Ben Settle

Recently, Ryan Healy did a great blog post.

It was about email metrics.

And specifically what to test and measure.

He was saying how, when testing one email against another, he tests open rates, clickthru rates, unsubscribe rates, conversion rates, dollars per click, etc.

And when doing that, I think it’s a great idea to test all those things.

But with daily, “off the cuff” emails?

When you’re just batting them out?

My attitude is, get it out there.

In fact, here was my response to him:

(Paraphrased)

“I’ve had emails that bombed the first time, and then killed it a few months later because (on a whim) I used it again. If I’d let metrics (or even sales, which I pay more attention to these days) totally dictate my future emails, I’d have lost out. Also the converse has been true, I’ve re-used emails that killed it and a few months later nothing. It’s funny, but the longer I do this, the less scientific I believe email needs to be, and it’s more important to just get them out consistently each day. Many times the ‘sale’ is made sometimes weeks earlier in one email, but they procrastinate and buy later because another email reminds them of it. (I know this because people have told me, ‘man this email got me, when I can afford it I’m buying…’ and lo and behold, a few days/weeks later they bought (from a different email).”

I’ve seen it over and over:

You’ll make more of the green stuff batting out a “C” level email 5-7 days per week, than you will spending hours writing and testing one “A” level email 1 day per week.

And tomorrow, I’ll explain why.

Of course…

If you bat out B or A level emails each day (instead of F, D or C level emails, like most people) you’ll make far more sales.

That’s where “Email Players” comes in.

The difference (in sales) can be night and day.

Details at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. The next issue is chock-full of tips.

One of which is perhaps my best secret:

How to sell in emails without making a single claim or benefit. The copywriters will weep & gnash their teeth over this.

Should be fun:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Last year I had a rare opportunity:

To be interviewed for Ken McCarthy’s elite “System Club.” Ken is like the “founding father” of Internet marketing (certainly one of them), and it was a great time and a lot of cool info was discussed.

Anyway, one thing we talked about was email.

Specifically, email frequency.

A lot of my website subscribers think I’m some kind of weirdo for sending out daily emails.

That I must be crazy.

And that I just tick off my lists, yada yada yada…

Of course, they’re all dead wrong.

They couldn’t possibly be wronger.

(Not about me being crazy, but about email frequency…)

It’s just the opposite.

Not only do you not tick your list off… but if they barely hear from you and you only mail them when you have “something to say” you have a MUCH greater chance of ticking them off since they aren’t used to hearing from you.

“Who is this jackanape sending me mail?”

“When did I join this list?”

“Where’s the spam button!”

Yes, mi amigo.

That’s exactly what goes through their minds.

But besides that, there’s a clear financial reason to bang out an email every day to your list. And when talking to Ken I learned he has a few other extremely profitable websites (non-marketing related) and I was floored by the numbers they get.

So naturally I asked…

“What’s the secret?”

“It’s that daily communication.”

Guess I should have known!

Oh well.

Is any of this getting through?

Or will you keep SPURNING my advice on this?

I hope not.

Because you’re leaving mucho $$ on ye table.

Go here next:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Hey,

This will be a “quickie” today.

(Got to get ready to move tomorrow.)

But that Survey Funnel plugin sale is ending this week. If you buy it from my affiliate link below, you can get it for 50% off.

Here it is:

http://vantagenet.surveyf.hop.clickbank.net?tid=47special

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to read the interview I did with Ryan Levesque (talking about this plugin and some cool ways to use neuroscience to make more sales) here is the link:

www.BenSettle.com/list

Imagine you’re a social media goo-roo.

And, imagine you sell “how to” social media products.

(haha imagine that…)

You know, for Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and any other social media platform you can think of.

But, you have a bit of a problem.

You get lots of traffic.

But you don’t know which product your traffic is interested in!

Do they want your FaceBook product?

Your Twitter product?

LinkedIn?

What?

And you KNOW you’re losing sales because on days, for example, you promote your LinkedIn product, you’re boring the shizzit out of the people on your list who are NOT interested in LinkedIn.

Probably many of them will even leave.

“Meh. This isn’t for me…”

Sucks, doesn’t it?

Hey, I know.

Many affiliate marketers run into this all the time.

And you know what?

Until recently I had this same kind of problem (in a different market) where we have lots of different leads coming in with different sub-interests.

It’s been a big pain in the assimus, too.

Then, I met Ryan Levesque.

He’s the dude I’ve been yapping about all week.

He figured out a way around this.

How?

Well, Ryan has studied advanced neuroscience at an Ivy League university, and has even taught college level classes on the subject. And, recently, he created a WordPress plugin that lets you immediately (right when traffic hits your site) segment your traffic out, so you can send them to a capture page or sales letter that targets what they are interested in, so you don’t have to guess.

Take our imaginary social media goo-roo above.

If he used this plugin, he’d pwn.

People interested in FaceBook, would be sent to a capture page or sales page JUST about FaceBook.

Ditto with Twitter, LinkedIn, etc etc etc.

Think that might help sales?

You’re darn tootin’ it would.

This is the cyber equivalent of what the big direct mailers (who do $100 million+ per year) do. They slice and dice and segment their lists like crazy, making sure people get offers they’re interested in, and not a bunch of offers they’re not interested in.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Hey, it IS simple.

And very powerful, too.

(Plus, it’s “point-and-click” easy to use.)

Best part?

If you get this plugin via my affiliate link below, you get it for half off (for this week only).

And here it is:

http://vantagenet.surveyf.hop.clickbank.net?tid=47special

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to read the interview I did with Ryan Levesque (talking about this plugin) here is the link:

www.BenSettle.com/list

Did you download that free PDF yesterday?

The one of the interview I did with my new marketing pal Ryan Levesque (who’s like a neuroscience “scholar” — having taught the subject on a college level), and who has been using all kinds of interesting ways to build lists and make sales using some VERY simple neuroscience principles?

If you missed it, it’s good stuff.

One of my favorite parts is when he described:

“The neurotransmitter ‘cocktail’ buzz”.

And how to use this strange little quirk of the human brain to hold peoples’ attention (by mixing a bunch of chemicals around in your readers’ brain — and don’t worry, none of this is unethical or anything, people WANT this).

Anyway, if you missed it no worries.

You can still download it free here:

www.BenSettle.com/list

Also, another reminder:

If you buy the list-building product from the link inside the PDF (my big bad affiliate link) you’ll get the product for half off.

But, only for this week.

And, only from that exact link.

More tomorrow…

Ben Settle

Here’s something interesting:

Recently, Glen Livingston introduced me to a guy with some VERY cool ideas on list building. His name is Ryan and what sets this dude apart from the list-building expert pack is he uses principles from neuroscience to do the heavy lifting.

(Neuroscience being all about how the brain works.)

In other words…

He ain’t just some wannabe.

In fact, he’s even published research and taught college level courses on neuroscience, and has since built a business and products around using these principles to make more sales, build more responsive lists and more.

Anyway, Ryan’s taught me many interesting things.

And frankly, I just HAD to interview him.

Below is a link to a pdf of that interview transcript.

And before you even ask, yes…

There’s something for sale in it.

(A list-building product.)

If that’s a problem, then time to sac up.

Because even if you don’t buy the product… or if you think all sales pitches are the devil… you’ll still learn some cool ways to make more sales.

Also, one more thing:

The link inside the pdf is an affiliate link.

That means I get paid on the sales.

It also means you get the product at half off.

(I made a deal with Ryan).

But, only for this week.

And, only from the link inside.

If you’re interested, here’s the interview:

www.BenSettle.com/list

Enjoy…

Ben Settle

I just saw this funny cartoon…

It showed a man in a grocery store checkout line looking clueless and asking the cashier, “How does this work? I’ve recently retired from Congress and I’m not quite sure how to pay for things with my own money.”

HA!

Ain’t that the troof.

Hey, I mostly avoid politics in these emails.

But we’re in an election year in the US.

And so it’s unavoidable.

Nah, I’m not gonna get partisan.

Just the opposite.

I want you to NOT vote at all!

(Or, write in someone competent.)

And don’t bother giving me that dorky banality:

“If you don’t vote you have no right to complain!”

Makes no sense whatsoever.

The ONLY people with no right to complain are those who voted for the winning candidate.

Duh.

So what’s this got to do with email?

Lots!

For one, the ability to think for yourself (and not fall for the, “this is the most importantest election EVER!” BS, especially since you don’t even have a real choice — except between which poison will kill you faster).

Thinking is mandatory in emails.

To think through your position.

Think through your offer.

And think through your words.

Another thing:

Pay attention to political emails.

One thing these politicians DO do right is email. They don’t try to persuade everyone. They talk ONLY to their hardcore followers — that “white hot center” of the market.

That’s exactly who to sell to.

The PASSIONATE part of your market.

Do it right and you’ll pull “independents” over the fence via your arguments and enthusiasm.

So 2 big email lessons.

Who’d have thunk it?

Learning something from politicians…

For more advanced email training:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Got a lot of feedback from Tuesday’s email.

Remember that?

The one about socialmediapaths?

And it’s good to know I’m not the only one who sees how idiotic it is to track your online success by how many FaceBook “likes” or Twitter followers or blog commenters you have.

Know what that kind of thinking reminds me of?

The 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Back then people would ignore sales and instead drone on and on about website “hits.”

Those were the days, weren’t day?

Gary Halbert had a good bit for that:

“HITS = how idiots track success”

(Gotta love that one…)

And so it is with people tracking their success with things like FaceBook “likes” or whatever.

Actually, now that I think about it…

Maybe those things aren’t all useless.

After all:

I hear a million FaceBook “likes” and a token will still get you on the subway.

Anyway, that’s it for today.

Gotta get running along.

The April “Email Players” goes to print Monday.

To subscribe, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I recently had an epiphany.

I was talking to a friend who is a wiz at getting traffic, and was telling him how sometimes I wish I’d started out in this business learning about traffic generation first, and copywriting/emails/conversions second.

He said I was crazy.

(Well, maybe not his exact words.)

His opinion is just the opposite.

He says a lot of his clients and customers are trying to start off by being good at traffic and it’s not making them any money because they don’t know how to convert that traffic.

The analogy he used is:

It’s like building a house.

You don’t start with the walls, and roof, and rooms, etc.

You start with the foundation.

You could have the greatest “built” house in the world, but without a solid foundation it will blow over with a good stiff wind.

And so it is online.

A million visitors does you no good if you can’t convert them.

You need that foundation, first.

That foundation being conversion.

(i.e. copywriting, email, etc).

You can always buy traffic when ready.

But buying conversion is often very expensive (good copywriters aren’t cheap…) and there are no guarantees with them. And if I’d started off being a traffic guy, I would have been like a dog chasing a car — even if I caught it (i.e. got lots of traffic) I would not have known what to do with it!

Anyway, it was an interesting revelation.

What about you?

Want to learn how to convert traffic?

Then I suggest mastering email.

It’s not very hard.

And, it often yields quick results.

It’s what “Email Players” is all about.

Subscribe at:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle