Ben Settle

There are lots of lies in the marketing world.

Lots of exaggerations, too.

And in some cases, even outright hoaxes.

The biggest is probably people claiming to be testing.

I’ll even give you a real life example:

For over a year and a half I worked with a big, and fast-growing info publishing business. And early on, I remember the main marketing guy bragging about testing and measuring everything. However, while things may have changed in the last couple months (I don’t roll with them anymore), do you know how many “tests” I saw in that 1.5 years?

I could count them on one hand.

In fact, the entire time I was there, I only saw ONE headline test.

This is VERY common in Internet marketing.

People claim to test, but really don’t.

And even those who do usually only test two turds against each other (based on what they see a goo-roo doing, foolishly believing that just beause someone is a great marketer they are a great copywriter, and vice versa) to see which one doesn’t stink as bad, instead of testing bold, fresh and… yes… contrarian ideas that often lead to big response.

My point?

Many people who claim to be big testers simply aren’t.

They might SAY they are.

They might THINK they are.

They may even BELIEVE they are.

But they’re not.

And if you’re studying them, you’re sabotaging yourself.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you are going to study other test results, I suggest ignoring Internet marketers and seeking out OFFLINE marketers, instead, who test with their own money on the line.

Only the BEST survive in that climate.

And just having a “rock star” persona won’t cut it.

One of my favorite offline marketers is Doberman Dan.

He worked side-by-side with Gary Halbert.

He tests promotions offline with his own money.

And he has more “real world” business experience than any of the high falutin’ Internet goo-roos who are one bad launch away from poverty.

And guess what?

He just created an info product for people who want to be “kitchen table entrepreneurs” (people who make money online or offline in just a few hours each day, whether at your desk, on the couch or even at your kitchen table).

You can grab a free lesson he’s giving away at:

Let’s talk about hype today.

Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscriber John Iams recently asked:

“Given my tenant about too much hype in copy these days who’s stuff besides yours are you most impressed with? I’d appreciate your candid opinion given I expect it’ll be a short list.”

That’s a great (timely) question.

Here’s a list of my favorite “no-hype” copywriters:

• Gary Bencivenga
• Bob Bly (his simple & tight copy is mega genius)
• Ken McCarthy
• Ryan Healy
• David Deutsch – David’s the man, check out his new blog at: www.DavidLDeutsch.com/blog
• Richard Armstrong – he’s the man, too: www.freesamplebook.com
• Jim Rutz
• Doug D’Anna

I’m probably forgetting a bunch more, but if someone is looking for some great “no hype, no BS” copy to look at, you can’t go wrong with these blokes.

Read ’em.

Study ’em.

Profit from ’em…

Ben Settle

P.S. Speaking of “no hype”…

Doberman Dan’s “Kitchen Table Entrepreneur“ product is easily one of the best “no hype, no BS” ways I’ve ever seen to build a business.

Yes, it takes effort.

And no… it’s not “get rich quick.”

But if you want to a safe (and very simple) way to build a business at home, check out the free lesson he’s giving away at:

Once upon a time I wanted to be a screenwriter.

I just thought it’d be neato to write movie scripts.

In fact, I even once wrote a long research paper on how to write a screenplay for an English class (the only time I enjoyed doing an assignment — as I really was doing it for my own education as opposed to getting a good grade.)

Anyway, there’s a cool sales letter lesson in screen plays.

Some call it “the 10 minute rule.”

This means if the first 10 pages of a screen play don’t grab the reader, it not only has no prayer of being made into a movie, but it’ll likely never even make it to a producer or director’s desk at all (and be promptly tossed in the trash).

That means those first 10 pages have to be TOPS.

No slow build up, no messing around.

If you want a shot, you must get. to. the. point!

And you know what?

This rule applies even MORE to sales letters — except, instead of a 10 minute rule… it’s more like a 10 WORD rule. Those first ten words can often times make or break readership when competing against tweets, IM’s, FaceBook updates, emails, yada yada yada).

Point is, ten words is all you get these days.

So use your 10 words wisely.

And don’t mess around with fluff…

Ben Settle

P.S. On a completely unrelated note…

My friend Doberman Dan recently created a product for people who want to become “kitchen table entrepreneurs.”

Dan is the MASTER at doing this.

He knows how to START them (on a shoe string budget), BUILD them real big and then, either enjoy the sales from it, or SELL it for a big chunk of change (someone recently offered to buy one of his little “kitchen table” businesses for a cool million).

Not too shabby.

Anyway, if you’re interested, check out:

Just got back from a short road trip.

I left Monday, got back last night, and went to a town that’s over 3 hours away just to get my car looked at (since it hit the 75,000 mile mark and needed some work done on it).

But… why drive 3 hours away?

Why not just get the car checked on locally?

Because (1) I live out in the boonies and (2) I have this “thing” about making sure only people who specialize in my kind of car do any expensive work on it (and the closest dealer for my kind of car is 3+ hours away).

Yes, it’d have been faster going to a local mechanic dude.

And yes, I’d have saved a bunch of the green stuff.

But it ain’t about money or time.

It’s about getting the job done right, by people who SPECIALIZE in the exact kind of car I drive.

In this case, I don’t care about cheap.

And I don’t even care about friendly service, either.

I just want the job done right.

Because, let’s face it… if something goes kablooey while driving down the highway, the fact I saved $100 and a few hours of time won’t be much comfort whatsoever.

Yes, it’s true — not everyone wants a good price.

Or fast service.

Or even to be greeted with a smile.

Lost of people just want a specialist.

If, for example, they need brain surgery, they probably won’t care if the surgeon charges through the nose or is a complete jerk who wouldn’t know good customer service if it ran up and bit him on the bum.

And you know what?

There are people in YOUR market like this, too.

People who want the best.

Won’t feel satisfied buying from anyone else.

And are willing to pay big for it.

Hey, just something to chew on…

Ben Settle

P.S. A few people have been asking me when I’m going to accept new Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscribers again.

Answer:

Most likely in early January.

If you want to be notified when it’s open again, opt-in at:

There are 3 words I highly suggest not using in your ads.

I never say never, of course.

Especially since, as long as you put these words in the proper context, they are perfectly fine. But generally speaking, they should be avoided.

Or, at least, used sparingly.

What are these 3 words?

1. Any

2. Every

3. The “deplorable word” I teased the living you-know-what out of you with the last couple weeks which Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscribers will soon know.

What?

You don’t understand?

You’ve seen me using these words before?

Yes, you probably have.

But it’s all about context, baby.

In other words, telling people something works “every” time or for “any” person will do nothing but sound like utter BS. After all, no product or service works for “every” person under “any” circumstance.

And even if something did, it’d still sound bogus.

So if I use them, I qualify them first.

The point?

A little context goes a long way.

Anyway, that’s that.

Ben Settle

I’ve been noticing something… disturbing lately.

I first got a whiff of this from a couple guys on my list this year. But since I don’t get a lot of refund requests, and my Crypto Marketing Newsletter unsubscribe rate is relatively low, I did not know if it was a problem in the online business world, or just a fluke.

So I asked around.

And… sure enough, others report the same thing.

What am I talking about?

Men refunding because “their wife is making them.”

Ugh.

Their WIFE made them do it?

Look, I have nothing personally against these guys.

So this is not an attack on anyone.

But it IS disturbing seeing so many entrepreneurs like this.

Why?

For one thing, blaming your wife is a lame excuse.

When Adam blamed Eve, it didn’t exactly help his cause, either.

Just made him look like a chump.

And secondly, it shows a lack of leadership. How can someone be perceived as a leader in their market if they can’t even show leadership over their own business decisions?

Look, canceling a subscription is no big deal.

And product refund requests will always happen.

But if you’re gonna do it, don’t blame your wife.

Otherwise, guess what?

You’ll sound like you need to grow a pair…

Ben Settle

Here’s a question about affiliate marketing…

“Ben, I’m new to the Internet and decided to try my hand at affiliate marketing but I am unsure of how to pick a good product to sell. Do I just sell what’s high selling on Clickbank and what I see other people doing? Any advice for a newbie?”

BEN: Indeed I do…

A lot of people will disagree with it, though.

But, it’s worked out pretty good for me and it’s one of the secrets I teach in my Affiliate Trump Card product. In fact, it works so well that one buyer posted this on my blog: “The formula on page 17 is worth at least 100…times the modest investment…and not just for affiliate marketers.”

Big claim?

Maybe a bit of “puffery”?

Hey, see and judge for yourself:

One of the things I insist people do when choosing an affiliate product is to make sure the product has a unique and interesting STORY behind it.

This alone can close many a sale.

My favorite example is Ryan Healy’s freelancer eBook.

There are other similar products out there.

Including a few by some “big name” copywriters.

But Ryan’s stands out like a glowing red nose in the fog.

Why?

Because Ryan wasn’t “handed” anything. He had no special breaks… no special contacts in the industry… and had a LOT of pressure on him to succeed (he had no job and only two weeks of money with a mortgage, a child, a pregnant wife and no insurance — whoa!)

Talk about an interesting story!

It’s also inspirational and valuable, too.

And a lot of struggling freelancers can relate to it and, thus, believe in the product enough to give it a shot.

Anyway, there’s other criteria besides a great story.

But you know what?

Methinks if you did nothing but sell products built around fascinating stories, you will probably be successful.

And that ain’t no bull.

To read more about this, go to:

Ben Settle

I gotta make this a quickie today.

So what I thought would be fun is to give you 5 things you can test in your online sales letters that can be a potentially big “booster shot” for your advertising.

Ready?

1. A TOTALLY different page design

2. Change up your offer

3. Add in scarcity (as long as it’s REAL, not phony)

4. Video summarizing your offer under the headline

5. Remove the deplorable word

The deplorable what?

Well, there is a single word I’d bet your left kidney you are almost certainly using in your direct response ads (PPC ads, squeeze pages, sales letters, maybe even your order forms) that could be hurting your response.

Maybe just a little bit.

Or… maybe a LOT.

Even the old school copywriting masters used this word.

But, usually it hurts your sales.

To find out what this stinky, “dead rodent” word infesting your ads is, see the next Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue.

It goes to the printer tomorrow.

After that, it’s too late.

Get it while you still can at:

Ben Settle

OK, so last week I ripped on the Wal-Mart mentality.

How it caters to cheap.

Encourages cheap.

And how, if entrepreneurs are not careful, that same mentality could ensnare them into the same “cheap” mindset where cheapness reigns supreme over quality and performance.

Well, guess what?

There’s also a flip side to this.

Something Wal-Fart does that’s not only worth shamelessly copying for your business… but can put mucho more shillings in ye olde pocketses

Let me ‘splain.

A few years ago I wrote an ad for an unusual product.

It was info product Michael Senoff and a brilliant merchandiser named Joe McVoy did showing people how to get their products selling in Wal-Fart, Target and all the other billion dollar monster retailers.

Very cool product.

And one I HIGHLY recommend to anyone in to this stuff.

Anyway, one of the big take-aways was the importance of selling products that will not only sell themselves… but help sell the OTHER products around it.

Now, there’s a whole art and science to this.

And the course spends a lot of time on it.

But this one tip is worth its weight in gold to ANY business (whether selling in Wal-Fart or not). Frankly, there are few things more profitable than selling products that naturally and logically lead to the sale of other products you sell (either yours or affiliate products).

Wal-Fart does this brilliantly.

And maybe even (gasp!) worth going to Wal-Mart to see it.

Either way, it’s a great way to sell more stuff.

And, hey, let’s face it:

If it works for the billion dollar retailers…

Ben Settle

P.S. Time’s almost up to get the next Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue. I’m sending it to the printer in 48 hours. It’s a double sized issue about getting traffic and more conversions. It also reveals the response-killing word you’re almost certainly using in your squeeze pages, sales letters, PPC ads, etc that could be slaughtering your response (even though all the copywriting experts you’re studying likely use it).

To grab this issue in time, check out: