Ben Settle

Lest you think I only show the good stuff…

Finally got our first 1-star “Zombie Cop” review.

(Out of 35 reviews total so far.)

Behold:

“The book had an interesting premise but would have really benefited from an editor. I fought with finishing this book but continued to give it a chance to improve. Sad to say it didn’t. The story at times would contradict itself and was really repetitive. The ending was also extremely flat. The writer was extremely vulgar without reason other than an attempt to be shocking. This failed horribly as it made the writing seem like it was written by someone compensating for their inadequacies as a man. Maybe next time the writer should sell his story to a more experienced writer. I love horror and supernatural books but this one was a bust.”

Almost sounds like they got an axe to grind.

Sheesh.

Whatever the case…

I disagree with the repetitive and contradictory critique — although someone is more than welcome to show me examples of either. (One person tried a few months ago, and admitted he simply didn’t read the ending very carefully. It happens.)

But, I also found it useful, too.

How?

Because it reminded me to give this warning:

“Zombie Cop” ain’t for prudes.

It has quite a bit of profanity (not for some mythical “shock” value — it’s just a depraved zombie story about a depraved town with depraved evil beings doing deranged depraved things — they don’t exactly say things like “the F-word” or “fudge” instead of the word “fuck”). Lots of violent deaths. And, features despicable characters who do truly vile things to each other.

In other words…

It ain’t the Mickey Mouse Club.

(It’s more like Washington D.C….)

Anyway, first chapter is free here:

www.ZombieCopBook.com

Ben Settle

P.S. I’m guts deep into writing the sequel called:

“Vampire Apocalypse”

It should be ready by mid to late November (possibly into December) depending on when the cover design is done. I am hiring the same guy who did the “Zombie Cop” cover — Kirk DouPonce, arguably the best book cover designer on the planet.

And, well, you can’t rush genius…

I’m fang deep into the jugular of the second draft of the “Zombie Cop” sequel called “Vampire Apocalypse.”

So far, it’s been a blast writing it.

My goal though, is for it to be a blast for you to read it.

Should be ready around Christmas.

In the meantime…

If you haven’t read “Zombie Cop” yet, and if you’re not scared of a little twisted monster fiction… here’s what others are saying about it:

“a fun, entertaining, engaging, and compelling read that draws you in and keeps you turning pages”
– Bob Bly
(Bestselling author of over 80 books)

“Reading [this] book and designing the cover were a lot more fun than most of my work!”
– Kirk Douponce
(Book cover designer for all the world’s biggest book publishers, such as Simon and Schuster, McGraw Hill, Harper Collins/Zondervan and Thomas Nelson

“To keep up with Zombie Cop, book writers and Hollywood are going to have to step-up their game. The bar’s just been raised”
– Greg Perry
(World’s “most published” author of computer books)

“Most satisfying book I’ve read in months…Bought it on Thursday and was done by Friday night”
– Yoav Ezer

“Chapter ten really effed with my head so ladies beware. I almost stopped reading the book here. I continued, though, and I am glad that I did”
– Jodi Ardito

“If you’re into ruminations about the secrets and mysteries of ancient times, Sacred texts, and the never-ending saga of supernatural battles of good and evil — again — you. will. love. it.”
– Caleb Osborne

“I couldn’t stop reading”
– Dan Gallapoo

“Read the opening chapters of the book and Kindled it without a second thought”
– Carole Raschella

“constantly wondering what was going to happen next. It was hard to put the book down towards the final few chapters”
– Scott Dudley

“the grossest, most depraved gore-fest imaginable”
– Aaron McManus

“The subject matter isn’t even close to GOT, however the urge you get to devour the material with one squinting eye closed, the other covered, not daring to look away, is the same.”
– Anonymous Amazon reviewer

“A definite page turner…I love the descriptions, the vividness, the colors and the gore”
– Nicole Jolie

“Sick. Deranged. And, once you read the first chapter, you’re in it till the end. Eagerly awaiting the sequel.”
– Mike Monroe

“loved the twist and turns…One of the most surprising and interesting Zombie stories I have read in months”
– Divacreations (Amazon reviewer)

“extremely engaging and makes you not want to put it down”
– Eric McMillan

“eating up the words, hungry for more”
– Gary Stilphen

“I read it in a day and a half…Most of the time with books like this, I can figure out what is going to happen before I read it. That didn’t happen with this book”
– Kristi Cook

“There’s no need to watch twenty hours of The Walking Dead to get your zombie fix. In this book, you get more action, more suspense, and more story — in a fraction of the time it would take you to watch anything else”
– Raymond (Amazon reviewer)

“you’ll appreciate Ben’s deviation from the standard zombie lore. His twist is novel, plausible and terrifying”
– Taheerah Barney

“a FUN read and a REFRESHING twist on the zombie horror genre”
– Shanika Journey

“Every zombie enthusiast both young and old should read this book. It even puts a fresh spin on the zombie lore. It’s not the same old same old zombie tale”
– Anonymous Amazon reviewer

“this is the first time in awhile I couldn’t put a book down. Finished it in the first couple days, the way it’s written pulls you through the story like a tractor beam”
– Ian Stanley

“It’ll have you laughing, cheering on the little kid, and even vicariously eating some poor bastards as a zombie”
– Devin McMahan

“there is so much action and things happening, that you literally have to LIVE and BREATH this book”
– Ivan Carney

“The book is going to take you to places you probably wish you’d never gone”
– Anonymous Amazon reviewer

“Ben is one sick puppy. I’ll be sure to pray for his deranged soul”
– Anonymous Amazon reviewer

“the characters, though demented, almost had this dry sense of humor in their thoughts. I was getting a kick out of their own self talk. Plenty of fight scenes… plenty of gore”
– J.E. Clair

“loved its raw crudeness and gory details”
– Jean Ortiz

“Only Stephen King can keep me on the edge of my seat as much as this novel did, and frankly, I think I prefer Ben’s writing style to the King’s”
– Matthew Meakins

“witty and captivating, and hilariously crude”
– K. Handelman

This book will either:vMake you cringe from the gory scenes. Tense at the action scenes.
Or laugh your ass off at the humor both subtle and direct”
– “Don” Amazon reviewer

“Surprisingly a lot of depth to this book — layers upon layers of bad guys, layers of story lines, and of course, a sense that there’s another book to come”
– Stephen Dean

“an excellent ending that couldn’t have been written any better”
– “Tony” Amazon reviewer

“Great concept, easy to read in one sitting”
– Will Roffe

“Totally gruesome, twisted stuff. LOVING IT TO PIECES.”
– Jim Yaghi

What about you, amigo?

Will the next review be yours?

Can I tempt you into reading the first chapter (and part of the 2nd chapter) free via Amazon?

Then get yo’ zombie lovin’ here:

www.ZombieCopBook.com

Bon appetit…

Ben Settle

Here’s what’s inside the October “Email Players” issue:

• How to use email to give your competition “penis envy” (figuratively speaking, get your mind outta the gutter) in affiliate marketing contests.

• How to get paid to argue with nitwits online.

• One of my favorite email openings. (If you can’t think up a good opening line for your emails, just use this — it’s naturally intriguing, interesting, and gets people eagerly reading.)

• An example of how to write a “rant” email without looking like a blowhard or an idiot. (i.e. how to do it so you make sales, not make people feel sorry for you — including a word-for-word example of how my copywriting apprentice did it.)

• How to build a business around giving stuff away free. (What? Ben Settle blasphemy?? Not if you do it like this… plus, there won’t be a freebie seeker in sight.)

• How to (ethically) use email to milk money from misery. (And have your list love you for it.)

• A swipe file of proven emails (i.e. they made lots of sales) to model, adapt, and study (not plagiarize) for your affiliate campaigns.

• How to pick the best (and most profitable) products to sell as an affiliate. (Do this, and you put the odds in your favor before writing a single email — and no, it has nothing to do with a product’s sales ranking on clickbank or whatever.)

• The exact best time to pitch in an email. (You’ll know exactly when to put that first link in your email — regardless of what you’re selling or who you’re selling to.)

• And lots more…

This issue is packed stem to stern with info.

But it goes to the printer tomorrow.

Nab it here while you still can:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

“Ben, if I subscribe to ‘Email Players’ do I get all the back issues free?”

If I had a penny every time someone asked this question, I’d be a filthy “hog nasty” rich mo’ fo.

Answer:

No.

Back issues are not free.

They never have been free.

They never will be.

They cost the same price everyone who was subscribed at the time they were published paid. And, only current subscribers can buy them (via a catalog that comes with each issue.)

Moral of the story?

Don’t subscribe just for “the free stuff.”

You’ll just waste your money & time.

More:

Believe it or not, paying for valuable info is GOOD.

You should want to pay for things.

You’ll make FAR more $$.

Why?

Well, because when you have skin in the game, you’re more likely to use whatever you bought. That’s why I prefer paying. Even when offered free stuff I usually insist on paying.

Loco?

Not at all.

It’s smart.

And, only smart marketers “get” why.

Next “Email Players” issue goes to the printer in a couple days.

Subscribe here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

In this week’s “Ben Settle Show” episode we offend everyone with the name “Stu” (not on purpose, though), and talk about:

• What to tell people who threaten to opt out of your list.

• My “10 emails” secret to killing it during special sales.

• The old Southern Baptist preacher psychology to effectively helping your customers, clients, students, and anyone else whose lives you want to improve.

• The difference between buyers and customers.

• The single most effective (and simple) way to rake in 2, 3, 4 or more times more profits from your special sales, product launches, or events.

• Why plagiarizing copy, products, emails, etc attracts so many low class buyers and problem customers.

• What all the A-list copywriters I’ve talked to do that hardly anyone else does when writing their ads. (Nothing “ninja” or “rock star” about this — which is probably why so few people ever want to hear about it.)

• My criteria for if I’ll sell a product as an affiliate or not.

• How to attract lots of JV partners.

• A 3-second mindset “tweak” to make yourself non-needy.

• And a ho’ bunch mo’…

Download it here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/itunes

Ben Settle

Tomorrow’s “Ben Settle Show” podcast episode is about badass marketers vs sad ass marketers.

Haven’t checked it out yet?

Still on the fence?

Okay, then here are 22 different comments about the show:

“So much content in each episode my head hurts”
– Corbin11

“witty…pulls no punches…super cool”
– NL Jolie

“Where else can I learn how to get more copywriting clients and win
more arguments with my wife all in one place?”
– Allendell

“To be honest, this podcast may be more valuable than his
newsletter”
– Bob Hiler

“weekly dish of e-mail marketing advice with a side order of
attitude”
– Marcus Sortijas

“this podcast is something I instinctively mention in everyday
conversation among friends, business liaisons, family members”
– JodiJodi

“Just keeps getting better and better!”
– Angelr2d2

“You either love him or hate him, but either way you HAVE to
listen… it’s THAT good!”
– Bob Clarke

“you will walk away smarter after every episode”
– Henry Makunda

“not laughably phony like many internet marketing charlatans out
there”
– Ron Simon

“The ‘Incredible Hulk’ of entrepreneurship, sales and marketing”
– Carlos Torres

“this show is a guilty pleasure”
– Luke Avedon

“spurn his advice at your peril”
– Patrick Will

“Funny and educational”
– Ryan Healy

“Hysterical with VALUE”
– The-Bluesman

“Although some of the things he says can be a bit offensive, i
can’t deny how valuable his content is!”
– Pedraza777

“the most unique podcast out there”
– Greg Perry

“Edgy, controversial, and always thought-provoking”
– Ray Edwards

“Ben’s not for everyone, just those with their heads screwed on
straight”
– JRirving

“He gets right to the meat of the subject and I learn something new
every week”
– JuicingRadio

“Your consistency is something we can all take a cue from”
– giuliochrisw

“Funny as hell”
– PodcastingFan

Anyway, we got a new one for you tomorrow.

And, almost 40 episodes in the can.

Check ’em out here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/itunes

Ben Settle

I’ve always been kind of a Facebook prick.

By that I mean, slow to accept people’s friend requests (unless I know them)… quick to unfriend people at the slightest whiff of nonsense (inane political rants… posts that are nothing but a big image with some flowery lame quote on it… adding me to a facebook group without my permission… inviting me to like a page when I don’t know the person or the business it belongs to… inviting me to events I have no interest in… and the list goes on).

Any excuse to unfriend someone will do.

Sometimes, I randomly unfriend people just for kicks.

And, I always wish the people who drama queen on there about how they are going to unfriend people (for whatever reason — not enough interaction, too self promotional, etc) would start with me.

Seriously.

They’d be doing us both a favor.

Then there’s the jackanape friend requests.

Like, the people with no picture.

Or, have a logo as their picture.

Or, chicks who are too hot to be living in my town.

(Who knew there were all these hot chicks in The Burgle — oh, wait, that’s because they are fake flakebook identity thieves…)

Anyway, it’s amusing sometimes.

But, mostly, a time suck.

That said…

It astonishes me how many people on there would be great email marketers if only they stopped bowing at the alter of social media and, you know, sent emails to their list.

There aren’t a lot of them.

But, they’re there.

And, it’s a shame they don’t get email.

In the October “Email Players” issue I show you an example of one of these people… how they are probably leaving all kinds of money on the table… and, how you can take what they’re doing on fruitcake book and apply it to your emails.

But time is short, babycakes.

She goes to the printer Tuesday.

After that… too late.

Subscribe here in time:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I see this mistake over and over and over…

Even from supposedly “seasoned” marketers who claim to be making millions of smackeroos (and they gots the fake photoshopped bank statement images to prove it!).

And yet, it’s guaranteed to destroy your sales.

What mistake doth I speak of?

Doing “one shot” emails.

(i.e. only mailing an offer once, then moving on…)

Lemme ‘splain why:

Last July I wrote some emails to sell Ryan Levesque’s Survey Funnel product as an affiliate. I don’t do a lot of JV’s — but Ryan’s info is top notch, I’ve seen it myself and I know first hand how effective his info is.

So I happily mailed for it.

But, it wasn’t a one shot email.

It was an entire WEEK of emails.

Each of which built on the momentum of the others.

The result?

According to Ryan:

“Prior to Ben promoting the highest conversion rate (sales vs. webinar registrants) was 21.6%. Ben blew that number out of the freakin’ water with a 28.6% conversion rate (32% better) – and 50% of those sales came on the LAST DAY when Ben sent not one… not two… but THREE emails to his list. (Heresy!) So in other words – all that stuff Ben teaches about mailing OFTEN…. mailing MORE than you might think is prudent… and using a TONE that might make you feel uncomfortable? It works. I’ve seen the numbers first hand. Ben generated over $20,685 in affiliate sales for me using what he teaches – and he did those numbers in a single weekend! The man knows what he’s talking about – and more importantly, he practices what he preaches.”

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Especially considering I don’t teach sales funnel info.

(Like some of his other guru affiliates do.)

BUT… realize this:

If I’d only pumped out ONE email (like many chumps doing affiliate marketing) and stopped, my response would have been FAR less.

What’s the moral of the story?

Mail hard.

Mail often.

And, go for the gold, baby cakes.

Also, make sure you get your bootay on the “Email Players” subscriber list lickety split. The next issue goes to the printer Tuesday, and I not only show you exactly what I did to sell Ryan’s product, but I also hand you the email sequence for you to study, model and adapt (not plagiarize) for your own offers.

It just don’t get much easier than that.

“Email Players” subscribers are fortunate indeed.

To subscribe in time, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. One subscriber sent me a testimonial over the weekend about how he mailed a list of 300 names and sold enough of his membership site subscriptions to be worth over £100k (he’s from across the pond) a year.

Try getting those numbers riding the goo-roo carousel.

Here’s where to subscribe:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Lots of affiliate marketers on my list.

And whenever they ask my advice about how to use email to win at affiliate marketing, here’s what I tell ’em to do:

You gotta go “Indiana Jones” on the competition.

Ever see the movie “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”?

Remember that scene where Indie is running through the crowd with whip in hand… and that swordsman pops up doing a bunch of fancy moves challenging Indie to a duel (whip vs sword)?

But instead…

Indie simply pulls out his gun and shoots the guy dead?

No “duel” necessary?

That’s how you do affiliate marketing.

In other words, don’t try to out-muscle your competition if they have more “celebrity” juice, better marketplace positioning, better ads, etc.

Don’t bring a whip to a sword duel.

Bring a GUN, baby.

And that gun is… email.

You have to realize with email, if you do it right (and almost nobody does it right), you have no competition. At least, not to the people on your list. All the goo-roos and other big shot affiliates may have bigger swords and fancier moves.

But with email you have a gun.

Use it and you’ll win without breaking a sweat.

And that’s where “Email Players” comes in.

Specifically, the next issue.

I explain EXACTLY how to win with email as an affiliate.

And also hand you the exact sequence of emails I used (for study and modeling, not plagiarizing, ye goo-roo fanboys beware) I wrote in July that kicked gluteus bootyus selling a product as an affiliate that did so well it not only beat out all the gurus promoting the same product, but shocked the product owner with how high the conversion rate was.

But time is short.

This issue goes to the printer next week.

No time for dilly-dally.

If you want in, go here today:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle