Ben Settle

One of my customers recently prompted fapGPT to create a conversation between me and Stephen King.

The result?

fapGPT thinks I’m a cross between Howdy Doody and a Money Twitter cartoon account.

Enjoy:

FAKE BEN SETTLE: Well, howdy there, partner. I reckon you’ve stirred up a mighty interesting topic. Now, when it comes to the dance between fiction and copywriting, you best believe they ain’t just two peas in a pod. They’re more like two sides of a coin, each polishing the other.

FAKE STEPHEN KING: Greetings, my fellow wordsmith. Your analogy holds weight, indeed. Fiction and copywriting, while distinct, share a kinship that can amplify one’s skills and reach. You see, storytelling is at the heart of both endeavors. Whether I’m crafting a chilling tale or you’re whipping up a persuasive piece, we’re leading readers on a journey.

FAKE BEN SETTLE: You’re absolutely right, Stephen. Take fiction, for instance. It’s the playground where imagination takes flight, where emotions are stirred, and characters come to life. And guess what? Those very elements, they’re the backbone of captivating copy. A good copy is more than just words—it’s an emotional experience, a tale of transformation.

FAKE STEPHEN KING: Indeed, the power of evoking emotions and building connections through words is undeniable. In both fiction and copy, we manipulate emotions to guide readers’ perceptions, whether it’s to feel fear, excitement, or the irresistible urge to click “buy now.” However, there’s a notable distinction—the goal. Fiction seeks to immerse and entertain, while copywriting aims to persuade and prompt action.

FAKE BEN SETTLE: Well, pardner, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The goal of copywriting is clear—sell them what they need and what they didn’t know they wanted. But here’s the kicker: honing your fiction chops makes your copy sing a sweeter tune. See, storytelling ain’t just about stringing words together. It’s about painting pictures, igniting curiosity, and making readers feel something deep down in their bones.

FAKE STEPHEN KING: A sentiment I couldn’t agree with more. Yet, let’s not discount the power of specialization. There are those who might advocate for focusing solely on one craft, suggesting that dividing one’s attention dilutes mastery. But I’ve always believed in the versatility of the written word. Dabbling in both can enhance your skill set, bringing fresh perspectives to each arena.

FAKE BEN SETTLE: You’re speakin’ my language, Stephen. Fact is, when you straddle the line between fiction and copy, you’ve got a knack for blending art with persuasion. Your storytelling becomes more engaging, your copy more enchanting. And let’s not ignore the practical aspect—the economic dance of fiction and the lucrative rhythm of copy can harmonize quite nicely.

FAKE STEPHEN KING: A harmonious symphony, indeed. The fusion of skills, though requiring a delicate balance, can carve a path to exceptional communication. So, my fellow writer of tales and master of persuasion, whether you choose to juggle both or dive deep into one, remember this: the heart of great writing—fiction or copy—lies in the ability to captivate hearts, minds, and yes, even wallets.

FAKE BEN SETTLE: You said it, partner. At the end of the day, it’s all about the words—the magic that we, as wielders of language, conjure on the page. Ain’t nothin’ more rewarding than that.

FAKE STEPHEN KING: Indeed, Ben. Our words, our stories, they shape worlds and touch lives. Whether we’re sending shivers down spines or guiding decisions, our pens hold the power to move mountains.

A harmonious symphony of bull shyt indeed.

Hopefully it’s now clear why I’m not exactly holding my breath waiting for fapGPT to replace my emails, copywriting, or other content creation…

I recommend writing your own content from your own brain.

To learn more about Email Players newsletter go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Daily email reader Lilian asks:

Hey Ben !

Quick question. How do you remember everything people told you ?

It seems like you have hundreds of quote from discussion that you use in your copy…

Do you write them all in notes/paper ?

Do you make them out of memories ?

Thanks for your answer if you take the time !

True story about this:

In August 2021 while on a walk listening to Edward White’s “The 12 Lives of Alfred Hitchcock” audio book… the idea for the cover to my Markauteur book just slipped into my mind. It was all there in my head — exactly what it would look like. I didn’t even have a title for it or know what I’d write inside the book — as the mere possibility of writing a book about the visual & design-side of marketing had never once occurred to me a single time before that.

But there the idea was haunting my brain.

And so, instead of trusting my brain to remember it, I did this:

1. Immediately whipped out my phone

2. Tapped out the idea (for the cover) in an email

3. Sent it to myself

When I got home a few hours later, I then got out a yellow legal pad and sketched out the cover idea. I’m no Picasso. But I was able to get the gesture of it down. And I then immediately sent that to Email Players subscriber Kia Arian and hired her — again, without having the book title or even knowing what I’d say in the book figured out — to start creating it.

