Ben Settle

Got a great email question while back.

Here it is:

“Ben, I have a list that I have been sending emails to monthly or bi-monthly when I have something to say. I do not want to annoy them! And yet I still get people complaining and calling me a spammer. I heard you say that doesn’t happen when mailing daily. How is that???”

That’s an excellent question.

Maybe think of it like this:

Your list is basically like an organism.

You created it, and you built it.

But then you starved it by not REGULARLY sending anything cool and fun and interesting to it, and so it turned against you.

You gotta feed it, son.

Don’t OVER feed it, of course.

But you should feed it regularly — and yes, every day is ideal.

Sure, maybe sometimes it will have indigestion and burp or fart on you, and make a stink over something you feed it, but mostly it’ll be happy and content and want more.

Anyway, that’s my take on it.

The trick is the KIND of food you feed it.

That is where my email system fits in.

I always get amused by people who are on my list and think they can “reverse engineer” what I’m doing.

They ALWAYS get it wrong.

Every time.

No exceptions.

And it’s interesting watching people play email “T-ball” like that, when they could be playing in the big leagues, making real sales, regularly.

Why mess around?

Ain’t nuttin like the real thing, baby:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

About that swipe file page from Friday…

All weekend long people have been asking me to explain the story behind it, why I put it up, and should they hire an attorney like that and do something similar. (Not surprisingly, the people asking this have mostly been “Email Players” — www.EmailPlayers.com — subscribers, as once they learned my system and started kicking bootay, they were suddenly “targets” for swipers and thieves, too).

Incidentally, I can’t help but wonder:

Will someone be dumb enough to swipe the copyright lawyer’s letter?

Only time will tell…

In the meantime, here’s the story behind it:

A few weeks ago, some shmuck who positions himself as a 7-figure guru in the fitness niche used one of my emails 95%+ word-for-word to sell someone else’s email product.

(Which doesn’t say much for that email product…)

I wasn’t just PO’d.

I was like a mushroom cloud-laying mo’ fo’.

But, that soon turned to gratitude because it *finally* motivated me to consult a copyright attorney about how I can go after these bastards.

It was a very edu-ma-cational experience, too.

When someone steals your emails or sales copy, you got rights.

Including the right to collect damages.

To get attorney fees.

And, even press criminal charges.

Don’t let the “swipe & steal” goo-roos fool you, either.

It’s like the attorney’s letter says:

There’s no such thing as “innocent” copyright infringement.

It doesn’t matter if you’re “in a hurry” or are “sorry” or simply stoopid enough to think it’s okay because your favorite goo-roo does it. It’s no different than stealing money right out of someone’s wallet. And if you have copy and emails and informational products that are making you sales, I HIGHLY suggest consulting a copyright attorney about how you can not only stop the pirates… but maybe even profit from the situation by going for damages (and it’s not nearly as hard as it sounds — especially in blatant cases, like mine was).

So that’s the story.

I know, I know…

The standard line is not to worry about this stuff, right?

Just send some outdated boilerplate “cease & desist.”

I think that’s insane.

If enough people start hitting back, you’d see a LOT less theft.

A LOT less competition.

And, a LOT more profits overall.

Ben Settle

P.S. I would not recommend “swiping” that cease & desist letter. For one thing, that was unique to my business and situation. I have recently learned how idiotic it is to use “boilerplate” legal documents. People have no clue how their “swiped” legal documents are not only worthless… but could land THEM in some serious legal trouble. And for another, these things have much sharper “teeth” coming from a law firm, rather than Joe Internet Marketer.

But, I realize this falls on mostly deaf ears.

Everyone wants to swipe.

It’s all “cheap, cheap, cheap” online.

But, as I always say, cheap is the new expensive.

Especially when it comes to things like this.

So SPURN my advice at your peril…

Got a new page on my site.

It’s titled:

“Swipe File”

If you are someone who likes to swipe copy and emails, you should definitely read it right away. In fact, there’s a letter on there so persuasive I believe everyone in marketing should read it ASAP.

(It’s a real doozy)

Anyway, the swipe file page is at:

www.BenSettle.com/blog/swipe-file

Ben Settle

Much to some peoples’ annoyance…

I don’t do affiliates for “Email Players”.

And this surprises people sometimes. For example, just last week Andre Chaperon (of Autoresponder Madness) asked if I had an affiliate program and seemed kinda shocked when I said no.

It’s a good question, too.

I mean, why NOT have affiliates for it?

Here are a few reasons:

1. Physical product

“Email Players” is a paper n’ ink newsletter.

I have a strict no-PDF policy.

And, I’m gonna keep it that way.

Plus, after dabbling with affiliates selling other physical products, I realized what a headache it is compared to selling digital products.

(Where it makes more sense to have affiliates).

2. FTC

Due to various FTC rules (the way I understand them, at least), I would have to monitor what my affiliates say when selling my product.

Otherwise, I could be held liable for false claims.

Not very appealing…

3. Crappy money manager

I suck at managing money owed to others.

It throws off my accounting mojo, and makes my brain itch just thinking about it. Not to mention the freaky trend of anti-capitalism state sales tax laws emerging (i.e. “Amazon Tax”) that could soon make it extremely burdensome for any publishers using affiliates.

4. I preach to the choir, not the uninitiated

This is the most important reason:

The “Email Players” sales letter is written to people who are “pre-sold” on me, and are on my list already. I do this deliberately. And (for many reasons), I’m not interested in selling it to cold (or even lukewarm) prospects.

This makes it unsuitable for most affiliates.

So those are a few reasons.

I may license it (to qualified people) some day.

But it’ll probably never have an affiliate program.

Now don’t get me wrong.

There are pros and cons to having affiliates, and I would not tell anyone they should or should not use them. (Contrary to popular opinion, there are many high income earning online marketers who do NOT use affiliates.)

For some it makes perfect sense.

For others not so much.

Anyway, so there ya go.

Why I don’t do affiliates.

You can read more about “Email Players” here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Last year I had an unusual 4-hour chat with my droog Jim Yaghi.

And, what did we chat about that’s so unusual?

The benefits of being anti-social…

(If you’re wondering how we can drone on about the benefits of being anti-social while socializing with each other for 4 hours… quit being a smart ass. Haven’t you ever seen a George Lucas movie? You can still enjoy the ride despite the plot holes…)

Anyway, about those anti-social benefits.

The list is long and distinguished.

They include…

• Not caring what anyone thinks

• Walking around naked while scratching yourself whenever (and wherever) you please (and nobody will ever know)

• Clearer thinking — as you’re not influenced by dozens of other peoples’ voices prattling on about their opinions, feelings and brain farts

• Save lots and lots and lots of money. (Let’s face it, when people leave the house, they spend money whether they intend to or not. But when you’re an anti-social shut-in, you don’t leave the house that much and, thus, save lots of $$)

• Never have to share your food or beer

• People don’t do the “pop in” at your house

• Nobody asks you for loans or favors

• People trust you more since you never inconvenience them

• Everyone is always happy to see you (because they never see or hear from you — so you get all the benefits of being social, without having to be social…)

• Never get swept up in other peoples’ drama. (You can love people from a distance)

• Everyone tells you their secrets (since you don’t socialize)

• You can ignore people you don’t want to talk to. (Since we anti-socialites do all our communication via email, we simply say we never got the email…)

• Less stress (when society breaks down — or the zombie apocalypse happens — we won’t even know it)

• No need for a smart phone (or even a dumb phone)

And the list goes on…

Don’t you wish you were cool like us?

Well, keep trying.

It may take some practice.

But one day, you too can be anti-social if you want.

The best way to practice is doing ALL your communication (when possible) via email. And if you want to make some scratch at the same time, learn to write emails the “Email Players” way and you’ll really be ahead of the curve.

(And away from all those pesky people…)

Subscription info is at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. Now get the hell out of here.

Gotta a nice little goodie for you today:

An interview I did with one of the “founding fathers” of Internet marketing — Ken McCarthy. Ken (if you don’t know him) was one of the small (VERY small) handful of people back in the early 1990’s who even foresaw the commercial potential of the Internet. In fact, you could fit the number of people who believed in it around a small table. (And no, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were not part of that group — despite their PR guys rewriting things, they’re actually on record as saying the Internet was just a flash in the pan…)

Ken was also Dan Kennedy’s “go-to” Internet guy.

Has consistently been ahead of the guru curve for years.

(A lot of gurus got started under Ken’s tutelage).

And, his copywriting has gotten “fan mail” from guys like Gary Bencivenga (considered the world’s greatest living copywriter) and Marty Edelston (founder of Boardroom — $100+ million dollar info publishing empire).

Anyway, lots of valuable content on this call.

And not just marketing/copywriting, neither.

But economic informaton, too.

You see, Ken is (and I agree with him, which means he’s right…) a deflation guy.

In other words, while everyone is crying out about hyperinflation, guys like Ken are betting their own money on the U.S. entering deflation (in certain ways) — and if you know what you’re doing, you can profit from it handsomely.

So lots of good (controversial) stuff.

And it was originally just for “Email Players” subscribers.

But dang it…

This info is just TOO important.

So it’s freely available to all.

(With nothing for sale, either — can you believe it?)

OK, without further ado…

Click Here To Listen

Ben Settle

OK, time for some tough lovin’.

Far too many people on my list (and I am manually unsubscribing some of them, because they simply are stuck in goo-roo fanboy mode and refuse to budge) are telling me they want to subscribe to the “Email Players” newsletter to get next month’s issue about my business model but are on a tight budget, don’t know if they can afford it or think it’s going to change their lives forever if they JUST have that one issue, etc.

Now, there is no sin in being on a tight budget.

Nor is it a crime to be broke.

We’ve all been there.

(Some of us back and forth multiple times…)

And I’m here to say:

If you think getting this ONE issue is going to solve any of your business woes, you’re wrong.

You’re wasting your money.

And, you should NOT subscribe.

Not this month.

And, in some cases, not ever.

Why?

Because this one issue alone and out of context won’t do you any good by itself. Frankly, even if you learn my business model, it won’t do you jack without the compounding information and investment (mental, emotional and physical implementation) of future issues over time… as well as without the monthly inspiration that’s built in, or actually implementing what you learn each month to recoup your investment (multiple times over).

There’s a clear psychological component to this.

And too many people have the wrong mindset.

I see it ALL the time.

I hear about it from other people I know who have similar products, too. We sometimes exchange the customer info of quitters and do-nothings so we can block them from buying and wasting our time.

These kinds of people are not thinkers.

They are running on pure emotion.

(Probably fear and/or greed, in this case.)

And, they are forever chasing BSO’s.

These are the types of people who think they’ll go from fat to thin after ONE month of working out. Or permanently lower their cholesterol after taking fish oil for ONE month. Or suddenly getting rich after reading ONE book, etc.

Well, it just don’t work that way.

Not with exercise or health.

And, certainly not with getting great at email marketing.

It takes intelligence.

It takes investment (money and time and energy).

And, it takes persistence.

At least, if you want to learn from me.

I’m constantly learning and tweaking and then sharing what I’m doing with email in my own businesses. And the subscribers who are killing it have (not surprisingly) been with me for months and even a couple years (we’re coming to the newsletter’s 2 year anniversary soon) applying the info each month. They don’t let themselves get stale or in a rut, they take each month and let that info compound on what they know for even bigger profits.

By the way…

The above won’t mean anything to most people.

Because most people are short term thinkers. But the people I want to subscribe (those I target) know exactly what I mean.

Anyway, so let me be perfectly blunt.

Even dickish about this.

If you think you can get one or two issues and you’ll be Mr. email badass…

Don’t subscribe.

I don’t want your money.

Frankly, I’d rather you spend it on something else.

In fact, here’s my prediction:

A couple dozen people have subscribed to “Email Players” in the past 7 days. That’s a lot of people in that short of a time frame for a product like this for my particular list. And the reason why is because I’ve been talking about a lifestyle many would like to have.

(Who wouldn’t?)

But, here’s what I predict…

Half of these new subscribers will quit within 30 days.

Their rationalization hamsters will run and run and run… round and round that wheel… to justify quitting, and blaming everything but their own lack of vision or motivation or initiative to do what’s necessary.

I’ve been at this long enough to know the signs.

People get irrational with this stuff.

It’s why I’ve been toning things down in these emails.

It’s also why I’ve decided to cancel certain new subscribers.

(Of people I already know are not a good fit.)

So anyway, here’s the bottom line:

If that’s you — the wide eyed goo-roo fanboy or quitter or person who thinks getting this ONE issue is going to save you… then hear ye this:

Don’t subscribe.

You’re not ready.

You may be someday.

And when that day comes, subscribe then.

But don’t subscribe just to get one issue.

Not only does that make you kind of a chump who doesn’t have the sac to commit to your own long term success (much easier to jump from one BSO to another)… but you’ll be wasting your cash.

I know… I know… $97/mo is a big investment, right?

It comes out to $3.23 per day.

Most people piss that away on sugar coffees each day while complaining they can’t afford things.

So the money is not the issue.

Lack of priorities and commitment to their own business is.

Don’t get me wrong.

These aren’t “bad” people.

But they are terrible prospects for “Email Players”.

And, thus, are wasting their money on it.

So bottom line?

If you are of the mindset where you think you can buy a book or a newsletter issue or any ONE thing today and be rich by Thursday, you ain’t ready for “Email Players”.

And you ain’t ready for the April issue, either.

(Which is the REAL irony of all this.)

So if that’s you don’t subscribe.

Just don’t.

And yes, that’s free advice…

Ben Settle

Time for some marketing “blasphemy”:

You don’t need a “killer” sales letter.

Or, even a good one.

(I’ve made sales with nothing but order forms.)

Why?

Because of email, babycakes.

It does much of the “heavy lifting” for you if done right. And that’s why part of the April “Email Players” issue (where I’m teaching my “get up, write an email, then go play the rest of the day” business model) is how to NOT be a slave to writing a perfect sales letter.

Do email my way and it just ain’t necessary.

Yes, you want a good pitch eventually.

But in the beginning speed is of the essence — not perfection. And this is where “the 15-minute sales letter” comes in to play.

I didn’t invent this format.

And, admittedly, don’t use it.

(Since I already know how to write sales letters.)

But if I was starting out?

Or if I didn’t want to invest in a copywriter (yet)?

I’d be on this 15-minute sales letter like white on rice. And the reason why is because it’s so simple even the n00biest of n00bs or the illiterate haters who mail me incomprehensible complaint mail can do it. And yet, it’s so effective, I know someone who does it in conjunction with my email methodology and kills it in sales.

Anyway, my business model is all about SPEED, baby.

Speed of learning.

Speed of implementation.

And, yes, speed of getting paid.

Oh, and speaking of speed…

Time’s running out if you want the April issue.

It goes to the printer in about 48 hours.

Zip on over here to subscribe:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Methinks I’m in bizarro world sometimes.

It’s astounding to watch all the Web 2.0 kool-aid sloshing and spilling all over the place online — with people focusing more on building their Twitter following than their lists. On getting more FaceBook “likes” than paying customers. On having more RSS feed readers than email subscribers, etc.

It ain’t just n00bs doing this, neither.

Even long time marketers are partaking of the “slow juice.”

Yet think ye about this:

Some years ago Ken McCarthy hired me to write the bullets for his 2008 System Seminar CD’s. And one of the lessons I wrote bullets for was an “Info marketing for beginners” training Ken did with a multi-million dollar marketer named Lloyd Irvin.

They talked about lots of cool stuff.

But their focus on SIMPLICITY stood out.

For example:

During the Q&A people were asking about social media and all the sexy bells & whistles they see going on out there in Internet marketing goo-roo land.

What was Ken and Lloyd’s response?

They still do the basics:

• Squeeze page
• Email follow up
• Sales letter

Hardly exciting, is it?

Yet, between the two of them, they do multi millions in sales.

But, nary was an RSS feed mentioned.

Or Twitter.

Or FaceBook.

Or any of the so-called “sexy” stuff.

It was all about the BASICS for these boyz.

Am I saying to ignore the other stuff?

No!

Have a ball with it.

But realize:

The real money ain’t in Web 2.0.

It’s still in Web 1.0.

Anyway, the April “Email Players” newsletter talks about this, and how to work it into your overall business plan.

But, a word of warning:

Lots of people have subscribed over the past couple days.

(Must be hitting a nerve…)

And so, I want to make it 100% crystal clear the business model I teach in this issue is all about simplicity. So if you’re someone who starts whining when you get something and it’s not complicated or full of “ninja” tricks or whatever… then my newsletter ain’t your bag.

I’m dead serious about this, too.

I’m ALL about simple.

You’ll waste your life on complicated.

But, you’ll live your life on simple.

Anyhoo.

The April issue goes to the printer in a few days.

Go here to subscribe in time:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle