 3 best? They’re ALL good!”

The only guidelines I gave him were:

“Imagine a would-be listener is on the fence about wasting their time listening to a podcast, which 3 would put them over the top?

Problem is, almost all would have done the trick. So, MUCHO thank you’s to everyone who participated.

We really appreciate it.

But, if you didn’t win, don’t blame me.

Just remember:

It’s all Jonathan’s fault…

(Although you may be eligible for a consolation prize.)

That said, the winners are:

1. Sandy Espinoza, who gushed:

“Ben is my inspiring Go-To guy!”

There aren’t a lot of women in this field and sadly i have been taken advantage more than once by the supposed “goo-rus”. But not Ben-he has been honest, authentic, funny, informative, thought provoking and I have learned so much by his emails, podcasts and products. He is a wealth of honest information and I am so grateful every day that I found him, the podcasts and newsletters. If you want a real deal and not some “goo-rus” BS, stick with Ben, he won’t lead you wrong. I look forward to everything he puts out because I know i will learn something that will help me in some way whether its business personal. Always thought provoking, pay attention to what he says on his podcasts and other materials that he puts out there..you wont be sorry.”

2. Brad Millon, who pondered:

“Don’t be fooled by the Anti-preneur title!

It might take you a couple podcasts to see how Ben’s ideas compound but once you binge listen to a couple of podcasts you’ll quickly see how his concepts and anti-preneur attitude combined with your action taking can boost your marketing and profits no matter if you are an online info marketer or brick and mortar store owner. I found myself going back and listening to these podcasts on almost a non-stop loop as later podcasts opened up insights I missed on the early ones. In my humble but somewhat accurate opinion you should listen to at least three podcast before passing final judgement on whether this podcast is for you or not. Listen to these before Ben realizes the value of info he is giving away for free!”

3. Russell Martino, who saideth:

WARNING: LISTENING TO BEN SETTLE’S PODCASTS MAY HURT THE U.S. ECONOMY

Listening to Ben Settle podcast may save you from spending thousands of dollars on travel, and thousands more on high-priced courses on copywriting, marketing, advertising, sales and negotiation. Nationwide this could amount to hundreds of millions a year not flowing into the economy. I love the podcasts because Ben’s insights on marketing and copywriting are a mile deep. He has great stories and quips … and, selfish creature that I am … I listen, (and often take notes), because I nearly always get IMMEDIATE VALUE that I use in my business. (His “make me an offer” tip in the podcast on negotiation resulted in a client paying me nearly DOUBLE the fee I would have asked – thanks Ben!) Each podcast is loaded with master-level advice on sales and marketing. For me, the content is solid gold. If you own a business, or make a living helping business owners sell more of their product or service, I do both … you’ll subscribe, you’ll love it, and you won’t miss an episode.”

So there they are.

Sandy, Brad, and Russell…come on down!

Send me your snail mail address and I’ll mail you the “Crypto Marketing Secrets” book to your doorstep, and shoot you a link to the Agora tapes downloads.

Also, one more thing:

If you submitted a review during the contest and lost, I’ll send you a “consolation prize” just for giving it a shot.

Everyone’s a winner this time.

But, you only have until tomorrow at midnight (Pacific Standard Time) to claim it.

After that… too late.

(Hopefully you’re reading this in time.)

And people say I have no heart.

Sheesh…

Ben Settle

P.S. If you have never heard the show, but are interested in partaking of my forbidden antipreneur “fruit”, go to:

www.BenSettleShow.com/antipreneur

True story:

I was once listening to Dany Kennedy talk about the paradox of how he rails against using manual labor to sell with… while he’s on stage speaking and selling his products.

(i.e. doing manual labor).

I’m certainly no Dan Kennedy, but I can relate.

Call it hypocrisy if you want.

(You wouldn’t necessarily be wrong.)

But, for better or worse (I just know it works for me), I’m a…

• Novelist who doesn’t read novels
• Podcaster who doesn’t listen to podcasts
• Email marketer who rarely reads emails
• An affiliate marketer who doesn’t sell products via affiliates

And yet… here I am telling you to buy my novels, listen to my podcast, read my emails, and buy from my affiliate link (when I sell stuff as an affiliate).

Can we say “disconnect”?

But wait, my hypocrisy gets better!

I also write marketing, copywriting, business, and sales books… but rarely read books about marketing, copywriting, business, or sales. I much prefer reading autobiographies of great people who have conquered their fields, scuttled their competition, and accomplished great things.

But, not marketing people.

Or sales people.

Or, even business people, necessarily.

You see, instead of reading about the newest way to squeeze out an extra .005% response or learning another way to outsource… or get more done in less time… I’d rather read about how the musician Yanni went from sleeping in his friend’s basement, dirt broke and with no future… to becoming one of the most successful musicians of all time (even if I think most of his music is too dainty for my taste). Or how author, columnist, and right wing political commentator Pat Buchanan went from being a brawler always looking for a scrap on the streets of Washington D.C., getting tossed in jail, and causing hell everywhere he went… to becoming one of the most prolific political writers of our time and advising presidents. Or how a desperate Stephen King went from getting hundreds of rejection slips for his stories and having to type on a broken typewriter balanced on a child’s desk on his knees in the back of his cold trailer home… to becoming perhaps the most popular fiction writer in history.

And those autobiographies are just for starters.

There’s also the late football great Walter Payton.

And filmmaker James Cameron (who made the 2 highest grossing movies of all time — and let me just say, the extreme and borderline sociopathic stuff that guy does just to get a single camera shot for a scene in a movie that most people won’t even probably notice is crazy…)

And my boy coach Mike Ditka.

And comic book creator Stan Lee.

And, most recently, General Douglas MacArthur, whose real life exploits in wars and battles (both on the battle field, and in politics) make anything Hollywood could cook up look like the Mickey Mouse Hour.

Lookee:

All these autobiographies change the way you think.

They change the way you view success.

And, they change the way you attack problems.

The things you learn in autobiographies of great men aren’t the same things you’re going to learn in yet another best-selling business book on Amazon or in an IM launch with a fancy whiz-bang name attached to it designed to rile up the goo-roo fanboys and affiliates haunting the Warrior Forum.

This is the kind of material that changes your brain.

Forces you to be more adaptable.

And, dare I say… turns you into an infidel in your niche — as you automatically start doing things the opposite of how everyone else is, not caring what people think, and developing a powerful “anything that gets in your way DIES!” mindset that’s as rare as hens teeth these days. (People fake this attitude in social media all the time, I’m talking about “for realz” having it.)

My point?

I once heard this advice:

“If you want to do great things, don’t read great books. Read books about great men.”

(That’s more of a paraphrasing, but you get the gist…)

So it just seems to me that, if you want to conquer and rule over whatever it is you do… read about great people, and how they thought and worked… how they stared Desperate in the face and kicked its ass… and how they (to quote one of my favorite movies “The Shawshank Redemption”) sometimes crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.

Anyway, something to think about.

Do whatever it is you think is right.

I’m not here to tell you what to read or not.

If you want to read about yet another super secret ninja rockstar gangsta persuasion technique, then have a party.

Me?

I’m gonna get back (right when I’m done writing this) into reading about how General MacArthur inspired such a fear and awe in his enemies, that the Japanese obeyed (and practically worshipped) him over even their own emperor after WW2.

Okay.

One last paradoxical hypocritical note:

Yes, I think you should read biographies of great men before reading yet another thing about sales, marketing, persuasion, etc.

But, I also think you should check out “Email Players”:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Well, this sucks out loud.

Got word last week from Michael Senoff that the world’s “most feared negotiator” Jim Camp joined the choir invisible. Jim Camp was the guy the FBI called when they wanted to teach their agents negotiation strategies, and his methods were used by over 100,000 students and were featured on CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Inc., and more.

I first heard him on an interview Michael Senoff did.

I must have listened to that interview over 50 times.

(And still listen to it once or twice per year.)

I never met the man in person, but did get to be a co-guest with him on one of David Garfinkel and Brian McLoud’s “Fast Effective Copywriting” webinars last year and he was a true class act. He also confirmed for me on the air a tactic I use in emails is not only completely ethical (sometimes people accuse what I do as less-than-nice when I prey upon my market’s insecurities in my emails and ads), but also highly effective and something he did when he was negotiating high level deals.

Anyway, I want to honor the guy.

So, below is the #1 lesson I learned from him.

I use it in my sales copy, emails, blog posts, when I’m negotiating with someone, or even if I’m wanting to convince someone to do something I want them to do.

Here it is:

“Vision drives decision”

It’s ALL about your prospect’s vision, not yours.

One example Jim used was seat belts. It’s been proven over and over seat belts save lives and, as Jim pointed out, every day someone of great intellect dies in an automobile accident not wearing a seat belt. So what do we do? We lecture people on it. We threaten to ticket people. We try to “intellectualize” the idea of it (which simply creates objections…)

None of which works very often.

Jim’s solution?

Ask questions that create a vision:

“Where is your head going to end up if it smashes through the windshield at 50 mph?”

Or, if selling gasoline:

You could go into a dissertation on the the different octane levels and what they mean and do or, you can say…

“How many miles can you afford to cut off of your engine life?”

Or, selling water filters:

You can launch into a pitch about how your filters get rid of 99.9% of chlorine or whatever, or you can pull a Jim Camp (what he said when selling them door-to-door to get people to hear him out):

“Just tell me you don’t want softer hair and I’ll leave.”

More:

He had a quote that drives everything I do in copywriting.

(In fact, I used in every speech/training I gave last year)

And that is:

“You’re always safe in the other person’s world”

What that means is this:

As long as you stay in their world, talking about their problems, fears, frustrations, and desires, telling stories that are interesting to them, and ultimately making everything you say about them, you cannot bore people (boredom equals death in marketing), you cannot lose their interest, and you cannot really screw up.

But what do most people do?

They start with their product first.

They try to “pitch” right away.

And, they often flounder as a result.

Anyway, it’s one of the single most profitable lessons I ever learned about selling, copywriting, and persuasion.

No, there’s nothing “ninja” about it.

And there are no tricks or tactics to celebrate.

It’s just sound, principled thought and communicating in a way that is in perfect harmony with the laws of human behavior.

Bottom line?

Jim Camp left us one helluva legacy.

I highly suggest you study his books.

Check out the interview he did with Michael Senoff.

And, if you want to see how I apply his ideas to email marketing, crack open any issue of “Email Players” at www.EmailPlayers.com — most of what I teach is influenced by Jim Camp in some way, shape, or form.

So RIP, Mr. Camp.

It was a pleasure to have spoken with you.

Enjoy your next adventure…

Ben Settle