The result?

The single most expensive book I sell (retails at $1,108.00), that moved nearly 100 copies on launch. Yes, I did sell it at a discount during the launch. But it was still quite expensive even at the discount, especially to non-Email Players subscribers who did not get as big of a discount Email Players subscribers did.

And it was all from a stray idea I was too paranoid not to write down.

To bring it back to the question, it’s an example of what I mean when I say:

“Ideas are fragile”

Especially ideas for content.

(emails, books, courses, videos, audios, whatever)

Ideas are very fleeting.

They are there in your head one minute, and — poof! — gone the next. I sometimes shudder at all the books and other content I’ve NOT created over the last couple decades simply because of a lost idea here, another idea that slipped away there, yet more ideas gone into the abyss of wherever they came from that I could not remember.

So I am quite paranoid about this these days.

One stray idea can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in sales.

And I mean that, literally, as my Markauteur book proves.

So to answer her question:

I capture everything.

Any idea, quote, thought, story, joke, anecdote, pain, pleasure, fear, desire, analogy, lesson, feeling, email, article, tweet, stray comment, random revelation about something… whatever it is I even think could possibly be relevant to content creation now or in the future.

I have thousands of these notes/ideas cataloged.

And I am always adding to it.

So much so my frustration is never, “oh what am I going to write about???”

It’s “oh crap — I have TOO many ideas to write about…”

And then, when it comes time to create said content like my books or emails or courses or videos for the BerserkerMail YouTube channel or whatever it is… I simply pluck out what I need and get it all down.

All of this is especially applicable using my Email Players methods.

More on that here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Personally, I believe today’s the true birth date of Jesus.

(With Him being conceived & officially “dwelling” with us on Dec 24/25)

Thus, the following is apt:

One of the best “sales” secrets I’ve ever used is something I read about in multiple accounts from Jesus where He’d perform a miracle and then tell everyone not to talk about it.

The result?

Everyone talked about Him, told everyone about Him, grew His influence.

Same concept can work for us mere mortal businesses too.

Case in point:

Not a question

Your products have just helped me quite a lot so this is a thank you that you might be able to use sometime in the future in order to boost sales*

“Lots of people advised me against purchasing your programs because they were supposed to be hard to understand for “outsiders” so to speak.

But, after purchasing some of your books and eventually subscribing to Email Players i have to say that they are not “hard” exactly.

They are just not guru-like / mental masturbation pieces of advice and you need to immediately implement each part of them.

1 page of last month’s email players’ issue for example was enough in order to cover its subscription for 4 years.

So if you actually fit the description of it (have a list etc) and implement the material, i can not possibly think of a way that you won’t be able to make back the $97 (if not way way more).

YOU LITERALLY HAVE TO BE DUMBER THAN BIDEN.

Thanks Ben”.

That’s it. Thanks for everything that you do (really). If you use this at some point please hide the personal info.

And so it goes..

If you want more info on the paid Email Players newsletter go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I ain’t necessarily proud of what I’m about to admit here.

But, it’s a cautionary tale of glorious irony that must be told.

Here’s the story:

Back in 2021 and for about 4 years prior, Stefania had been using one of the big, complicated, yet popular email platforms that is both an email broadcasting/autoresponder and shopping cart and everything else in between all rolled up into one.

And she had built a list of some 4,000 leads on there.

But, she noticed something “off” about her response.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

But something in the milk definitely wasn’t clean (as she put it).

So she does some digging and finds out that, due to some weird glitch, out of those 4,000 leads only about 800 of them (only her customer list, basically) were mailed when she did any kind of broadcast. Plus, this was even after they increased her fees after hitting a certain subscriber count threshold, and while also making her pay a premium for features she didn’t want or use.

And, yet, even then they couldn’t even do the ONE task she needed.

i.e., sending emails to her main 4,000 person email list.

They were only being sent to her 800 person customer list.

So she complains to their support.

Their answer:

Basically crickets.

Or it might as well have been.

They had zero solutions for her.

Finally, fed up, she seeks my her king & master’s counsel on the matter.

“Ooh Mr. elBenbo,” she says in desperation, handkerchief in hand, drying her eyes… “whatevah shall I deeeeeewww???”

My solution:

I told her to get on the email platform I’d been using at the time (this was before we launched BerserkerMail). They’d always been good to me. And I had been with them for nearly 20 years at that point. Plus, their customer support was definitely light years ahead of the all-in-one platform she was using.

So the next day she obeys my command.

And to help her kick things off with a bang I even write the first email for her.

I was on a walk at the time when I got the idea for it. And I tapped it out right there on my phone. It was one of those emails with a 100% true, yet also 100% provocative, subject line about her “Concubine Business” — which was one of the side businesses she had.

I figured it’d be amusing for her readers.

And it was.

At least, to the 800 or so who had been hearing from her for the past 3 years.

The other 3,200?

Many totally forgot who she was from not hearing from her for so long, had no clue what the hell she was talking about in my “clever” email, and then proceeded to tap that filthy spam button like it was a sport! In fact, the first day alone she got well over 100 spam complaints. And while they tapered off over the next few days, she ended up with close to 300 spam complaints.

“Ah crap,” I said.

“What???”

“I should have had you send a more plain vanilla broadcast, with an opt out link at the top, and some copy right under that encouraging them to use it if they didn’t remember who you were, along with sending them in small batches of 25 emails or so over a few days, and not blast them all at once…”

Doh.

“But don’t you worry your pretty little head off,” I assured her. “I’ve used the platform you are using for many years. They’ve interviewed me for their podcast, and I am at least somewhat known over there. They have always been quite reasonable. Just let ‘em know what happened.”

So Stefania did just that:

She sent their support a long, sincere support ticket telling them what happened. To which their support responded not to worry, they logged it, and would make a note so she wouldn’t get in any trouble.

And that was that.

Or, so we thought.

Because a month or so later:

She logged in and… was locked out.

Yes, even though that platform that I assured her — and that I vouched for — was reasonable and wouldn’t do her dirty… decided to not only cancel her account… but they didn’t even tell her they did it.

When she inquired, saying what their support told her, they said:

Hi Stefanie,

When the decision was made to close the account, I did take into consideration the information you provided to us. Those details though ultimately did not change the problems I saw and I did have to move forward with the account closure. There were far too many complaints for us to allow any further sending.

This is a permanent closure and we will can not accept any appeals or allow new accounts in the future.

And so it was.

Obviously, she (well, me, in this case) is not blameless.

And now that I co-own an email platform, I get why they did it, and don’t even necessarily blame them for their decision. They have to protect their platform and users. And Stefania’s email got so many spam complaints, I don’t think they really had a choice.

Which brings me to the point:

We will never know for sure.

But if nothing else, this makes a good cautionary tale for anyone using email.

I hope you caught all the lessons.

If you want to learn more about Email Players go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

A BizWorld reviewer expresses her true feelings for me:

“Don’t waste your time with this nonsense”

2 things:

1. There are some real gems in there that I’m excited about and have my juices flowing. His concept of world building in business is intriguing but he gave very few examples of exactly HOW to build a world. It was the same 3 stories over and over again. That was a bit frustrating. But overall he validated a lot of things I’ve been thinking for awhile with “softer” marketing that focuses on engagement and relationships, not so dependent on stats, tracking, etc.

2. He is a terrible person and I actively dislike him. I’m used to sexist marketing gurus, never had much of a choice but to learn from them because they are everywhere. This book contains straight up misogyny. I honestly believe he thinks women are less than men (definitely less than him).

I gave him the benefit of the doubt for half the book and then I just couldn’t anymore. He talks about only using these marketing powers for good and not evil but then he does some really gross things in his world. He plays it off as being provocative but having been in a cult and experiencing life as a woman, this book was one red flag after another (his group members sending death threats to two women because they called him sexist, demanding single women in his FB group fill out dating profiles or get kicked out, and much more).

Looked him and his wife up on Twitter just to see if maybe I was missing context…it only got worse.

Because he’s a good marketer he gets away with a lot of bad behavior that I find actually dangerous because he’s right about some things. That can make some people swallow his other ideas with out question because “he’s so smart, he must be right”

On top of all that, any push back he gets he thinks is just validation that he’s right. In the book he tells a story about a man that reached out to him saying his wife loved his books but that his covers are disturbing and she doesn’t really like that. Ben concludes that she secretly LOVES his covers but is too afraid to admit it because it’s not popular/main stream.

He comes across as a very insecure person trying to compensate for something. Of course he’d tell you that’s just my insecurity coming through and that I secretly love his honesty and want to be in his world. He’s that deluded.

While there are good concepts in this book that I will use, I can not in good conscience recommend it and, in fact, would encourage people to not read it and stay away from Ben Settle “worlds”. There are much better books out there that give solid marketing advice. Don’t waste your time with this nonsense.

Sheer… perfection.

Although Stefania was none too happy to see another woman have so many spare emotions for your daily email horror host.

But it’s like I told her:

She needs to learn how to share if she wants to keep her spot…

Still, her complaints about the repetition and a lack of “how to” are valid.

As far as how-to info goes – I can only give a framework and beacons to follow.

To give a “do this, that, and then this” training on it defeats the purpose of creating a World which comes from within, not from without. And to seek a checklist or hand holding is to miss the point. Nobody can tell you how to do it. You have to figure it out. Although I have long toyed with the idea of having a small workshop here at elBenbo’s Lair, 4 or 5 people max – and doing live “hot seat-style” World-building back-and-forth feeding frenzies… with more beacons and insights to explore… but without telling anyone exactly what to do which, again, would defeat the purpose.

It’d be very expensive if I did that though.

Likely $10k a head, and probably a lot more.

And as for the book’s repetition:

It is true there is a ton of repetition in the book as the Amazon description clearly says there is. It’s even in bold letters so it’s easy to see, and so people would know what they are getting before they buy it. This concept of World-Building the way I teach it demands repetition. And to think you can just read it once, nod, then file away is not a realistic way to learn something as comprehensive as this particular topic.

We truly do live in a post literate society though.

And so I’ve come to expect this sort of thing.

But if repetition is a problem, probably you should pass on reading it. Same goes for needing a checklist/specific how-to’s if you dislike having to think.

Anyway, you can find my BizWorld on Amazon.

But the above also goes for my Email Players newsletter.

Sometimes repetition is used obnoxiously – although from different angles I’ve taught things before.

So keep that in mind before subscribing.

More on that here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. I never thought BizWorld would be divisive. Yet, if I get more reviews like the above and a couple other negatives ones I’ve seen for it, it may very well end up being more divisive even than my first Villains book, which still gets a lot of peoples’ panties in a twist.

Last year I was watching a documentary about the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, complete with interviews with the guys who created them and others who have been around it since its inception.

And there was one part that shot my antenna up.

And that part was when one of the creators said something about sequels.

He said:

“the sequel belongs to the believers”

i.e., totally exclusive and not-at-all inclusive.

They also talked about how, after being rejected by every comicbook publisher (all no-doubt kicking themselves in the long run), that it was interesting how, suddenly, everyone wanted to be a part of what they were doing, wanted to invest in it, ride the wave of popularity… AFTER they became successful.

Before success?

Nobody wanted anything to do with them.

After?

Suddenly everyone has always been a fan.

Reminds me of all these Marvel movie celebrities who natter on in interviews about how they were, like, you know, TOTALLY fans of the comics growing up… when everyone knows they not only were not fans, but were amongst those who mocked, made fun of, and socially ostracized the fans.

i.e., the true believers.

But anyway, back to TMNT:

They realized, what all great World-Builders in business realize — that it’s not unicorn farts & rainbows inclusivity that builds the World, attracts the best customers, creates a thriving business… but aggressive exclusivity.

Inclusivity will get your business killed — on all kinds of levels.

This is as old as recorded history.

It’s only in 2023 when people think this has somehow changed.

Something to think about.

Especially if you want to do email the way I do and teach in Email Players.

You can read more about that by hitting the jump below:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Once upon a time, “Email Players” subscriber Brian Kurtz invited me to speak to his prestigious Titans mastermind.

The topic:

The Lost Art of Business & Marketing World-Building.

It was quite well-received from what I remember.

Especially going by the questions I got during the Q&A.

But what exactly does this mean, really, when I talk about “World-Building?” Well, when I talk about World-Building in business I talk about creating a World your best customers, clients, leads and even your haters & trolls enter and don’t want to leave.

It’s like the children in the Narnia books.

Once they go to Narnia they do not want to go back to the real world.

They also don’t really talk much about missing their families or friends.

If anything, when they leave Narnia all they can talk about and think about is getting back. When not allowed back, one of them (Susan) even grew bitter and attacked Narnia and mocked her siblings for caring about the place.

i.e., her bitterness at not being allowed back turned her into a troll.

And interesting lesson in and of itself…

So it is in business.

The idea is to create a World for your business your customers always want to be in 24/7. Ideally – and this won’t happen with everyone obviously – they are constantly thinking about, constantly exploring, and constantly interacting with your World. When you do that, things like price, needing the best sales pitch or marketing, and the threat of any so-called “competition” all but evaporate.

I rarely ask people to buy anything.

First I give the opportunity to enter my World.

Then — and only then — do I give them the opportunity to buy.

Some do, many don’t, and that’s exactly how it should be.

But once inside, I try to make it as hard as possible to leave.

Or, really, be anywhere else.

This happens more for some than it does for others.

But that’s the gist of it.

And in the spirit of the upcoming 12-year anniversary double-sized August Email Players issue:

World-Building is the thing I do that none of my competitors do. It’s not just a matter of slapping the world “Planet” onto you name or adding “-verse” (Beniverse, whatever) next to your name or whatever. You can’t just say it. You have to live it, do it, and become it. It’s much bigger than your Google analytics account. And it can’t be swiped or tracked with a spreadsheet, or prompted by fapGPT.

More:

It’s also literally the reason Willis exists.

When I got especially good at applying World-Building to my romantic life (that I was already successfully using in my business life) I often had multiple prospects competing for my attention.

Not in a Fonzy or even in an Austin Powers kinda way.

(Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not exactly the life of the party…)

But a small, carefully curated way.

Incidentally, Stefania won that game handily over her competition because she legitimately liked my World, wanted to be in it, didn’t want to leave — there was no having to play the game or deal with a woman wanting to complicate things while I have a business world to make my mark in.

I invited her in, she walked across my threshold, didn’t want to leave.

And, not only that, wanted to assist me in my endeavors.

Zero drama or nonsense, as the mere idea of being kicked out of my World foiled her worst instincts.

And again:

Willis quite literally would not exist right now if I hadn’t done this.

If you doubt me, or think I am just engaging in puffery here, go ahead and ask her. She saw my World, wanted in, and sold me what I was buying to secure her place in it: meaning she was always pleasant, respectful, grateful, and had a dedication to helping me achieve my goals & Mission no other woman had ever even come close to displaying.

A few did at first, in some cases.

But over time their true colors emerged and their solipsism came out.

Yet Stefania was in my World, realized she liked it there, and has never left. She quite likes how I am always pursuing a new ambition, always climbing to the next goal post, and have built a lifestyle where I never want to leave or travel anywhere. Apparently, I’ve been getting quite the reputation for turning down speaking gigs, etc. That was not deliberate, I just have not had an offer that has been enticing enough for me to want to go anywhere, leave my warm hearth in my seaside hobbit hole, my son, with work flow disrupted, etc.

Isn’t that what we are all going for here?

Or is it just me?

Anyway, that may or may not be what you are about and that is fine.

It’s your World, Spanky.

You build it, populate it with what you prefer, and reign inside it as you see fit.

And so it is for business.

For example:

If you sit there and try to supplicate to clients and customers and hang out in their Worlds, and beg them to buy from you… instead of them coming to your World and asking you if they can purchase from or hire you… you’re playing the game on hard mode.

All right enough of this.

I’ve got a book about this on Amazon that is easily found.

But the doorway into my world of email marketing, copywriting, selling is my Email Players newsletter.

More on that here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

One of the more useful biographies I have read for business and marketing is movie director Frank Capra’s bio “The Name Above The Title” book.

It contains a ton of insights about making movies that apply directly to marketing.

Here are a few of them:

* There are no rules to filmmaking, only sins. And the cardinal sin is Dullness

* What interests people most is people

* Self aggrandizement will get you a lot farther a lot faster than modesty

* Entertainment is an amazing tool for rallying people against the “bad guys”

* Laugher disarms skepticism, cynicism, and even hostility

* Don’t look for objective criticism or praise… look for gut reactions

* Creating Vision can literally win wars

* Don’t make the best picture you ever made in the same year that someone makes Gone With The Wind

* FDR was such a great listener he almost converted Frank Capra into becoming a Democrat

* Too many filmmakers get their ideas from other’s pictures and not from life

* Wealthy hypocrites and celebrities in Hollywood constantly virtue signaling about “social justice” secretly had just as much contempt and hatred for the very people and causes they virtue signaled about in Capra’s day as they do today

* Trying to not offend people ruins movies

And the list goes on.

But Frank Capra’s most profitable marketing lesson was when he said this:

“Laughter was the disarmer, the friend maker. Entertain them, and audiences would accept most anything.”

I not only agree with this, but have witnessed and profited from it for some 15 years — including when selling in markets ranging from weight loss and self-defense, to golf and prostate problems, to internet marketers, MLMers, and biz opp seekers.

This is something email lets you play like a fiddle.

To learn more about Email Players go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

That is, if you’re a responsible person who makes good decisions.

Here’s what I mean:

I once got into a conversation about this idea of how society no longer — if it ever did — celebrates, cares about, or gives any kind of props to people who actually make society work, who build it up, and who keep it functioning.

And how instead… only the screw-ups who mostly contribute nothing do.

Certainly they get all the public attention, free press, and media propping.

That’s one reason why sales copy is often about a screw-up who fixed their situation, and never about someone responsible who isn’t a screw-up in some way.

Thus, they often go something like this:

* The obese person who got that way eating too much and not caring about his health who then got skinny

* The guy who got $200k in debt by reckless and irresponsible overspending who paid it all off and got rich

* The golfer who beat up his back, knees, and neck for decades because of his addiction to buying trendy, body-defying rotational swing gimmicks who found a way to play without pain

* The wet noodle-looking nerd who refused to lift or make himself more attractive who found a way to pick up chicks

* The guy who abused drugs and consumed estrogen-promoting foods when young and then went limp in middle age who suddenly gets raging woodies

And the list goes on.

Society as a whole not only doesn’t care about the responsible, the hard working, the dependable… but sometimes almost has contempt, jealously, and/or indifference to them. Take, for example, writers like the great Dan Kennedy writing another best-seller, or the great Bob Bly writing his 100th book (now well over 100), or Stephen King writing yet another novel.

Yes, their fans want it, get excited about it, and buy it in droves.

But I would guess nobody is patting them on the backs at home, or mass celebrating with them on Twitter, or drowning them in flakebook likes and PMs about it.

If anything, they probably get entitled fans bytching at them:

“Hey! Hurry it up with the next book already!”

Now, contrast that to many other blokes out there:

They announce to everyone who will listen how they’re finally going to sac up and take time to write a book. They tell everyone on social media, their family, their friends, their lists, etc… reveling in the likes, props, and “go get ’em, Tiger!” encouragement and validation they so desperately crave from strangers. They then spend two years horrified by the work ahead, the pressure to perform… and hide behind a bottle, or some other mind-altering substances… always talking about the book, but while sabotaging themselves… and never actually writing it or even starting it. Then, eventually, if they do finally write it, probably years later due to desperate need for money… they get showered with praise and high-fives, and are celebrated almost as heroes — despite all that wasted time, self-inflicted misery & stress, and possibly mental/emotional/physical harm to themselves, and maybe even others.

It’s not just in business or publishing, either.

It’s like this in all phases of society.

Nobody really cares when the responsible adult with a family gets up each day, punches in at work, earns a living, and doesn’t sabotage his life via drugs, partying, prostitutes, adultery, gambling, running up thousands in debt, and the list goes on.

It’s simply expected of him.

And, he neither expects or needs a pat on the back.

But, when the self-sabotaging screw-up who is always late, always messing up, always being irresponsible finally gets a job and puts a tie on or does something — anything — notable, everyone goes crazy with applause, props, and celebration.

Even the Bible talks about this in the story about the prodigal son.

A father has two sons:

1. A loyal, obedient, hard-working, and responsible guy

2. A complete screw-up who squanders his inheritance, breaks his dad’s heart, and ends up leaving only to become destitute, wallowing in despair, and begging to come back

And when son #2 does return, guess what happens?

He’s not only welcomed back with open arms, but he is treated even better than ever.

Meanwhile, son #1 is standing there with his John Thomas in his hand wondering what just happened, not realizing that he ultimately will get the prize (inheritance) and shouldn’t expect a pat on the back anyway, and should be happy for the screw-up coming back and being safe.

There are many lessons embedded in that story.

But, from a purely business perspective, here’s my favorite take-away:

The reason the irresponsible screw-ups are celebrated, and are the subject of so many marketing campaigns is because of several very important things, including being more flawed (and, thus, more identifiable and relatable) and, also, because of…

It’s essentially drama.

Drama is exciting.

Drama has impact.

And, best of all… drama makes more of the green stuff than non-drama does.

But, responsible, hardworking people simply don’t naturally create drama.

Only the screw-ups do, whether on purpose or not.

All of which is why normal, well-adjusted, and responsible guys have to learn how to create drama. Not stupid drama. Not abusive drama. Not even frivolous drama.

But, the kind of drama that sells.

Dramatic offers, dramatic guarantees, dramatic stories, and, yes… dramatic emails.

Very powerful stuff.

But only if you know how to use it.

For more on email go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle