Ben Settle

Following is a question about getting paid more.

The guy asking the question is a freelance copywriter, but it applies to anyone selling ANY service (or product).

Here’s the question:

“I’m a fellow copywriter. I see you charge $8,500 minimum to start with. How do you manage to get clients to pay you those fees? I’m left scratching my head trying to figure out how to find clients who’ll pay me what I’m worth. Everyone wants to commoditize copywriting nowadays. Your thoughts?”

Veddy good question.

I mean, who doesn’t want higher fees?

But first, an admission:

I don’t charge $8,500, I charge more than that (in a sense) because I only do partnership deals currently. But, to answer your question, it’s my opinion that the most important thing you can do (starting today) is start an ezine and mail it daily.

Yep, that’s it.

And no, I will never stop recommending this, either.

Why?

Because since doing daily emails I have never had a problem getting clients. They have always come to me, price has not been an issue and they’ve usually been “ready to go” (i.e. send me a check) almost right out the gate.

Frankly, I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it.

Consider ye this:

If you want to be seen as a LEADER (and not just an “expert”) in your niche, and you don’t have something to say every day, and your competition DOES, then who looks most competent?

Who has the most credibility?

And who demonstrates the most VALUE?

There’s a big difference between mere experts and leaders.

Yes, experts are listened to.

But leaders are FOLLOWED.

(And thus, get paid more.)

This is why I believe email is “it” — the one skill that separates the men from the boys, and attracts higher fees.

And speaking of which…

If you want to learn how to do daily emails without driving yourself crazy, and also build an eager following of would-be clients, then check out The Street-Smart Email System while it’s $200 off (until midnight on Sunday, September 5th).

Here’s the magic link:

Ben Settle

P.S. Here’s what freelancer John Angel (a featured copywriter at a past Perry Marshall email “boot camp” who helped attendees write their auto-responders) said about the course:

Hey Ben, your “Street Smart Email System” is, by far, the best program I have read on how to write emails that get opened and read. The chapter on subject lines alone is worth a small fortune to anyone serious about email marketing.

Two thumbs up from me.

– John Anghelache

But the $200 discount sale is almost over.

So if you want Street-Smart Email, get it while the gettins’ good:

No fireworks or tips today.

Just a quickie announcement:

Street-Smart Email “2.0” is now available and you can have it for $200 off until this Sunday (September 5th) at high noon (pacific time).

Here’s where to get your email lovin’:

Ben Settle

P.S. If you are wondering…

Then here are a few (unsolicited) testimonials that have come in since it was first released in early July:

All I can say is “WOW.” As soon as it hit my doorstep I had to drive to Charlotte, NC to get my hair done and listened to the 6 core CD’s in the system and was blown away. I got so many ideas that I was sitting in my car sending recording voice memos into my iPhone so I wouldn’t lose all the great ideas I was getting from the CDs. This is definitely one of the best courses I’ve ever bought on marketing. Thanks a lot Ben, keep up the great work!

-Marquetta Breslin
BraidsByBreslin.com

Best. Dang. Email. Course. Ever. Really, really good stuff. I stopped the RV and wrote tomorrow’s email. And now I’m about to write Monday’s.

– Ray Edwards
Copywriter whose clients have included
Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Armand Morin,
Jeff Walker, Frank Kern, and Mark Victor Hansen
RayEdwards.com

Hi Ben,

This email course is incredibly valuable.

I can’t think of another info product I’ve purchased in the last 3 years which comes close. I’ve listened to the cd’s twice and read the transcript once. Each time I get something new… My sales have never been higher, and I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from members as well.

Thanks Ben – this is fun, and profitable!

– Travis Giggy

Hey Ben, your “Street Smart Email System” is, by far, the best program I have read on how to write emails that get opened and read. The chapter on subject lines alone is worth a small fortune to anyone serious about email marketing. Two thumbs up from me.

– John Anghelache
Copywriter whose clients have included
Gary Halbert, Michel Fortin, Yanik Silver,
Joe Vitale, David Garfinkel and Peter Stone
JohnAngelCopywriting.com

Hey Ben,

I’m a fulltime copywriter who manages several lists for clients. I write on average 6 emails a day for some pretty huge, and well established info-marketers. I’m less than a quarter way through your course and I gotta say it’s blown me a way. Your first chapter on subject lines alone was worth multiple times the investment.

– Francis Ablola
ablola.com

I’m already testing a couple things Ben recommends and they’re already (just within the past 3 days) starting to bring in a lot more sales. I think it might even DOUBLE the sales I’ve been getting from e-mail marketing.

-Doberman Dan Gallapoo
DobermanDan.com

You have really over delivered on this. I am getting a HUGE value from the program and can easily say it fits into the top 3 programs I’ve ever purchased. It is amazing. My writing has improved 200 fold and I can’t wait to see what happens with my conversions. Even more exciting is your system keeps me in front of the customer with ease and not feeling like I am pushing products all day long.

-Jason Froehlich
RenegadeFitnessResults.com

I’ve sent over 450 daily e-mails over 14 months using Ben’s email methods. And as a result I’ve increased my gross sales and made far more meaningful connections with my customers — including joint ventures and other strategic partnerships — than I would have never been able to make before.

– Michael Senoff
HardToFindSeminars.com

Again, if you want Street Smart Email for $200 off, then go here before noon on Sunday, September 5th:

I was ASTONISHED last night.

Just astonished.

Frankly, I had to slap myself to make sure it was for real.

Why?

Because I saw something (with my own two eyes) that I wasn’t sure actually existed. Yes, I’ve HEARD of it. People often tell “legends” about it. But like a unicorn or leprachaun, I just have never seen this thing before.

What am I talking about?

Unwavering customer service.

Yes, it DOES exist.

Here’s what happened:

I’m gearing up to do a direct mail campaign (yep, good ol’ paper and ink stuffed in an envelope with a stamp stuck on it). And I want to drop it in the mail the day after Labor Day next week.

So I set everything up with the printer.

Then, I noticed I may have to make some last minute changes.

As in, the very day it’s to be mailed, I may have to add some names to my mailing list, have some extra copies of the mailing printed, stuffed and ready to go.

Now, let’s face it:

For some places this is a problem.

Heck, I KNOW a couple printers I’ve used would’ve balked, but not the dude who does my printing (www.SelbyMarketing.com)

You know what he said?

He said (and I quote):

“We will always take care of you somehow”

How many times do you hear THAT anymore?

I don’t think I ever have.

It’s as RARE as hens teeth.

And that which is rare is most VALUED, gets the most attention and almost always gets the most sales.

Something to think about.

Especially in these dire financial times.

Ben Settle

P.S. OK, so I’m re-releasing Street-Smart Email tomorrow. Early bird customers get a sweet $200 off the price (it IS an expensive course, and not for anyone but the most serious marketers who take action).

To be notified when it’s ready, go ye to:

Last week Ryan Healy wrote a funny blog post.

It was about the power of the word “secrets” and how it was used in the opening montages of both the show “He Man” and the show “She Ra” (complete with YouTube clips — gotta love those old Gen X cartoons!)

Anyway, I watched He-Man every day as a kid.

And I especially got a kick out of “Orko.”

Orko was a dimensionally-displaced magician dude who was always floating around casting spells that seemed to backfire (and usually in a way nobody expects and that’d get him in trouble…)

Well, you know what?

We got some of that online, too.

No, I’m not talking about dorky little magicians floating around.

I speaketh of people using sales “tricks” that backfire.

Example?

A while back I remember reading a copywriter’s site who claimed he was trained in NLP or hypnosis (something like that). So I started reading his ad and he kept repeating the same words over and over and over in the ad.

It was like he actually thought he could “hypnotize” you.

And it was REALLY weird.

Now, he probably thought he was being “clever.”

Maybe even “cool.”

But it was just extreme lameness.

And I’d be shocked if any serious client looking for a solid copywriter would be able to keep a straight face while reading it (much less hire the poor shmuck who wrote it). It was just too silly and blatantly manipulative to take seriously.

And that’s kinda the “moral” of the story.

Forget the tricks.

Like Orko’s spells, sales tricks rarely ever work.

And, in fact, just backfire.

Ben Settle

P.S. The next Crypto Marketing Newsletter issue goes to the printer in a couple days. It’s all about closing sales in your ads (including an extremely persuasive way almost nobody ever talks about).

No goo-roo tricks or nonsense.

Just solid ways to close the deal and get the sale.

Very simple.

And very profitable, too.

To get it just float on over to…

Yesterday I heard a kinda weird term:

“Nerd rage”

What is nerd rage?

Well, here’s an example:

Right now you have a LOT of comic book movies appearing and in development. Many are extremely good (i.e. the recent Batman movies, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man movies, etc)… and some have completely farted on the source material from which they were derived (like GI Joe, Catwoman, Elektra, etc) and turned them into the worst movies you can possibly imagine.

In these bad cases, you get “nerd rage.”

Angry fanboys fuming at this castration of their childhood heroes.

Another example is the “Nortongate” fiasco.

This is a spiff between actor Ed Norton and Marvel studios.

Ed Norton played Bruce Banner in the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk (a fanboy favorite). And people were hoping he’d return for the upcoming “Avengers” movie, which will feature all the main characters in all of Marvel’s current movie roster, and put them together on screen.

This has NEVER been done before.

And, it may never happen again.

Well, guess what?

Marvel fired Norton in early July.

Marvel’s explanation was extremely low class, too.

(As well as blatantly insulting to the fandom).

And thus, we had some SERIOUS nerd rage happening!

Literally thousands of people contacted Marvel Comics begging, pleading and even threatening them to bring Ed Norton back. (Not surprisingly, Marvel ignored the fans.)

Anyway, there’s a big marketing lesson here:

The POWER of a fan base.

A loyal band of your own fanboys (and nerd girls) who can’t wait to buy from you, and will stand up for you, fight for you and even go down swinging for you.

Ed Norton’s got a fan base like that.

And so do a lot of other celebrities.

Do you?

If not, make it a priority to build one.

It’s one of the most profitable things you can do.

Ben Settle

P.S. One of the best (and easiest) ways to build a fan base is with email (if done right). If you’re interested in learning how, I’m re-releasing Street-Smart Email in a couple weeks probably, and when I do I’m giving a $200 discount on its re-lauch.

To get on the notification list, go to:

Sometimes people dog me about not being specific.

By that I mean, I will sometimes give the names of products, resources and people who I think can benefit you… but never talk against specific products, resources of people who I think are a waste of your time and money.

Why do I do that?

Why withhold the dirt?

Would you believe it’s because I want to help people?

Sounds strange, doesn’t it?

But it’s absolutely true.

You see, sometimes you have to buy a few bad products (and experience just how revolting some of these goo-roo products smell) before you can truly appreciate the aroma of the quality stuff.

That was definitely the case with me.

I was the poster child for buying bad products.

And I wasted a LOT of dough, too.

But I would not trade that experience for the world.

Why?

Because I had to see a bunch of BAD products (and fall for some hype) before having the discernment to figure out what the GOOD stuff is (and who the good people are).

It’s kind of like when I took a cross country train trip.

I was REAL excited to do it.

I thought it’d be super coolness.

But, guess what?

It was one of the most MISERABLE few days of my life!

And when I was later talking to my aunt (who does a TON of traveling) about it she said it best: “Yeah Ben, well, you had to do it once just to know not to ever do it again!”

So true.

So very, very true.

And it’s the same with buying bad products.

Sometimes people get “analysis paralysis” when buying even really inexpensive products. “How do I know it will do what it says?” “What if it doesn’t work right?” “What if it doesn’t work and I look like an idiot?”

So what?

It’s not the end of the world.

And maybe you ask for your money back.

But you gotta kiss a lot of toads to get the princess.

So might as well pucker up.

Ben Settle

P.S. The next issue of The Crypto Marketing Newsletter goes to print early next week. It’s about closing sales in ads (complete with examples).

If you want to subscribe in time, go to:

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: