Ben Settle

It’s amusing when people say you “must” have testimonials.

You hear it all the time from goo-roos, especially.

But you know what?

In many cases, testimonials are the weakest way to prove something. For one thing, they’re easily faked. And for another, they’re easily faked! (Which can make people skeptical of ALL other testimonials and endorsements.)

Plus, they don’t always help, anyway.

In fact, in some cases, they can HURT your response.

Case in point:

I was recently chatting with the guy who does all the testing for one of the businesses I write ads for. He’s been testing the living you-know-what out of sales pages lately and he was telling me how, in one test, response went UP when he removed the testimonials.

Interesting, eh?

Now, does this mean testimonials are all bad?

That you shouldn’t use them?

And that I’m telling you to avoid them?

Hellz no!

By all means use ’em if you have ’em!

But don’t RELY on them.

And if you do use them, test them.

Otherwise, all that glowing praise could be hurting you.

You just never know…

Ben Settle

P.S. Since we’re rapping about testimonials…

Below are a stack I’ve gotten for my Crypto Marketing Newsletter over the past few months:

Without question the value that Ben puts into each monthly
newsletter is worth many times the subscription price. Shoot, the
bonuses that came with the subscription are worth the subscription
price. Then there is the crypto discussion group that as a
subscriber you have access to. Ben regularly puts more information
and ideas into the discussion group. If you have a question, within
short order Ben has a reply. Plus you get some great feedback from
other members of the group. Off hand, I do not know another
copywriter/internet marketer of Ben’s caliber that gives such free
access. I just hope none my competitors subscribe. Which is the
highest recommendation I can give.

– John R. Deck
DirectMarketResults.com

I just finished reading your May & June issue. I subscribe to a
fair amount of newsletters but yours is always moved to the top of
the stack. It’s the first one I read. It’s one of the best
marketing newsletters I’ve read since the Gary Halbert Letter.

– Dan Gallapoo
DobermanDan.com

“I have signed up for Ben’s Crypo Marketing membership after being
introduced to him by a friend. Now being with him only two months,
it was the BEST recommendation that I could have received. Ben has
an incredible way of telling a story that keeps you interested in
reading. If you are crazy enough to pass him up on his unbelievably
low cost Cyrpo Marketing, then you are literally lighting your
money on fire and watching it burn up in front of you.

– Jason Froehlich
renegadefitnessresults.com

I am greatly enjoying your newsletter! I wish it came out more
often. As soon as I see the package, I rip it open before I even
make it back to my house. Thanks again

– Amy Hainz

I’m a marketing consultant, and I like to have a nice big grab bag
of proven, principle-based, ideas for increasing response for my
clients. I shared one of his PR ideas with a client recently, and
had a really fun mastermind session on how and where we could work
the idea into his business. Like with anything we’ll have to test
it, but I think it’s going to be a great lead generator for my
customer. And the whole thing just reinforced the relationship
with my customer and keeps me positioned as the goto guy. As a
marketing consultant, Ben & the ideas he shares in the Crypto
newsletter just plain make me look good.

– Glen McNeil

Crypto Marketing gives me new ideas each month that I can actually
implement because it doesn’t bog me down with TMI. Also, the
private “back room” of the Crypto Yahoo group doesn’t have the
noise and chest-thumping of the public marketing forums. Ben
himself is low key, likes to over-deliver, and doesn’t pass himself
off as a goo-roo.

-Anita Ashland,
AnitaAshland.com

Ben, I loved your newsletter I got in the mail. I’ll be ranking you
#1 out of everyone. Whatever you do, please don’t sellout to the
“goo-roos” and stay unique like you are. Good job man!

-Ricky Breslin
RickyBreslin.com

As a pro copywriter, I get lots of products, newsletters, and
coaching programs for free. Usually from clients or people who WANT
to be clients (and who are trying to “butter me up”). The number of
things I actually PAY for is pretty low. If I’m going to cough up
actual dough, I have to be convinced the product is VERY valuable
— especially if I’m paying for it month after month. I’m happy to
pay the full retail price for Crypto Marketing — because it’s
good. Very good. ’nuff said.”

– Ray Edwards
RayEdwards.com

Wow Ben! You’re really over delivering here. Honestly, the bonuses
alone are worth more than the last two products I purchased put
together. Anybody who doesn’t buy today, is a dork.

– Courtney James Houde

You can subscribe to The Crypto Marketing Newsletter at:

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about email.

Mostly, because I’m getting ready to re-release ye olde Street-Smart Email system and it’s hot on my mind. But also, because I’ve been seeing a lot of myths floating around about email, too.

Here are a few such myths:

1. Open rates are most important

2. You should send people a short teaser email that directs them to your blog (if I did that, I’d only have made half the sales I’ve done so far this year — if that)

3. Teaching sells

4. HTML is best

5. The best time to send emails is 5:00 am eastern time

6. Social media is going to bury email marketing (this one ALWAYS gives me a hearty laugh!)

7. Subject lines need to be short

8. Value is “king”

And the list goes on and on and on…

Anyway, all these myths are dangerous to your bottom line.

And, if you believe them, are probably robbing you of sales that are going to someone else who is ignoring all those so-called “rules.”

Just something to think about.

Especially the next time you push that “send” button…

Ben Settle

P.S. To jump on the notification list for my Street-Smart Email course re-release, click on over to:

I’ve made MANY mistakes in selling.

Not just online… but offline, too. In fact, I don’t think it’s truly possible to get really good at selling online until you’ve made a lot of mistakes selling offline.

Take for example, my MLM days.

I was a really excited distributor!

Oh yeah, baby!

I was sold on all the products… thoroughly indoctrinated with the company propaganda… and could recite the tapes and company “kool aid” chapter by chapter and verse by verse.

And yet, I BOMBED selling.

Yes, even though I had the enthusiasm.

Even though I had the product knowledge.

And even though I was a persistent little cuss.

You see, my problem was my mouth.

I never shut up!

I just blabbed on and on and on and on. Sometimes someone might even have been ready to sign up, credit card in hand, and I’d end up talking them out of it!

I just wouldn’t shut the &$^%! up!

Man times I could literally see the enthusiasm (and life) drain from some poor guy’s face with my every word.

Then… fast forward a couple years later.

I started selling online via writing sales letters.

I figured that’d take care of my “chatter box” problem.

BZZZT!

That only made it WORSE.

Instead of not shutting up and getting to the point verbally… I was being too long winded with my written words.

Ugh.

I still shutter at those 25+ page monstrosities.

Anyway, my point is this:

If you want to be better at selling (online or off)… shut up!

Be a man (or lady) of as few words as you need to get the job done.

Anything more just sabotages yourself.

And puts your would-be customers to sleep.

Ben Settle

P.S. Probably the worst place you can be too chatty in your ads is in the close. I can’t tell you how many sales I used to lose because I was too long-winded in my closes.

Well, guess ye what?

The next Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue is all about the all-important close — including real life examples (you can swipe) of how to do it quickly, efficiently and in the most profitable way possible.

It goes to print next week.

So if you want in on time, subscribe here today:

Got some interesting feedback about Monday’s email.

That was the one where I talked about a Bible prophecy teacher who does great radio by making things that might normally sound dry and boring, sound extremely fascinating and interesting.

Well, guess what?

Writing that email reminded me of something.

Check this out:

Last week when I got my issue of Sun magazine in the mail (fun!), I read an article about something called “the devil’s bible.” This book LOOKS like a regular Bible on the surface — complete with an old and new testament and scriptural commentaries.

But in reality, it ain’t no regular Bible.

It’s got a bunch of other stuff in it, too.

Like a big picture of the devil, magic spells & formulas, exorcism instructions, etc. According to legend, it was written 800 years ago by a renegade monk who made a pact with the devil.

Weirdness, huh?

Anyway, so what’s this got to do with you?

Maybe nothing… unless you’re buying stuff online.

Because the Internet is RIFE products like this.

Not necessarily satanic stuff.

But there are plenty of goo-roos (and especially goo-roo fanboys) slapping together products that look like the “real thing”, but are just pale imitations of quality products they see selling online.

You can identify them because they’re always a bit TOO similar.

Like they’ll have a similar title.

A similar price.

A similar set of benefits.

And, especially, a similar looking ad selling it.

But, when you get the product… it’s just recycled content sloppily taped together.

Similar to the real deal.

But not nearly as valuable or useful.

My point?

Be careful when buying “how to” products online.

Keep thine eyes peeled and research carefully.

The devil really IS in the details.

Ben Settle

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of Biblical prophesy.

It’s always been an interest to me.

But over the past year or so, it’s become even MORE captivating to me. And one of my favorite Bible prophesy researchers is a guy named Lynn Marzulli whose stuff is always a meaty read.

Anyway, here’s why I bring it up:

Lynn is VERY good at getting on radio.

I ain’t just talking about “Christian” radio shows, either.

But also on secular shows with huge audiences — like “Coast 2 Coast” with George Noory, for example. And every time he gets on these shows, he does something anyone in marketing can use to get more response, more sales and more customers.

What does he do?

He makes the “ordinary” fascinating to the mainstream.

In other words, he makes ideas that normally only excite Christians appealing and intriguing to non-Christians (who he’s always trying to reach out to).

Example?

The big one is when he talks about the Bible.

He doesn’t call it The Bible.

That terminology has very little appeal to non-Christians. And judging by how few Christians read their own Bibles these days, it’s probably not all that exciting to them, either. So instead Lynn calls it something else:

“The Guidebook To The Supernatural”

Booyah!

How cool is that?

Just by reframing the name of The Bible, he captures the interest of those who’d normally have no interest in it at all (or who may even be hostile to it.)

This gives him a fair hearing every time.

Opens minds that are normally closed to such ideas.

And makes what might seem dry, dusty and boring to some people, and makes it fresh, exciting and, yes, cool.

Again, you can do the same thing.

Take your ideas and product titles and inject energy into them.

Make them interesting.

Make them unique.

And make them hard for even your hardcore skeptics to ignore.

Yep, it’s work.

(Thinking often is, after all.)

But it’s always well worth the effort.

Ben Settle

P.S. Speaking of the Bible…

If you want to know a secret way to use your Bible, your bathroom and The National Enquirer to put your creative juices on steroids when creating your ads, emails and products, check out chapter 2 of “The Copywriting Grab Bag” at:

I sucked at getting dates in high school.

I mean, it was truly pathetic.

No, not because I was awkward or full of acne or a “social leper” or anything like that (at least, no more than any other snot-nosed little punk at the time).

But I couldn’t get a date with a pocketful of $50’s.

Yes, I could charm the women.

Yes, I could flirt with them.

And yes, I could even get them wanting to go out with me.

But, in the end, I got very few dates.

I couldn’t figure out the problem at the time. But now it’s crystal clear what the “snag” in my game was. And it just so happens to be the exact same thing that keeps most marketers from “closing the deal” online, too.

What do I speaketh of?

Not asking for the “sale.”

Or, at least, not asking for it in the right way.

I made that mistake many a time back in my teenage “angst” years, and whenever I do ad critiques, I see the EXACT same mistake being made online, too.

Sometimes, they just ain’t asking for the sale at all.

But usually, they are asking but doing it wrong.

And because of that, they make little or no sales (or their sales are FAR lower than they should be).

Anyway, why do I bring this awkward subject up?

Why broadcast my lame teenage failures?

Because the next issue of The Crypto Marketing Newsletter is about closing the sale in ads — complete with word-for-word examples of how to do it. Including one way I never see anyone else doing, but that works like gangbusters.

Frankly, I have yet to see it fail.

Anyway, this issue goes out in a couple weeks.

You can subscribe at:

Ben Settle

P.S. When you subscribe, you also get a pile of bonuses to get your learn on with while you’re waiting for your first issue to arrive.

Lots of people want to know more about “pipeline” income.

Specifically, doing continuity type programs.

Like a membership site, print newsletter, CD-of-the-month, DVD-of-the-month, consumable products, etc. Everyone seems to know “what” to do, question is HOW do you get paid subscribers?

That, my friend, could fill 500 emails up.

But here’s a “hidden” way I’d never considered before.

And that has helped me tremendously.

(Even though I didn’t fully realize it.)

What am I yapping about?

Well, instead of me explaining it, I’ll hand the mic over to new Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscriber Andrew James (who just joined yesterday).

I thought this was really cool (and useful info to have):

Ben,

I’ve been through your email course, and writing daily emails has sooo many benefits. I think it’s a discipline that makes you a better business owner and strategist more than anything.

Also, I’m realizing something interesting.

After being on your list, the idea of being on a paid monthly list, becomes very easy and obvious to swallow.

So, as a continuity subscriber getting technique goes, I think daily emails is a great way to go….

Veddy interesting, isn’t it?

Again, not something I’d really considered.

And the beauty is, anyone can do daily emails (yes, you can!)

Plus, consider ye this:

If you’re positioning yourself as an “expert” or a “leader” in your niche, and you don’t have something (anything) to say on the subject every day, then, well…

Just something to chew on.

I know what I’ll continue to do.

Laters.

Ben Settle

P.S. To be notified when my Street-Smart Email system is available again, hop on the notification list at:

About the only time I watch TV is when eating.

Methinks it’s a bad habit from growing up as a Gen X “latchkey kid.”

But, it’s kind of useful, too.

Here’s an example of why I say this:

For a while now, I’ve been noticing how certain stations obnoxiously jack up the volume during commercials. So in other words, you could be cheerfully watching Seinfeld and then, when a commercial comes on — BOOM! — the volume pumps up way louder than the TV show.

I can only assume advertisers do this on purpose.

But, is it a good idea?

I haven’t seen any tests or data on it, either way.

But I will say this:

Pumping up the jam of a terribly crafted advertisement ain’t gonna help their sales any more than when a goo-roo fanboy writes and ad that “screams” (in all caps) giant, obnoxious claims that bear no resemblance to reality whatsoever.

In fact, the result is the same online as it is on TV:

The consumer simply turns the channel.

(Or clicks away).

So what’s the moral of the story?

It’s far better to jack up the quality of your salesmanship in your ads than to jack up the “volume” on your claims. Because online or on TV, if you blast your prospects with a “sonic boom” that’s also a terrible sales message, the channel is instantly changed.

Or, at least, the “mute” button is pushed.

And either way, the sale is silenced.

Ben Settle

P.S. The next issue of The Crypto Marketing Newsletter is all about closing sales in sales letters. The best copywriters spend a LOT of time on the close (while most others just brush through it, as an afterthought). In fact, the late, great Gary Halbert said he spent at LEAST 25% of his ad space on JUST the close.

It makes sense, too.

After all, a sale is a very “fragile” thing.

To grab ye the next issue, flip the channel over to:

Remember when I wrote about finances last week?

And how, one big financial mistake was “carrying buckets instead of building pipelines”? And how a pipeline is income that “flows” to you, instead of you having to go out and get it?

Well, let’s rap about that some more today.

Below are some ways to build “pipelines.”

This is not an exhaustive list (not even close).

But this should get the ol’ juices flowing, and hopefully give you some ideas to start implementing:

• Strategic partnerships (where you get paid based on recurring sales — such as writing an ad and getting paid on ongoing commissions)

• Setting up affiliates and joint venture relationships where other people are constantly selling your products for you

• Give your product rights to someone else to sell (who knows marketing, of course) where they are paying you ongoing royalties on sales

And so on, and so forth.

Anyway, here’s the big idea:

To build financial “pipelines”, do activities where you do the work (or make the investment) once, and then get paid on it perpetually, forever and ever.

And when you build one, start building another.

And another.

And another…

Until you’ve got MULTIPLE pipelines coming in.

That way, if one craps out on you, the others are still strongly in place and you won’t miss a beat.

Simple, but effective.

And, if you want some help, then check this out:

When you subscribe to The Crypto Marketing Newsletter, you get 12 valuable bonuses instantly upon subscribing — including a $97 product (I negotiated the rights for) called “Audio Marketing Secrets.”

It shows you EXACTLY how to create digital products FAST.

Sometimes in just a couple hours!

And it’s perfect for creating “pipeline” income like membership sites, a CD-of-the-month, etc.

You can subscribe at:

Ben Settle