Ben Settle

Yesterday’s “newbie” email prompted some questions.

One of which was quite intriguing:

“Ben, so many ‘how to get started online’ products really sound great. They all have lots of testimonials of people who claim to do well and I see people talking about them in forums. I just don’t know which ones to trust or not. How do you judge products like this before buying?”

Now that’s an interesting question.

I’ve certainly fallen for my fair share of bunk.

Frankly, I did not have much money when starting out, so the learning curve as to what was for real (and WHO was for real) and what was bogus (and WHO was bogus) didn’t leave much room for error.

And you know what I learned?

To simply buy from the ads with the least empty hype.

And by “empty hype” I mean bragging, boasting and (especially) big income promises without backing anything up (and no, I don’t count “bought and paid for” testimonials or photoshopped screenshots of bank accounts as backing anything up).

This rule of thumb has saved me mucho dineros.

In fact, it’s not just my criteria for buying info products… it’s also how I buy other things, too (it’s even how I decide who to vote for in some cases).

So anyway, there’s my answer.

When in doubt, take the path of least hype.

Ben Settle

P.S. The next issue of The Crypto Marketing Newsletter goes to print next Thursday (April 1st). It’s all about a sneaky way to legally, ethically and shamelessly exploit President Obama (and any OTHER politician you want — regardless of political party) to get more website traffic, build your credibility (big time) and, yes, make more of the green stuff.

I’ve been itching to teach this for a long time.

But never found the right venue for it in until now.

To subscribe in time to get this issue, zip on over to…

Today’s email is for newbies.

The raw and “wriggling” kind.

By that I mean, someone who’s brand spanking new, doesn’t know where to turn, who to trust or what to do first. (And they especially don’t want to waste a bunch of dough on over-hyped goo-roo nonsense.)

If that’s you, then mayhaps this will help:

Below are a few newbie-friendly resources that’ll get you up to speed on the basics of marketing, selling and copywriting extremely fast.

They are dirt cheap (one is even free).

And, if I was just starting out with limited resources, I’d nab these and study them at LEAST 10 times each (and I have).

Ready?

1. The Ultimate Sales Letter – easily the best “copywriting 101” I’ve ever seen, and dirt cheap ($10 on amazon)

2. The System Club Letters – for the right marketing “mindset” ($20 at www.KenMcCarthy.com)

3. The Boron Letters – the basics of direct marketing on a plate (free a www.TheGaryHalbertLetter.com)

4. ?

What’s with the “?”

Well, this is where I’m stuck.

I’m trying to find a single resource (that’s not expensive) for the brand new marketer online. I’m talking about something that shows people, step-by-step, how to do everything from getting a domain name and setting up a web hosting account… to putting up squeeze pages and landing pages… to setting up an auto-responder and blog… to securing a merchant account (PayPal, ClickBank, all the easy ones especially)… the whole kitten-kaboodle.

I’m talking about something that’s 100% “newbie proof.”

That’s very easy to follow and use.

And that will not drain someone’s bank account.

I have some friends working on a series of reports about this now. But in the meantime, I’d like to know if anyone has a single inexpensive resource (book, video, whatever) that will do this.

Do you know of one?

If so, please email me the URL.

Trust me, you’ll be making a lot of peoples’ lives easier.

Over and out.

Ben Settle

P.S. For 12 more “newbie friendly” lessons (by immediate download) about everything from email marketing and blog copywriting… to PPC and article marketing… to even connecting with JV partners and affiliate marketing… check out “The Crypto Marketing Newsletter” over yonder at:

Had a neat Twitter “chat” yesterday.

It was with Terry Dean, and he said something very interesting about this healthcare bill that passed here in the US that’s kinda interesting from a marketer’s point of view.

What did we rap about in 140 characters?

About how it’s not really a “healthcare” bill.

Instead, it’s more of an insurance/tax bill — where you buy insurance or get taxed (or as I like to put it “buying insurance at gunpoint” — after all, what happens if you don’t pay your taxes…)

Now, whether you agree or not isn’t the point.

Personally, I think the bill is as crooked as a question mark.

But that doesn’t matter.

What matters is (as Terry observed)… the power of WORDS.

How a White House “copywriter” took something extremely ugly and unattractive (a tax/mandate)… and dressed it up in pretty, flowery and even NOBLE clothing like “healthcare reform.”

Sounds so innocent, doesn’t it?

So compassionate and humanitarian?

I mean, it’s easy to shoot a tax down.

But how can you be against healthcare?

That, my friend, is the power of words.

For better or worse… mere words can change millions of peoples’ minds. Convince them that what’s good is bad (and what’s bad is good). And, in some cases, literally alter the course of an entire nation.

It’s an awesome power to have, isn’t it?

Just make sure to use your “powers” responsibly.

Especially if you go into politics!

And hey… speaking of politics…

In the next Crypto Marketing Newsletter I’m going to show you how to legally, ethically and shamelessly exploit ANY politician you want (right, left, sideways whatever) to make more of the green stuff.

Only a small handful of people I know of even teach this.

And yet, it can put you on the “map” in a big way.

However, the deadline to subscribe by to get it is April 1.

So grab it while the grabbin’s good…

Ben Settle

I don’t have a “tip” today.

It’s more of an announcement (and request).

However, if you are interested in learning more about email marketing, then you may find the following of interest.

Here’s the low down:

Right now, I’m creating a product about email marketing.

It’s everything I know about the subject on a plate.

Anyway, one of the sections is going to be a detailed “Q & A” session answering all the most common email related questions. And, if you think you might be wanting to buy this product (assuming the price and offer are right, of course), please send me any email-related questions you have.

No question is too big or too small.

And there are no “dumb” questions, either.

This topic has lots of moving parts, and so I want to make sure this course nails all the most urgent questions and frustrations people have using email.

If you’re interested, please email your questions via:

Ben Settle

P.S. Also, I don’t know when the course will be ready.

I’m about half way done with the raw course, but still need to refine, edit and make sure everything is right.

But, what I DO know is this:

Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscribers — www.CryptoMarketing.com — will have a chance to get this course (which will be expensive — this is, IMHO, the #1 skill to have) for just the hard costs of printing, fulfilling, processing, shipping, etc the course.

Not sure what that will come out to, exactly.

But it’ll be a fraction of what everyone else pays.

So just something to think about.

I like rewarding subscribers with cool “perks” like this.

And, if you ever have a chance to talk to another Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscriber, I’m sure they’d be happy to explain more about what I mean by that.

Take this subscriber, for example…

Sometimes people ask me for a discount.

Usually for The Copywriting Grab Bag or Crackerjack Selling Secrets or even on my direct response copywriting services.

I certainly don’t blame anyone for asking.

My stuff is usually a bit on the “pricey” side.

And my copywriting fees (while I could easily charge much more) are nothing to sneeze at for most people, either.

Still, nowadays I always shoot these requests down.

Why?

There are several reasons.

First, it’s not fair to those who DID pay full price.

Another reason is value.

Most people do not value discounted products. In fact, when I made exceptions in the past, I almost always regretted it. Usually, the customer turned out to be a pain the rumperoo. Or (even worse) they never did anything with the info.

And you want to know something?

Both are unlikely to happen when it kinda “hurts” to buy.

I’ll use myself as an example.

A couple years ago when I bought Gary Bencivega’s “Farewell” seminar DVD’s, I had trouble coming up with the $5k cash to pay for it. I mean, it stung writing that check. (Gary did not allow credit card orders, so you felt it… and you felt it immediately.)

But guess what?

Even today I cherish that product above all others.

I’ve listened to it some 20 times now, and will KEEP going through it at least twice per year for the foreseeable future. I can even directly trace a BIG chunk of my income to that course (it changed everything for me), and it has paid for itself in spades.

Would that have happened if it was discounted?

Probably not.

Most likely I would have watched it a couple times… max.

So many products, so little time, you know?

Anyway, that’s why I don’t do discounts.

It’s not just for my benefit… but yours, too.

Ben Settle

P.S. I also do not recommend buying my products (or ANY info product, for that matter) if it puts you under a lot of financial strain. And I would especially recommend NOT buying from me if you have to go into debt to do so.

I strongly agree with the old adage:

There’s nothing more amusing than lame marketers.

I kid you not, either.

It’s like watching a bunch of drunken carnival clowns.

But you know what’s cool about them?

Often, you can keep yourself on track not by buying every product that comes down the pike… but by simply observing what these really lame marketers (especially online) are doing… and then doing the exact opposite.

Below are some things to watch for.

If you find yourself doing any of them, be careful.

You might just be falling under the spell of some goo-roo fan boy’s lame “mind control” tricks:

• Insisting that positive thinking alone will magically attract riches and fame and fortune to you

• Hiding the price (how long can you keep it a secret?)

• Abusing social proof (like, for example, by dropping names of people you don’t really know as if you do know them)

• Mindless swiping

• Saying you just got off the phone with some goo-roo when trying to sell their product (when you never got off the phone with them, and have never even met them)

And the list goes on and on and on…

Just something to think about.

Word up.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to “lame proof” your business, check out the 101 easy and ethical persuasion secrets (used by history’s best sales, marketing, advertising and negotiating pros) over at:

Lately I’ve been studying traffic generation.

Traffic is my “achilles heel.”

And so I’m consulting with everyone I can about it — article experts, PPC experts, direct mail experts, JV experts, publicity experts, the whole shmear.

Know what I’ve discovered so far?

Learning about traffic generation is like talking to different kinds of doctors.

In other words… the surgeon will usually say surgery is the answer. The general practitioner will usually prescribe a prescription drug. The herbalist down the street will say to take herbs, etc. And just like with them… the PPC guys usually say PPC is the way to go. The direct mail guys swear by direct mail. The SEO guys tend to recommend SEO. The article wizards say to sally forth and use articles… and so on.

All of this is a GOOD thing if you hear them all out.

I’d much rather get a diverse swath of opinions like this, so I can test them all, instead of just talking to say one person and getting tunnel vision.

Which brings me to the point:

There is no “one size fits all.”

It’s a myth with about as much basis in reality as Middle Earth.

This goes for traffic and anything else, too.

Whenever you’re stuck on what option to take test everything and use what works best for YOUR unique situation.

After all, we all have our own biases, strengths and preferences.

And what works for one person may flop for you.

(And vice versa).

Ben Settle

P.S. Speaking of traffic…

If you’re interested in learning about generating traffic with article marketing and PPC, then check out the bonuses that come with The Crypto Marketing Newsletter.

One bonus is by a computer scientist-turned-PPC-genius.

The other is by an article marketer who uses free ezine directories to drive TONS of targeted (i.e. buyers) traffic to his site.

More:

I recently created an interactive email “mastermind” (using Yahoo Groups) just for paying Crypto Marketing Newsletter subscribers. Here’s what one subscriber (Roger Haeske) said about its value after interacting with the group and getting an idea for his business:

“… This one idea could be worth more than a year’s subscription to your newsletter. And I haven’t even gotten one issue of the newsletter yet.”

You can subscribe over at:

Did you see Ryan Healy’s goo-roo “smack down” a while ago?

It caused quite the broo-ha-ha.

You can read it by clicking here.

And recently, someone asked me this about it:

QUESTION: Ben, you are always talking about the “goo-roos” but you never name any names. I am curious about why?

BEN: I think it took mucho cojones to do what Ryan did.

And he did what he thought was right.

But I would probably never do anything like that, even if I was inclined to “out” someone or had the time and energy to do the homework it takes to do the deed any justice.

Why?

Two words:

Benjamin Franklin.

You see, Benjamin Franklin was America’s first millionaire, a world-class entrepreneur, and a master of persuasion (he was one of the most effective diplomats who ever lived).

He probably had plenty of “dirt” on people.

Probably could have ruined all kinds of peoples’ careers.

And probably had the opportunity to “out” his fair share of corrupt politicians, diplomats and other “dignitaries.”

But he never did (from what I can tell, at least).

In fact, according to one of the biographies I read about him several years ago, he hardly ever said anything negative about another person (no matter how despicable or depraved the person was).

Just wasn’t his bag, I guess.

And, as a result, he was trusted, believed and confided in by most everyone he ever met.

Anyway, like BF, I choose not to name names, either.

Instead, I’m more of a “fruit inspector.”

When I smell some rotten goo-roo fruit, I examine it and show others how to tell if it’s rotten for themselves.

It’s up to you if you want to pluck it or not.

But naming names?

It’s just not my bag, either.

Ben Settle

P.S. To learn how Benjamin Franklin “judo flipped” vicious gossip to his advantage when persuading people to listen to him and act on his ideas (including hostile leaders of enemy countries) check out page 38 of “Crackerjack Selling Secrets” at: