Ben Settle

What did the bird say when he flew over the Internet?

Cheap!

Cheap!

Cheap!

I know… lame joke.

But still a TRUE one.

And while it’s fun finding really cool cheap and free stuff you need on the Internet, I’m thankful I’ve had to pay for a lot of things that, if given free, would have sat on a shelf and never been used.

Like Gary Halbert’s “Boron Letters”, for example.

It’s free today.

But it wasn’t back in 2003 when I got it.

I was struggling a lot financially back then.

It STUNG dropping $97 on that book!

But I read that puppy cover to cover dozens of times… including writing the book out in my own handwriting. I STILL go through it once or twice per year, too. And I have probably gotten more profitable ideas and breakthroughs from that book than almost any other I’ve seen (definitely in my top 10 resources).

But you know what?

Today I wouldn’t get nearly as much value from it.

Because it’s free.

And what’s free is almost NEVER valued as much as that which we have to earn, buy or struggle for.

Hey, you don’t have to like that.

And you can fight me on it all you want.

But that won’t stop it from being true.

Free really IS the most expensive option.

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

A little while ago I learned a new word:

“Fauxcellarm.”

Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscriber Guy Malone told me about it, and it’s a “phantom” cell phone vibration in your leg when you’re not even carrying your cell phone. Kind of like “phantom pains” where people who have lost a limb feel pain where that limb used to be, even though it’s not there.

Anyway, he thought I could turn it into an email.

But you know what?

I’m ashamed to say… I’m stumped on this one.

Usually, I can turn most any word or idea into an email.

But this time?

Not so much.

However, rest assured, it’ll come to me eventually.

And when it does, it may even be profitable.

Which is the point I want to make:

Sometimes the answers to problems (big or small) will elude you.

That doesn’t mean you give up.

Or stop trying.

Or drop an otherwise good idea.

It just means you gotta dig deeper.

And know what happens when you dig deep?

You sometimes strike gold.

Ben Settle

P.S. I may not be able to figure out a good use for the word Fauxcellarm (yet), but what I can do is show you some cool (and very simple) ways to profit big time from doing joint ventures. I don’t have any hard proof of this, but I would guess the VAST majority of money online is made from joint ventures. And I’ve learned quite a few tricks on how to set them up (even if you don’t really know anyone now).

In fact, it’s the next Crypto Marketing Newsletter topic.

And it goes to print in two short weeks.

You also get 12 bonus gifts immediately upon subscribing, too. Including some advanced lessons on article marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, local marketing, PPC marketing, audio marketing copywriting, deal making, blogging and probably some more “ings” I am forgetting about.

Details at:

I need to clear something up today.

Remember yesterday’s email about the little changes that can sometimes (but not all the time) yield big response in your ads and sales letters?

Well, one change was removing speed bumps.

But… what’s a “speed bump”, exactly?

Here’s how I explained it to a Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscriber in the private members-only forum they have access to (to ask me questions, etc):

It’s something that interrupts the sales letter “flow.”

Like, for example…

A testimonial, video or product image in the middle of the page.

You see it online ALL the time.

And yet it can really hurt response.

Why?

Because it’s like giving a face-to-face sales pitch and, out of the blue (when the customer is eager to hear more) suddenly whipping out a testimonial and saying “…but before I tell you this part I know you really want to hear, listen to what Irma Baker from Cedar Rapids Iowa says…”

This can really KILL readership.

And, thus, your sales, too.

Anyway, I’ve never seen them help response.

Usually they destroy it, instead.

Ben Settle

These days I think a lot about split testing.

Especially since I’ve started working with a company writing all their ads and sales letters and emails in such a way where the more sales they make, the more I get paid.

Now, usually I like testing “screams” and not “whispers.”

(i.e. big changes vs small changes.)

But the little stuff can have impact, too.

Like, for example:

• Moving an image from one side of the page to another

• Using a different color background

• Repositioning testimonials

• Changing the bullet point format

And so on, and so forth

Again, I don’t usually dig on small changes.

But sometimes even whispers blow out ear drums.

Until next time…

Ben Settle

P.S. The free direct mail for web marketers webinar training (not just a lame pitch-a-thon) Doberman Dan Gallapoo and I are doing is tonight.

And yes, there WILL be something for sale.

But the free info ALONE can bring you more of the green stuff.

Plus, you’ll get a free copy of a recent Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue I did on the subject, too (revealing a VERY simple and cheap way to profit from direct mail without licking a stamp or stuffing a single envelope).

But there’s no time for dilly-dally.

Game time is tonight at 8:00 pm eastern.

Here’s where to grab the details:

I’ve been doing an unusual workout program lately.

I started it in August, and basically, I’m the “guinea pig” for a marketing pal who’s into all these whacky crazy ways to work out. Anyway, it’s based on pull ups. And when I started, I could barely do 12 in a row. But now, only two months later, I’m doing 25 (over 100% increase) and going up a rep or so each week.

Pretty crazy, isn’t it?

Guess what’s even more crazy?

It’s the EASIEST workout I’ve ever seen!

And believe me, with all the different sports I played, martial arts and being around athletes my whole life, I’ve seen a LOT of workouts.

But none like this one.

This one is a breeze.

That’s actually the whole point of it.

In fact, if it gets too hard, I scale it back so it’s easy again (something to do with your central nervous system yada yada yada). And the results are truly incredible.

Why am I telling you this?

Is there a point?

There sure is, boss.

Because this concept applies to business, too. And when you do it, you can usually accomplish way MORE with way LESS effort and strain.

Example?

OK, take writing.

You can do it the hard way — procrastinate, worry about what to write and freak out about getting all your ideas down and making everything smooth and clear and easy to read, etc. Or, you can do it the easy way by doing the opposite and giving yourself dinky little goals just to get started.

No pressure.

No getting “psyched up.”

And no strain whatsoever.

Just say, “my ONLY goal is indenting the first sentence of each paragraph!” Or… “today, all I’m doing is a spell check.” And so on, and so forth.

Make your goals SUPER easy.

What happens then?

Well, chances are you’ll get so bored you’ll do a little more… then a little more… until finally you’ve done WAY more than you would have originally.

Whacky crazy stuff for sure, my friend.

And perfect for us undisciplined types.

Ben Settle

P.S. Tomorrow is Doberman Dan’s “Direct mail for web marketers” webinar. When you attend you’ll get a free Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue (in PDF) I sent out in September.

Lots of value in them thar hills.

And you can get you some here:

I’ve been yapping away about direct mail a LOT.

Why do I keep going on and on about it?

Two reasons:

The first reason is because next week Doberman Dan and are doing a free direct mail training tele-seminar (actually, he’s doing the work, I’m just holding the clipboard). There will be a pitch at the end, but it won’t be necessary to buy anything to get mucho value out of the experience.

But there’s also another reason:

I flat out think it’s cool!

Yes, now that I’ve done it (and am continuing to do it), it’s like a whole new world is opening up. There are so many things you can do with direct mail you can’t do (not with the same impact, at least) online.

And nowadays it’s almost as easy as sending an email.

Examples?

OK, how about these apples:

• Bounce back offers (i.e. inserting your pitch in the same box or envelope as a product you are already sending someone. This lets your pitch get a “free ride” with a virtual 100% guarantee your prospect will read your ad.)

• Find JV partners (letters have FAR more impact than email)

• Get new clients (did you know Bob Bly, the great copywriting coach, got all his first clients by sending a short letter to a targeted list of potential clients? Again, it’s got IMPACT.)

• Special sales announcements

• Put OTHER business’s ads in your mail and charge for it (this is where other marketers pay you to let their ad ride along with your products or mailings — potentially covering your hard costs, making your mailings free.)

• Generate referrals

• Drive opt-ins to your website

• Profit from JV relationships (same as putting other business’s ads in your mailings, except, instead of them paying you to send their pitch, you share in the profits from their sales)

• Back-end sales

• Customer/client re-activation (this is such a no-brainer almost ANY business can get an immediate cash flow surge just by doing it)

• And so on, and so forth…

So those are just a few ideas.

Frankly, the profit-potential is enormous.

Especially if you understand direct marketing.

Anyway, to see how one of the few remaining direct mail masters does it, check out the free training Doberman Dan’s doing next Wednesday.

Details at:

Ben Settle

Many moons ago I heard a kick bootyus training.

It was a recorded “night owl” session at some Dan Kennedy event I’d gotten free as a subscriber to Dan Kennedy’s newsletter. The guy giving the training was Bill Glazier and it was about his rather sophisticated marketing funnel.

Wish I could remember all the details.

But there was one take-away I’ll never forget.

And that was how he’d built his funnel in such a way so his business was all but IMMUNE to being knocked off by copycat competitors.

How did he do it?

There were actually a lot of things he did.

But the big daddy of them all was mixing and matching media. In other words, he combined email and websites with FAX, direct mail, magazine & newspaper ads, tele-marketing, post cards and even Federal Express.

It was pure jeenius, too.

I mean… think about it:

How many people venture off the Internet at all… much less contact their prospects by phone or FAX or through the mail, etc?

Anyway, I’ve been learning a lot about this lately.

And guess what?

If you want to immunize yourself like this too then good news: Next Wednesday (October 13th) Doberman Dan Gallapoo is holding an intense “no screwing around” training tele-seminar about using direct mail with your web marketing.

Dan doesn’t do “pitch fests.”

So you don’t have to worry about wasting you time.

Yes, there WILL be something for sale at the end.

But the bulk of it will be hardcore direct mail training from one of the last few masters of the craft.

You can grab the details at:

Ben Settle

Here’s some of the best ad advice I ever done got:

“If you are not running enough tests that are really flopping, then you are not doing your job…A very good copywriter is going to fail. If the guy doesn’t fail, he’s no good. He’s got to fail. It hurts. But it’s the only way to get the home runs the next time.”

Who said that?

The late great grand puba of marketing Eugene Schwartz.

And he wasn’t just whistlin’ dixie, either.

Case in point:

Right now I’m writing a fartload of squeeze pages for a client. Not just 2 or 3 test panels… but before I’m done I’ll probably have 20-30 test panels being tested. Some of them play it “safe” (not veering too much from their current control) and some are so off the charts crazy different, they probably think I’m a nutcase for even submitting them.

But you know what?

I fully expect 95% of these tests to FAIL.

To me they are all dead ads walking to that great electric chair of cyberspace where probably only one of them will survive the onslaught.

In fact, my first test already failed by a fat 20%.

And that’s good!

Did not bother me one bit.

I knew it’d either win big or lose big.

And that’s really the name of the game.

I mean, what would you rather have — 100 “play it safe” tests that add up to a 100% increase over weeks or months… or one BIG winner that beats your control by 100% in a day?

Which do you think will make you money faster?

Something to think about.

To paraphrase one of the great American minds:

“Failure is COOL, Beavis.”

Ben Settle

P.S. Hey, those old school marketing guys knew their stuff. If you want to learn at the feet of one of the last few old school direct marketers (still teaching), then check out the free teleseminar Doberman Dan is putting on for web marketers who want to learn the ins and outs of direct mail.

Plus, when you attend you get a cool gift:

A free Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue (in pdf) about direct mail.

Details at:

Let’s rap about the so-called Internet marketing “syndicate.”

What’s that?

Basically, it’s a group of Internet marketing goo-roos (selling to the Internet marketing niche) who have cleverly figured out a way to (more or less) erase competition by ganging up and promoting to each other’s massive lists in a very deliberate way. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty here because, frankly, others have written more about this in far more detail already.

Some people are REALLY angry about it, too.

Me?

I find it extremely amusing.

No… not the syndicate part, necessarily.

But the fact anyone gets freaked out about it at all — especially when there are so many ways to immunize your business from the goo-roo boogeymen.

Like, for example…

1.) Building your email list properly

By “properly” I mean mail them on a regular basis (preferably daily, IMHBAO) in a way that doesn’t insult their intelligence or treat them like drooling idiots.

And for pity’s sake, don’t keep “moving the free line.”

It’s much more profitable to learn to SELL via email, instead.

2.) Not marketing to the hyper buyers

They’re the WORST people to sell to.

Why?

Mostly because they are serial refunders, pain in the arse customers, and only make up a small fraction of your overall market in the first place.

Nowadays I try to deliberately turn them off.

I suggest you do, too.

3.) Using direct mail

Finally, if you REALLY want to “stick it to the syndicate” start using direct mail. That means sending your customers a REAL physical letter in the mail.

It’s not nearly as hard (or expensive) as you may think.

In fact, it’s as easy as email now.

But, it is kind of a detailed subject to go into here. So if you want a free training on the subject, check out the tele-seminar Doberman Dan Gallapoo is putting together showing web marketers how to painlessly use direct mail.

Details at:

Plus, when you attend, you’ll get a free issue (in PDF format) of a recently Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue I wrote on direct mail, too.

Anyway, that’s it for today.

Cheers.

Ben Settle