Ben Settle

I ever tell you about my biggest “ah ha!” copywriting moment?

It was about 4 years ago.

And I was writing a sales letter for Ken McCarthy’s copywriting info product. And even though I learned a lot of cool stuff inside the course, probably the most valuable lesson was the one I learned while writing the ad.

What was the lesson?

That your ad is NEVER tight enough.

You see, most ads are way too wordy.

They just blather on and on… taking forever to make a point, cramming way too much (irrelevant) information in and, as a result, lose sales.

Usually lots of sales, too.

And this one (seemingly “sleepy”) lesson about the importance of writing super tight copy Ken taught me (by rejecting my early drafts) has been worth just as much as all the copywriting courses and books I’ve studied.

Which brings me to the point:

The cool free copywriting resources Ken’s giving away.

Every year Ken holds his famous System Seminar which brings together the world’s best Internet marketers, copywriters and testing experts for a giant “brain dump.” And this year’s lineup includes two legendary “old school” marketing & copywriting masters:

Bob Bly and Drayton Bird.

These are the “best of the best” copywriters/marketers today.

And to give a demonstration of the kind of info they’re teaching, Ken interviewed them both… and is now giving the interview away free.

To grab it, just shoot on over to:

And no… this is NOT an affiliate link.

I just really want you to have this info.

Ben Settle

P.S. For more 100% prime “Grade A” Ken McCarthy copywriting secrets
check out his Copywriting Grab Bag interview. In fact, one customer (Courtney Houde) told me he’s listened to it over a dozen times… and STILL listens to it about once per week now (he got it about a year ago).

And you know what?

He credits listening to that interview with Ken for helping him go from working the late shift at Subway (literally) to being the in-house copywriter for one of the Internet’s top info publishing companies.

Not too shabby, is it?

Here’s where it’s at:

Got a bizarre little marketing humdinger for you today.

Check this out:

Recently, I was listening to an Internet radio show about supernatural events happening around us all the time, whether we realize it or not.

Some of these accounts were spiritual in nature.

And some were urban legends.

One of the urban legends was about the so-called “black eyed children.” These kids have jet black eyes (no iris or pupil) who’ll ask you for a ride home or to come inside your house to use the phone. And according to the legend, when you encounter these little punks, you get a feeling of pure evil, like you know on some level they’re a threat to your life. And, when you refuse to help them, they get very aggressive and insistent, almost to the point of violence.

But here’s the thing:

So far, nobody has let them in the car or house.

And, furthermore, they reportedly cannot even ENTER your car or house unless they’re “invited” — implying a relationship to the old vampire, ghost and demon legends.

Creepy little buggers, aren’t they?

Anyway, here’s the point:

We’ve got a bit of this online these days, too.

Except, instead of being black eyed children… what we got is black eyed marketers.

You’ve seen them, haven’t you?

Goo-roos who come a-knocking on your door (via email) or have some goon in a boiler room call you up.

They may even seem “normal” at first.

But soon, they give you that “icky” feeling. Like you just KNOW whatever they’re selling is NOT in your best interest. But, since they’re so persuasive (they know all the goo-roo tricks) you’re almost tempted to let them in your wallet…

Hey, the black eyed children may be a myth (or maybe not…)

But the blacked eyed marketers definitely ARE real.

They WILL eventually come to your door.

And, if you let them, they will EAT you alive.

I wouldn’t let ’em in if I were you.

Ben Settle

P.S. The best way to protect yourself from BEM’s is to know how to sell, so you will already know you don’t need their watered-down, over priced junk. For 101 selling secrets used by history’s most successful sales, marketing and advertising pros just stroll on over to:

Not long ago “it” finally happened.

I’d heard about “it” happening to copywriters before.

And, especially to the bigger name copywriters, like John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, Gary Halbert, Gary Bencivenga, etc

Anyway, what is this “it” I speaketh of?

Someone swiped one of my ads almost word for word.

But here’s the ironic thing.

Even though the “perp” swiped my ad… and did it for an ad competing against mine in the same market (a blatantly unethical no-no)… it didn’t make me angry at all.

In fact, I found it kinda amusing.

Why?

Because even though the swiper thought he was being “clever”… he missed the whole point of what made the ad successful and swiped all the wrong parts.

It was just a complete mess, too.

His headline missed the emotion mine targeted, his sales argument lacked any trace of fire or passion (as they say in Hollywood terms, he “phoned it in”), and it was such a hatchet job nothing read smoothly or organically.

It was just cut, paste, smooth over, pay me my fee, Mr. Client.

Yikes.

You know, that’s the big problem with swiping.

Copywriting ain’t about the words.

It’s about the market.

The best prose won’t mean jack if you get the market dynamics wrong (or ignore them altogether, like this swipemeister did).

Anyway, it really was kinda funny.

I mean… there are few things so amusing as a two-bit thief so lazy all he can do is rip off the spare change laying on the kitchen table… instead of taking the time to find the rolls of $100 bills stuffed in a safe in the wall.

I guess it’s true what they say after all:

Crime really doesn’t pay.

Ben Settle

P.S. To see how some of the highest paid copywriters on the planet write their sales letters, emails and other ads, simply ska-daddle on over to ye old copywriting shoppe at:

I gotta hand it to big pharma ads.

I may despise how some of them have the feds in their hip pocket (this comes from an FDA/FTC lawyer, and not based on opinion). But even I’m shocked by the cojones it takes to forthrightly sell drugs with side effects spookier than the very symptoms they’re supposed to suppress.

Take the commercial I saw last night, for example.

It was selling a drug that supposedly treats anxiety.

Yet, the same commercial clearly (almost BOLDLY) declared the drug may actually cause you to have suicidal thoughts!

Takes “candor” to a whole new level, doesn’t it?

And it just goes to show never to underestimate the extreme lengths some people are willing to go (and the risks they are willing to take) to solve a painful problem in their lives.

I mean, think about it:

If someone cheerfully risks WORSE pain, discomfort or even death itself to eliminate a pain (or achieve a desire)… how sexy does the marketing have to be?

How “irresistible” does the offer have to be?

How persuasive does the ad have to be?

Anyway, here’s the point:

The easiest way to be a marketing rock star is selling to markets so “hot to trot” your product flaws don’t matter.

Do that and you almost can’t fail.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you don’t sell to a market so rabid they’re willing to risk life or limb to solve their problems, despair ye not.

Most of us don’t sell to markets like that, either.

However, you can “spice up” your sales with the 101 historically proven ways to sell almost any product to any market (even cold markets that are normally hard to sell to) over at:

Can marketers really “control” minds?

Not to burst any goo-roo bubbles… but I kinda doubt it.

Maybe that disappoints some.

Yet, as far as I can tell, even the goo-rooest of goo-roos can’t control another person’s mind with their marketing, and force them to buy something helplessly against their will.

But you know what?

Just because you can’t “control” someone’s mind with your marketing doesn’t mean you can’t at least temporarily influence the “conversation” going on in their heads.

The nightly news nitwits do it all the time.

You can be happily eating your dinner or playing with your dog and then — boom! — some talking head on the boob tube tries freaking you out about whatever the scare-of-the-day is.

It’s how they keep people glued to the show.

And how they get lots of ratings that brings in more ad revenue so they can do it all over again the next day… and then do it all over again the next day…

Ugh.

Luckily, there’s a a GOOD way to do this.

A way that HELPS people.

And that also just happens to bring in more of the green stuff.

How?

Email, baby.

If you know how to do email, you can slip into your reader’s mind (in a fun, ethical and NON-scummy way) each day, and give them a fun little adventure… instead of the usual steamy pile of goo-roo offers, spam, political drama, bad news, etc.

This way, everyone wins.

You get to bond with your list more (and maybe make a sale) and they get to forget the daily grind and think about something fun and exciting (even if for just a few minutes).

This is why email is like the 8th wonder of the world.

It’s also why, if I could only pick ONE selling tool, email’d be it.

And guess what?

The first issue of The Crypto Marketing Newsletter goes over 10 extremely cool ways to “step” into your prospect’s world with email.

To be a bright spot in their day.

And even make your emails fun to read and BUY from.

Ben Settle

P.S. This first email marketing issue goes to the printer Monday. So subscribe and grab it why you still can over yonder at: