Ben Settle

Reader “Ted” asks:

OK I get what you’re saying about the forum sites it is definitely drama. But where can a newbie go to l;earn? I have found gary halbert site and some others but where can i got to interact with others to ask questions and learn if not sites like warrior, etc?

The answer’s obvious:

Hang out at forums/blogs your market does.

Not where the “advertising critics” are.

There’s some useful stuff on the marketing forums.

But in way too many cases people on marketing forums often talk about tactics and techniques or what one goo-roo or another is doing, etc. There’s lots of “I’m smarter than you!” grandstanding, too. And, yes, soap opera drama queenery.

Again, there’s some good stuff on them.

But, mostly it’s nonsense.

(IMH – but accurate – O).

Not so with where your market is.

Their drama queening and complaining and advice and ideas are PURE fodder not only for your emails and sales letters… but your advertising, your market research, and even your products.

Want to succeed big?

Listen to your market.

Not the wagging tongues of ye olde advertising critics.

Anyway, there you have it.

The key to unlimited online marketing success.

Simple?

Of course.

And simple trumps complicated.

That’s why my email system is based on simplicity.

And if you want in on the July issue, there ain’t much time left. It teaches a secret way I’ve used to get more sales in a day than I used to get in a month. It also includes a kick booTAY training on using solo email ads to rapidly grow thy list.

But there’s no time to lose.

Subscribe here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

A subscriber is puzzled…

Ben, I have a big list of over 10,000 people that is not converting at all. It might be because I built my list wrong though and i understand that. They were from free ad swaps and sweepstakes and other gimmicks. They aren’t qualfied at all. Any tips on how to get them buying???

In a word…

No.

Oh, we could convert SOME of them.

Even a broken clock is right twice per day, yeah?

But the list is 50% of the battle.

A bad list = zero sales.

I don’t care how good an email marketer you are, either.

Frankly, you could lock all the best email writers in the world in a room for 3 months and they could spend every waking hour writing the perfect emails and they’d still fail to a list like that.

This is a well-timed question, too.

Lately I’ve been getting asked about list building.

Do I teach it in Email Players?

Do you need a list before subscribing?

The answer to both is yes.

Sometimes I do teach list building in *some* (not all) issues, and the “Email Players Playbook” that comes with your subscription has a couple appendixes on the subject.

And, I just happen to teach list building in the July “Email Players” issue.

Specifically, in an interview with Igor Kheifets.

He’s one of the world’s top solo email ads guys.

And, we talk all about how many businesses can use solo ads to build their lists very quickly.

(And, it ain’t all that expensive, neither.)

But, time’s a-wastin’.

She goes to the printer in 7 short days.

Subscribe here to get it while you still can:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Once upon a time a new “Email Players” subscriber admitted…

I look forward to finally learning from you. I have been amused, detested & ultimately convinced by your marketing style.

That wasn’t the first time this has happened.

For S&G’s we’ll call it:

“The 3 stages of Email Players persuasion”

It happens like this:

Many times when future “Email Players” subscribers find my site, they go through these 3 stages:

1. First, I amuse them

(Via personality-driven emails designed to elicit emotion)

2. Then, I detest them

(When I tip their favorite “sacred cow” or talk about something controversial they disagree with or teach something that goes against what they’re favorite goo-roo says — like pitching in every email, defending typos, exposing the fallacy of “scientifically” testing emails, etc)

3. Finally, I sell them

(When I prove my case via relentless daily emails — and they can no longer suppress their urge to experience the benefits of more sales with less effort via persuasive, crystal clear Ben Settle style emails…)

This ain’t just my case, either.

Others using my system notice the same phenomenon.

And you know what?

I believe you can profit from it, too.

It’s the natural result of using my methodology.

Go here to begin:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

On today’s exciting new “Ben Settle Show” podcast:

• An FBI negotiation instructor’s secret for instantly being respected by your peers, market, clients, and anyone else you are in contact with. (Even if they hate you or are outright hostile towards you.)

• The 20th century’s “most persuasive man’s” deathbed confession about how he was able to persuade even people with gigantic egos and pig-stubborn minds to do as he wanted.

• A little-known email lesson that has made me and my clients (when I had clients) more sales than anything else I’ve ever tested.

• A secret way to make a sale to someone before they see your sales pitch or even know your product exists.

• The single best way to get people to feel comfortable buying from you… even if they have no idea who you are.

• How to communicate to your list in such a way where you get sales even from people who don’t like you.

• How to attract the “cream of the crop” best customers in your market to you like flies to honey.

• The best way to build a world class brand people love to follow, tell their friends about, and, yes, buy from.

• The exact “Email Players” issue Producer Jonathan has used to make nearly ALL his sales in the past 3 years from email.

• And lotz mo’…

Download your Ben Settle Show lovin’ here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/itunes

Ben Settle

Might have to frame this comment:

“Ben you come off too abrasive in your emails sometimes. It kind of intimidates me lol you should not be so confrontational and abrasive for those of us who are put off by it Think about it.”

Well aren’t you a delicate little snowflake?

Listen, when I want your opinion I’ll beat it out of you…

Heh.

Anyway, to answer the question:

No.

If anything I’m probably not pushing hard enough. I WANT to scare away people who are easily shocked and offended. My whole thing is to repel people who need hand holding to implement what I teach, permission from their wives to buy what I sell, or to be coddled by ever-extending “free lines” of freebies before *maybe* getting around to doing something to solve their problems.

In other words…

I hunt blood thirsty tigers and bears.

Not timid little bunnies and chipmunks.

The ferocious beasts I hunt have lives to live.

Goals to attain.

And, battles to conquer in life.

The bunnies and chipmunks are the opposite.

They’re scared.

Afraid to make a move.

And, often plagued with analysis paralysis and fear of failure (or of what others will think about them).

Now, I ask you:

Which kind of customers would you prefer?

Those aggressive about solving the problem your product solves? Or those who meekly tip toe around suffering and drama queening never taking action or doing anything to better their lives?

My ways still catch some bunnies and chipmunks.

But, I always throw them back.

(By refusing their purchase or firing them as customers).

I don’t even bother with ’em.

Hey, if you want to waste your time hunting milquetoast bunnies and chipmunks, scraping by licking peoples’ boots (who have zero intention of buying) and working like a mule to please them lest you scare them away… there are plenty of other people to learn from.

But if you want to hunt the snarling wild beasts?

The ones aggressively seeking solutions?

Then I’m your huckleberry.

I can take you into the jungle, show you the tools and techniques for getting your products in your market’s hands (so they can improve their lives) and get paid handsomely for doing it.

Might have to frame this comment:

“Ben you come off too abrasive in your emails sometimes. It kind of intimidates me lol you should not be so confrontational and abrasive for those of us who are put off by it Think about it.”

Well aren’t you a delicate little snowflake?

Listen, when I want your opinion I’ll beat it out of you…

Heh.

Anyway, to answer the question:

No.

If anything I’m probably not pushing hard enough. I WANT to scare away people who are easily shocked and offended. My whole thing is to repel people who need hand holding to implement what I teach, permission from their wives to buy what I sell, or to be coddled by ever-extending “free lines” of freebies before *maybe* getting around to doing something to solve their problems.

In other words…

I hunt blood thirsty tigers and bears.

Not timid little bunnies and chipmunks.

The ferocious beasts I hunt have lives to live.

Goals to attain.

And, battles to conquer in life.

The bunnies and chipmunks are the opposite.

They’re scared.

Afraid to make a move.

And, often plagued with analysis paralysis and fear of failure (or of what others will think about them).

Now, I ask you:

Which kind of customers would you prefer?

Those aggressive about solving the problem your product solves? Or those who meekly tip toe around suffering and drama queening never taking action or doing anything to better their lives?

My ways still catch some bunnies and chipmunks.

But, I always throw them back.

(By refusing their purchase or firing them as customers).

I don’t even bother with ’em.

Hey, if you want to waste your time hunting milquetoast bunnies and chipmunks, scraping by licking peoples’ boots (who have zero intention of buying) and working like a mule to please them lest you scare them away… there are plenty of other people to learn from.

But if you want to hunt the snarling wild beasts?

The ones aggressively seeking solutions?

Then I’m your huckleberry.

I can take you into the jungle, show you the tools and techniques for getting your products in your market’s hands (so they can improve their lives) and get paid handsomely for doing it.

Anyway, here’s the irony of all this:

Approaching business this way actually inspires trust.

Maybe people won’t like you.

But, they’ll trust you.

And, yes, buy from you.

And, in tomorrow’s “Ben Settle Show”, I show you why.

(And how to do it yourself.)

Stay tuned, amigo.

It posts tomorrow, watch for my email.

In the meantime, check out past episodes here:

www.BenSettleShow.com/itunes

Ben Settle

Ben Settle

“I simply read another writer and know I have nothing to worry about”

– Charles Bukowski
Poet & Novelist

I get accused of being a lot of things.

And “arrogant” is at the top of the list.

Of course, people who say it don’t give a reason why they think that — they just fart it out there, afraid to indulge in any kind of deep thinking as if saying it makes it true.

But really, my “arrogance” (real or perceived) ain’t their real issue.

It’s their weakness.

Their insecurity.

And, yes, their fear.

They’re afraid to commit to writing each day… or speaking their mind (and – gasp! – offending someone)… or putting their reputations on the line each day writing publicly — so their only way to not feel like a loser is to bring others down to their level.

(Usually via passive-aggressive comments.)

But, here’s the reality:

Being bold about what you believe doesn’t make you arrogant.

It makes you honest.

It means you have conviction.

And, it means you have a unique voice and point of view.

That’s why if you’re wanting to lead your market and hide behind some kind of lame false modesty shtick it’s only a matter of time before someone takes you down — even if they aren’t as experienced or knowledgeable as you about whatever it is you sell.

Case in point:

I’m prepping to invade a new market.

(Under a pen name and DBA, don’t bother trying to find it.)

At the moment, I’m NOT the most knowledgeable person in the market about the topic I’m writing about.

Not even close.

I get “schooled” constantly on the subject.

But, the attitude I have (that YOU should have — regardless of if you’re brand new or a seasoned pro) is it’s WAR.

It’s a BEAT DOWN.

And my fists are balled UP.

Yeah, it’s gonna get messy.

It’s gonna hurt like hellz at first.

And, bones will be broken.

But over time, as I discover new truths about the market and learn from my tests (and failures), my bones will start to “calcify.”

Kinda like thai boxers.

They continually kick their shins against a banana tree.

Over and over and over…

It’s painful.

It’s brutal.

And it literally creates “micro fractions” in their shins.

But that pain leads to calcification and rock hard bones.

And that’s what happens to your business when you go in with the attitude you may or may not be “the best” yet — but you’re still the better man, and will be the last man standing.

My ace-in-the-hole is email.

It’s why I don’t care who my competitors are.

(And, yes, it’s an overheated market.)

My emails WILL outsell theirs.

And, eventually, I’ll win.

That’s the attitude to have.

But that attitude only comes with confidence.

And that confidence comes from having the skills.

And those skills come from my “Email Players” newsletter.

Subscription info at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Sometimes I have weird dreams.

Not nightmares, necessarily.

But bizarre and vivid dreams that have me thinking about them days later. And usually, after I think about them a while, an interpretation that makes sense emerges.

Except this last one kinda baffles me.

Just too weird.

But… maybe useful to you as a marketer.

Want to hear about it?

OK, well, the dream was about the infamous “Bohemian Grove.”

What’s the Bohemian Grove?

It’s a big campground in the northern California woods.

And, depending on who you ask, it’s also the playground (complete with a giant owl statue) for a bored fraternity of ex-presidents, corporate leaders, media celebrities and bankers… or a nefarious council of the world’s richest and most powerful men, plotting world domination while engaging in satanic and occult rituals, rites, prostitution and even human sacrifice!

Is any of this true?

I have no idea.

Never been there.

Except… in my dream the other night.

But here’s the thing.

Instead of seeing high falutin’ power brokers… I saw goo-roos.

Lots and lots of goo-roos.

And they were dressed in hooded robes (masking their faces), petting the owls and dancing around a bon fire while plotting their next product launch.

Weird, eh?

Yeah, can’t argue with you there.

So why do I bring this up?

Well, I think it’s a perfect example of the attention-getting (and memory-jolting) power of the ultra weird and bizarre. Because of the weirdness of the images, I have not easily forgotten the dream. And, since you’ve read this far, there’s a good chance it “hooked” you in, too.

Frankly, it’s almost impossible to ignore weird stuff.

Why?

Because things out of place stick out.

Kinda like the woman in the red dress scene in “The Matrix.”

And guess what?

I talk more about this in the subject lines section of “The Email Players Playbook” — which is free to “Email Players” subscribers (and teaches my email methodology in detail).

Anyway, that’s that for today.

Subscribe to “Email Players” here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Reader Aaron Crocker sent me an amusing article from mashable with the title:

“Every Email Should Be 5 Sentences or Under. Trust us.”

It’s about (you guessed it) using short emails.

Specifically, under 5 sentences.

And, even though it’s about non-commercial emails, many email marketers take the same attitude by using short “teaser” emails for many of the same reasons cited in the article.

Anyway, Aaron comments:

As of this email date stamp, it has 1.2K shares … just to drive home the point that you should trust them, I’m guessing. 

Strange, isn’t it, that for a Cyber Monday campaign, I wrote a client 5 emails, with the average email filling 5 pages of typewritten text. 

The result? The phone rang 97 times in an 8 hour period, and $29,281 in profit.  

Then, I wrote a Tax Day campaign that consisted of 6 emails, with the average email filing 4 pages of typewritten text. 

The result? A profit of $21,512 for the client. 

So, Ben, I have it on good authority that we’ve been doing it all wrong. 

It’s not mystery why guys like us have so little “competition.”

I wish all my competition used 5-sentence emails.

Or would keep moving the free line.

Or regularly send their email lists to their social media sites (Facebook, youtube, whatever).

Or use teasers instead of a full message.

Or not plug something every day.

Or not dare sell anything for a set number of days after they subscribe (to incubate them or whatever).

True story:

There was a time when one of my favorite email teachers once said he purposely used to do things in his emails that he knew would hurt his sales that day, just so his lazy copycat competitors would do the same and think “that’s what works!!”

Maybe I should start doing that?

Hmm.

(Actually, I have… heh).

Anyway, let’s get down to bid’niz.

The “Email Players” newsletter is full of information that runs contrary to a lot of mainstream email marketing advice.

Not to be controversial.

Not to try to stand out.

And not even to be original.

No, it is the way it is because it works.

For my subscribers.

For me.

And, yes, my little droogie, for you, too.

Give it a shot here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I’ve heard my Internet childrens’ cries…

Many are saying they love learning about email and copywriting and the conversion side of things… but can’t drive traffic to their sites to save their lives. They hear about all these different ways: PPC, Facebook, banner ads, ezine ads, SEO, podcasts, YouTube, social media, offline methods (direct mail, post cards, newspapers, radio, etc), ezine articles, media publicity, and the list goes on.

Which one should they use?

Which gives the most bang for ye olde dinero?

Which works best?

Survey says:

Yes.

Try them all if it suits your fancy.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

But, I will say this:

Recently I’ve been using solo ads after having a talk with “Email Players” subscriber Igor Kheifets, and have been digging the results so far. Igor is one of the world’s top solo ad guys. In fact, he’s one of the guys who’s been taking it mainstream over the past few years, and one of the handful I trust (it’s a lot like the list side of things in direct mail — kind of a swamp if you don’t know what you’re doing or who the sharks are.)

Anyway, I’m extremely impressed with his results.

And, have even been using his advice.

My analysis:

So far, I’m diggin’ it.

A lot.

And, you know what?

Methinks you will dig it, too — depending on what you sell, who you sell to, and what your offer is.

Enter the July “Email Players” issue.

It includes a bonus training with Igor.

(A transcribed talk I had with him.)

If’n this excites you, act before the deadline.

She goes to print in a couple weeks.

Subscribe here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. I’ve been hard at work talking to various traffic and list building guys to include as bonuses in the newsletter. Over the next several months I’ll be including these bonus trainings with certain issues — some of which are with guys who aren’t really even selling anything (I gotta draw something to plug out of them almost.)

They just love traffic and lead gen.

And, want to share the lovin’.

Stay tuned…