Ben Settle

A great marketer has joined the choir invisible:

Jim Straw.

I never met the man in person.

But, I did correspond with him a few times, here and there. No deep, dark marketing secrets were passed or anything.

Mostly it was a “hey how are you doing?” sort of thing.

But he was always one of my favorite marketers.

Not only because he was a BIG believer in daily emails (one of the few who could get away with doing blatant pitches every day, and who somehow pulled off selling a $997 eBook, can you believe that?) but he was a “for real” entrepreneur, too.

He’d seen it all.

He started at 9 years old selling salve and newspapers.

From there he has done everything from import/export… to real estate… to offshore banking… to gold & coal minding… mail order… merchandising… manufacturing… and, yes, Internet marketing.

The dude was a business stud.

And always chock full of great ideas and advice.

Anyway, I got his last email here from November 30th.

And, it’s… poetic… he sent this particular email before passing.

Frankly, it’s almost like he KNEW it was his last email.

(Maybe he did?)

It’s poetic because it’s PACKED with advice (we can all learn from — noob or master) about how he became so successful, and how anyone else can do the same, without needing any inborn talent or a gazillion dollars to get started.

Here are some of the highlights (paraphrased):

• The ONLY way to make money is to “sell” something people want or need (product or service).

• Learn to “make do” with what you have.

• Do whatever’s necessary (legally) to get to where you want to be, even if you don’t like doing it (*especially* if you don’t like doing it).

• Never ask people to do for you what you won’t do yourself.

• Pay cash for what you want. Otherwise save until you can.

• Realize NOTHING is as easy or as fast as it should be. It only gets easier and faster when you know how to really do it. And learning how to really do it means doing it over, and over, and over, until you finally find out how it works.

• Your successes teach you nothing, only your failures do.

• Your most prized possessions are your customers.

• Money is NOT the goal… it’s only a way of keeping score.

• Ask for what you want or need, learn to graciously accept “no” as readily as you do a “yes”

I love stuff like this.

It’s timeless, raw advice that works.

And, it’s kinda ironic, too.

One of the reasons so many people struggle to accomplish any real, lasting success online is because they are always chasing the latest goo-roo BSO (bright shiny object), when all they need do is apply a few simple principles (like the above) and success is practically guaranteed. After all, Jim’s websites, emails and entire ordering process were as “bare bones” as you get — yet he blew most of today’s goo-roos away (spending far less time and with virtually none of the headaches) with their lame video sales letters, souped-up email tracking (I rarely saw a tracking link in his emails) and sophisticated product funnels using the latest whizbang technology.

Anyway, so that’s that.

Jim Straw left us an awesome legacy.

Take his advice to heart.

Apply it.

And, yes, PROFIT from it.

I suspect Mr. Straw would have it no other way…

Ben Settle

P.S. I learned a LOT about email marketing just by studying Jim Straw’s emails. He took me to school with every email he sent. And even though I don’t consciously think about it, a lot of what I teach in “Email Players” is at least partially inspired or influenced by various things I learned studying Jim’s emails.

Subscription info at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Check out this jool of a comment:

“I’m a fan of your marketing tips but this one is just cynical and disgusting. I am unsubscribing.”

Dang!

Too bad it wasn’t addressed to me.

It was actually sent to my droog Mike Dolpies.

He’s been using email the Settle way, and has been riling up the nest of mush cookies on his list who are easily offended by every politically incorrect jot and tittle he writes. And after that comment, he said he was now coining a new term:

“The Settle Effect”

And a hair raising ditty it is, too.

Not so much for me anymore.

(I’m immune to haters)

But for guys like Mike and others putting my methods to work?

Watch your gluteus assimus, babycakes.

You’ll hear from all the whiners.

All the complainers.

And, yes, all the freebie seekers nattering on about, “I didn’t join your list to hear about your opinions about blah blah blah or care about what you’re selling, I just wanted free stuff!”

Oh how I miss those days.

Back when I’d get multi-page essays about how evil I am.

About how I have no idea what I speaketh of.

And, in some cases, how they’re gonna track me down and kick my bootay…

(I still get those from time to time…)

Ha.

Gotta love it.

At first it’s a bit nutzo.

If you do it right you will likely get lots of extra sales… but also lots of extra nonsense from the dingbat gallery.

Just ignore them.

They got issues.

And realize after a while, they’re just angry.

(Taking out their problems on you)

Anyway, the point?

When you use my system, eventually your list will become immune to your antics and won’t complain as much, which kinda takes the fun out of it.

And it’s like I told Mike:

Enjoy it while it lasts.

It’s one of the few real (legal) thrills left.

You can learn my system in the “Email Players” newsletter.

Details at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I love me a good print newsletter.

Yes, I know membership sites and continuity delivered digitally is all the rage, and all the goo-roos do it.

But newsletters beat membership sites all to hellz.

Why?

Lots of reasons.

Like the massive amounts of dopamine the brain dumps into readers’ systems (making your subscribers feel gooooood) when they get a piece of snail mail vs downloading “air.” Or the higher perceived quality of tangible vs digital products. Or the lack of headaches from not having to mess with passwords, downed web hosts, and other technical glitches. Or the higher quality of customers you’ll get.

And so on, and so forth.

Anyway, why do I bring this up?

Because there are some huge opportunities out there for those willing to sac up, ignore the membership site BS, and create a PRINT newsletter about a *specialized* topic.

Topics like…

• Getting clients (actually, I think Jason Leister is doing this one…)

• Traffic (PPC, banners, email ads, offline media, etc)

• Social media marketing (in a way that actually makes $$)

• Putting joint ventures together

• Affiliate marketing

• Branding (direct response-friendly *personal* branding not waste-of-money image branding)

• Blogging

• Video marketing

• Direct response web and print design

• Kindle publishing tactics

• How to invest profits from your online businesses to create multiple streams of passive income (specialized just for direct marketers)

And the list goes on…

Soooooo many opportunities here, boss.

I just handed you an extremely profitable idea on a platinum tray.

But you know what?

I’d bet green money nobody acts on this.

My sage advice will be SPURNED.

And, even those who are interested and know I’m right (I’m always right) will eventually spout off the usual lame excuses.

Bah!

Wait a minute…

What did you just say???

You’re NOT like that?

You DO want to do this?

But, you don’t know HOW to get started or what to do?

Then I got good newz for you.

I sell a book on Kindle showing you exactly how to do it.

It’s called:

“How To Write, Produce,
And Profit From Print Newsletters”

Best part:

This book is short.

(You can read it in one sitting).

Costs a “whopping” $2.99.

And, can be downloaded in the next 2 second here:

http://tinyurl.com/chpwvmz

You’re welcome.

Ben Settle

So I visited Chicago this week.

And I learned it’s called “the Windy City” not because of the wind and biting cold or whatever, but because of the hot air blown around by the politicians the sheeple of the city have historically elected.

Makes sense, too.

After all, it’s where our teleprompter-toting president lived.

Oh, c’mon!

You know that’s funny…

Anyway, on to bid’niz:

While walking the frigid streets of Chicago, I observed a few beggars doing their thing collecting lots of change and dollars on the fly from pedestrians. And, believe it or not, these beggars got me to thinking about you (ha) and my other website readers.

No, I don’t think you’re a bum.

(Sheesh.)

But, a lot of people complain to me how they’d looooooove to subscribe to “Email Players”… but just can’t afford it.

They say if ONLY it was cheaper they’d be in!

I hereby call BS on that.

The price is NOT the issue.

I don’t care how broke someone is, either.

In fact, if someone REALLY wants in, they could easily pay double what I charge for the newsletter with plenty of cash left over.

How do I know?

Because think about this:

“Email Players” costs $97 per month.

Maybe at a glance that seems high.

(It’s supposed to — I want serious people, not wannabes.)

But, if you do the math, it’s actually pretty cheap:

Just $3.23 per day.

Most people piss that away on girly sugar coffees before noon.

Even the Chicago BEGGARS can afford $3.23 per day.

The point?

It’s not about the price.

It’s about priorities.

Hey, makes no difference to me what you do. My subscribers and I are kicking bootay all over the place with or without you. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point this out.

Speaking of which…

The next issue goes to the printer after tomorrow.

I rap a bit about list building this time.

No super ninja tricks, though.

If you want nonsense like that, go elsewhere.

Just solid, proven tactics that work.

(If implemented, of course…)

To get it in time, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I’ll say the almighty headline isn’t necessarily that important and someone will write me in a near hysterical state quoting Caples or Ogilvy or Dan Kennedy or whoever, to “prove” their case.

Well, I don’t roll that way.

I look at results.

Real life examples.

And, specifically, current experiences.

Case in point:

Couple days ago “Email Players” — www.EmailPlayers.com — subscriber Carl Juneau sent me an email about how he split tested a video sales letter with and without a headline.

He was emailing his offer for a week straight.

And, here’s what he said…

My results at the end of the week are:

Version A (standard): 4.78%
Version B (no headline): 4.52%

So what happened?

What happened is people who saw no headline sales letter ended up buying anyway. Why? Because I kept emailing them about the offer, I think.

Conclusion 2: if you email a lot, a no-headline (crappy) sales letter sells just as much as a standard (good) sales letter. 

Amazing isn’t it?

Sho’ nuff’.

But I’m not surprised.

I’ve had several experiences where even changing entire formats (i.e. text vs video) using my system yielded little or no difference in response.

Anyway, the message is clear here.

There are no “rules.”

I don’t care what some now-dead marketer said 100 years ago (all of who’d probably be rolling in their graves reading these results) or what your favorite Internet marketing goo-roo says today.

Where there’s an email, there’s a way, baby.

Especially with my system.

I teach it in “Email Players”.

I show you emails that are working.

Strategies I’m using.

And, how I make more sales using email.

More than enough to pay for your monthly subscription assuming you apply the info and have a responsive list and proven offer. (See the upcoming December issue for ideas on how to build your list…)

Think you’re ready to subscribe?

You sure?

Well okay then!

Go ye here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Good question:

“Ben I’m new to copywriting and email and was wondering about your opinion of the copywriting section of Warrior Forum should new people like me read it? Thanks!!!”

Only for as long as you can afford to lose.

Here’s what I mean:

I’ve lurked on there before.

Sometimes to see what the copywriting “echo chamber” says.

Sometimes from boredom.

And sometimes for entertainment.

True, there are some savvy people on there.

But, there are also some not-so-savvy people on there.

And if you don’t know the difference between the two, you could end up blindly following some bad advice that’ll cost you sales and set you back with grinding failures that could’ve been prevented had you ignored the nonsensical advice.

Personally, I see WF more as entertainment.

Sometimes it’s even like a soap opera when the trolls are afoot.

With pissing matches.

Goo-roo parroting.

And, yes, drama queening.

Kinda like “Warrior forum 90210”.

But again, there ARE some smart characters on there.

So I wouldn’t say totally avoid it.

Just take all advice with a grain of pepper.

Anyway, so that’s that.

Whatever you decide, if you want to play with the adultz instead of just rubbing shoulders with noobs at the Warrior Forum, check out the “Email Players” newsletter.

The next issue yaps about list building.

Including some really simple (free) ways to get fast results.

Here’s where to subscribe:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Here’s a great question that rolled in…

“Ben, does your method for doing emails work for consumer markets as well as it does for business-to-business markets? Thanks.”

Survey says…

Yeppers.

I don’t do anything different.

Actually, that’s not 100% true.

I do spend more time writing to this particular list, since y’all have higher standards and certain expectations than other markets I write to.

After all, lots of actual writers on this list.

Lots of bloggers, too.

And, of course, copywriters.

So I put more time in these emails — roughly 15-20 minutes a pop.

Other markets are MUCH faster.

Take the weight loss market.

I banged those out in as little as 4-8 minutes.

(I once timed it.)

Plus, I didn’t even do a second draft.

It was just sit, type, send.

(Spelling and grammar errors left in tact.)

And in another market I sell in with email (a male health niche) I rarely spent more than 8-10 minutes on each of the 94 emails sitting in the auto-responder.

Hey, I’m all about SPEED, baby cakes.

Like Dan Kennedy says…

“Money is attracted to speed.”

If you know what you’re doing, you probably won’t make many more (or any more) sales spending 70 minutes on an email than if you spent 7 minutes on it.

So to answer the question:

I don’t do much different.

But I do spend a bit more time on this list.

Anyway, if you want to learn how to write emails quickly and consistently like this, check out the “Email Players” newsletter and apply the teachings.

It ain’t rocket science.

(If it wasn’t SIMPLE, I wouldn’t bother doing it…)

But, there are some moving parts.

Here’s where to go next:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I hardly ever shop at Wal-Mart.

And, when I do, it’s usually online.

Why?

Is it because I hate Wal-Mart?

Think the products are shoddy?

Take the side of cry baby small businesses who whine about Wal-Mart taking customers away (because they are too lazy to learn even the most BASIC of sales, marketing and merchandising skills)?

No… my reasoning is much more snooty.

I don’t like Wal-Mart because it oozes “cheap.”

I ain’t just talking about prices, either.

Frankly, I like a good deal as much as anyone.

What I’m talking about is the mentality it caters to — where everything is about cheap, cheap, cheap. Like, for example, the vultures who camped outside their friendly neighborhood Wal-Fart stores yesterday at the expense of enjoying it with their families just to get a good deal.

Ugh.

Just not my bag, I guess.

Anyway, that’s my opinion.

Am I saying you should stay away from Wal-Fart?

Not get their great deals?

And avoid it like the plague?

No, no… nothing like that.

Just consider this a public service announcement.

Cheapness is a disease that can have seriously negative effects on entrepreneurs who adapt the Wal-Mart mentality to their own businesses. (By selling things based on price, only consuming free stuff online, only buying cheap $7 eBooks that are full of nothing but hot air and affiliate links, etc.)

Hey, hate me all you want for saying this.

But cheap is ALWAYS more expensive.

And few ever get rich by being cheap.

Except maybe for Wal-Mart.

Anyhoo.

One thing that’s not cheap is “Email Players”.

It’s quite pricey, actually.

And there are lots of reasons for that.

One of which is I don’t cater to cheap people.

I’d rather cater to players.

Investors.

And, yes, REAL business people.

(Not wannabe spectators).

If you think you got right stuff, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Every now and then I make a mistake.

Not very often, mind you.

And, to be blunt, it happens so infrequently that, when it does happen (me making a mistake), statistically it’s as if it never happened at all.

Still, I did make one a couple hours ago in today’s email.

And that’s when I said:

“‘Email Players’ back issues are available to subscribers only.”

Apparently, a few eager beavers automatically thought I meant back issues are free to subscribers. That even though everyone else paid for those back issues, just because they are a new subscriber they are somehow entitled to them for free because, by thunder, that’s the way all their favorite goo-roos do it.

(i.e. give away stuff others paid for free to new customers).

Well, that’s not how it works.

In this case, “available” does not mean “free.”

And, if this wasn’t the Internet where everyone wants everything free and now and with a smile… this wouldn’t even be necessary to explain. Luckily, the majority of my website subscribers know this already. But, since it is the Internet, and since so many Internet marketers are not really entrepreneurs (and think more like Wal-Mart shoppers than business owners), I’ll clarify:

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.

That’s what I meant by “available to subscribers only.”

Moral of the story?

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

You’ll just waste your time.

(And mine.)

Hey, believe it or not paying for valuable info is GOOD.

You should want to pay for things.

You’ll make FAR more $$.

Why?

Well, I once wrote a blog post about it here:

www.BenSettle.com/blog/cheap-is-the-new-expensive

Alrighty then.

Back to business.

More fun tomorrow…

Ben Settle