Ben Settle

Been talking to lots of experts over the past few months.

No… not ex-spurts.

Experts.

Those rare types of people (especially online) who sally forth and actually walk the walk, instead of just talk the talk. And one of these experts is an article marketing genius I interviewed to create a bonus for subscribers to my soon-to-be-released offline print newsletter (more on that in a couple weeks).

Anyway, one of the things we discussed was speed.

He and I are both big believers of the Dan Kennedy quote:

And one of the secrets the article guy above taught in this interview is a way to write a dozen or so ezine articles per DAY in about 8-10 minutes each.

In other words — FAST.

He said because he wrote his articles fast (and didn’t necessarily get them “perfect”) he knocked out 1100 articles in about 8 months. And those 1100 articles turned into a $70k per year self sustaining (i.e. “auto pilot”) business. He hasn’t even written a single article in about a year now, and yet his business keeps growing without him touching it due to the SEO, back links, traffic, etc, from those articles.

Pretty sweet gig, isn’t it?

And it’s all from speed.

And by not sitting around “pondering” every detail.

By the way, this is NOT a lecture.

I’m as guilty of pondering and perfectionism as anyone.

In fact, by taking my sweet time launching The Copywriting Grab Bag and Crackerjack Selling Secrets last year, I probably left at LEAST an extra $10-20k on the table.

Maybe even more.

(Not my proudest accomplishment, let me tell ya.)

Anyway, here’s the point:

If you got something to do, do it and do it FAST.

This isn’t a license to make crappy products and create weak marketing campaigns or anything.

But waiting around accomplishes nothing except maybe stealing money from yourself.

Ben Settle

Lately I’ve been doing more joint ventures than usual.

I’m not against JV’s or anything.

However, besides the last 30 days, I rarely do them anymore (it’s much more profitable to sell my own products). And when I do it’s usually on the back end.

But this last round of JV’s has caused a problem:

Suddenly lots of other people are pitching me to JV now, too.

Which is perfectly fine, by the way.

It’s wise to approach people who are actively doing affiliate offers since they are the ones most likely to be interested in JV’ing with you.

Even so, I must make something clear:

Doing these JV’s is not “business as usual” ’round here.

These last few deals were for specific products people on my list had already asked about, and not me blindly throwing products out there hoping people might want.

Take, for example, the Scott Haines copywriting offer.

Lots of people have asked about an “A to Z” copywriting course.

And Scott’s course is one I’d actually lobbied him to sell about a year ago — mostly due to his reputation as a teacher and because his system is far more affordable than other courses from people of his caliber (he was personally trained by Gary Halbert and his client base includes “heavy hitters” like Jay Abraham and Donald Trump).

You can read about it here (it ends tomorrow):

So anyway, here’s the point:

If you’re one of the people who recently approached me to JV, don’t take it personally if I passed on your offer.

I’m not being a jerk or whatever.

It’s simply that my relationship with my list is priority #1 and everything else (including the almighty sale) is a distant second.

Yes, I know that’s not what’s taught at “goo-roo school.”

But, as I keep telling people, I’m no goo-roo.

Nor do I play one on the Internet.

Ben Settle

Remember last week’s tip about the Bible’s marketing secrets?

Well, another big one just occurred to me.

And that is storytelling.

Just about everything Jesus taught was in “parable” form. And I reckon that’s probably one of the main reasons why the Bible is one of the longest enduring texts in human history — and why even people who have never so much as flipped through it can recite some of its stories (i.e. Adam and Eve, the nativity, etc) due to hearing them told as kids.

Not too many dry, “lecture” texts that do that, are there?

And guess what?

Stories can give your marketing lots of “staying power”, too.

I don’t fully know exactly why they work so well.

But it probably has something to do with the way our minds are “hard wired” to process and remember stories (or so I’ve been told by some smart people who study neurology). And that makes it very easy for people to start reading (and KEEP reading) ads in story form — regardless of how good your actual “writing” is.

I’ve seen this phenomenon many, many times.

Frankly, the ads I’ve written with stories weaving in out of them have always put a beating on ads I’ve written without that “story factor.”

Same with other marketers & copywriters I know, too.

So what’s the big lesson here?

Facts tell… but stories sell.

Use ’em and watch your sales multiply.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to learn how to use stories in your marketing, check out the free bonus that comes with Crackerjack Selling Secrets. This (immediately downloadable) 60 minute audio lesson contains 5 kinds of stories (including “real life” examples from sales letters I’ve written) that work like gangbusters in advertising.

You can see exactly what makes them “tick” and even use them as guides for your own ads, emails, blog posts, podcasts, videos or however you sell.

But this valuable lesson is NOT for sale for any price.

You can only get it free when you buy Crackerjack Selling Secrets:

I’m a tad rushed for time today.

So no messing around with small talk or dilly-dally.

In fact, all I’m going to do is copy and paste a question someone sent me last month about the testimonials on the sales letter for my “Copywriting Grab Bag” book — www.CopywritingGrabBag.com — and my answer.

Methinks you’ll find this tip quite profitable if you use it, too.

Ready?

OK, here’s the question:

QUESTION: Hi Ben, How do you do your testimonial audios? Love the link buttons and the quality of the audio is great! I am looking for just such a system…

BEN: Sure, here’s pretty much all there is to it:

I have an Internet voicemail and I asked customers to call the number and leave a testimonial at their convenience (day, night, doesn’t matter since nobody answers it). The voicemails are emailed to me in .wav format automatically. I just converted those into mp3’s using “audacity” which, if you do not have it, is open source software that is so easy even I can figure it out (and I’m a complete luddite).

The software that made the buttons is “Sonic Memo Pro”.

It’s also “Ben Settle proof” and costs about $67 or so.

Hey, told you this’d be a quickie today.

And you know what?

It might not be the most fancy pants sophisticated way to do audio testimonials ever invented.

But it gets the job done in a pinch.

Ben Settle

How about a change of pace today?

Instead of yapping about “how to” sell more, what if we rap about “how NOT to sell” stuff?

Sound good to you?

OK then, below is a list of some ways to “unsell” your products and services.

In other words, these are things that could take you from the brink of making the sale (in any medium — online, offline, whatever) to snatching defeat from the proverbial jaws of victory.

It’s happened to yours truly many times.

And let me tell ya, it ain’t fun.

So if you find yourself doing any of these things in your sales and marketing, you may want to reverse course — pronto:

• Lecturing (instead of telling stories — for more on sales storytelling, check out the free bonus that comes with “Crackerjack Selling Secrets” www.CrackerjackSelling.com – described in the PS of the sales letter)

• Not doing enough research

• Slathering your pitch with hype

• Being too product centered (and not market centered)

So there you have it.

Eight freakishly easy ways to “unsell” your product.

And you what?

I bet if you ONLY avoided making these 8 mistakes, you’d find your profits go way up… and your frustration levels going way down.

Try it and see.

Ben Settle

P.S. One quick note about yesterday’s email: Justin Christianson’s site wasn’t fully functional when I plugged it. Apparently the shopping cart was not ready. He fixed it up a little bit after I sent the email, but some people may have given up trying to take him up on his coaching offer.

I guess I kinda jumped the gun.

So just in case for those interested, you can try again by clicking here.

OK, this message is not for everyone.

It’s specifically for the ever-growing segment of readers who have been asking questions like this lately:

QUESTION: Ben, do you have a coaching program? I have a few thousand dollars to invest in a good program, but not sure who to go with or who to trust. I do not trust any of the gurus but am more than willing to pay for something where I’ll see a return on investment if I do the work. Thoughts?

The answer is no, I don’t have a coaching program.

And, I probably never will, either.

Even so, I’ve been thinking about this for people asking.

What I’ve decided to do is “team up” with a business coach I DO recommend for people who are serious about building a solid business online, are not afraid to do the work (and realize there is no “magic pill”), and are not looking for “cheap.”

This business coach’s name is Justin Christianson.

Most people have never heard of him.

That’s because, for the past few years, he hasn’t been out doing the “goo-roo” thing. Instead, he was the CFO of a multi-million dollar info publishing business in the home business industry.

And he’s an absolute “wizard” at things like:

• Traffic generation (cheap, high converting traffic)
• Web 2.0 strategies (i.e. Twitter, FaceBook, Squidoo, etc)
• Testing
• Blog strategies
• Product creation
• Managing a team of people (in house or outsourced)
• Product launches
• Up-sells and cross sells
• The “numbers” side of business (which nary a goo-roo teaches)
• Market positioning
• Implementing continuity programs
• Best software to use (i.e. auto responders, testing, etc)
• And lots, lots more.

So he’s no fluke with building online businesses.

Now, before I give you his website to investigate him (and you SHOULD investigate anyone before hiring them), here’s a “disclaimer”:

I DO have a joint venture deal with Justin.

In other words, I get a small piece of the action from anyone who I refer to him who becomes his client.

So I’m financially “compromised” in that regard.

However, Justin is one of a small handful of people I’d pay to learn from myself.

He flat out knows how to make a business work.

And even how to build them from scratch.

You can’t get that kind of hard-nosed guidance anywhere except at the feet of someone who’s “been there, done that” with a solid, 7 figure company like the one Justin was part owner of (and helped build).

I won’t beat around the bush with you, though.

Justin ain’t cheap.

But he has a solid guarantee and (for now) he’s giving his services away at a small fraction of what he could charge while making his big “debut.”

If you’re interested, you can get the full scoop at:

Ben Settle

There’s a domestic battle raging at Casa de Settle.

A battle that, believe it or not, holds the key to one of the most reliable and powerful selling “secrets” you can ever possess.

Here’s the scoop:

Sometimes Tanna and I have a little “tiff” about when our dog Zoe has to go, er, “number 2.” Due to Zoe clawing for her attention all day, Tanna often gets tricked (Zoe is VERY good at tricks) into thinking the dog has to go when she doesn’t. And thus, every few hours she takes Zoe out, paces her around for 15 to 20 minutes, only to come back mission un-accomplished.

Not so when I take Zoe out.

When I take her, she often goes right away (within minutes).

Is it because I’m a good trainer?

Do I know some secret trick to get her to go faster?

Am I some kind of “dog whisperer”?

No, no and nope (not even close).

It’s simply a matter of TIMING, mi amigo.

You see, Tanna tends to take Zoe out when SHE thinks she has to go. But because I’m unrepentantly lazy… I just wait for Zoe to come tell me when she has to go.

Usually, I get the deed done within a few minutes.

And you want to know something?

Marketing is the same way.

You can do it the HARD way and guess what people want to buy, when they want to buy it, and how they prefer to have it). Or you can do it the EASY way — and let them tell you.

Obvious?

No “duh”?

Yeah, it’s so obvious just about every single marketer I’ve ever met (including myself) has made this mistake not just once… but multiple times.

And hey, never hurts to hear it again, does it?

Anyway, that’s all I got for today.

For more easy and painless selling strategies, zip over to:

Ben Settle

I KNOW some people are freaking out right now.

“Ben how DARE you! I didn’t join your list to learn about the Bible! I want secularized marketing info! What the hell are you doing??? Quit trying to push your beliefs on me!”

If that’s you, chill, dude.

Even the most hardcore “fire breathing” atheists I know can use the info below to increase sales (and by a LOT).

So just relax, take a deep breath and let’s. get. busy.

Here’s the scoop:

Many years ago, a smart Biblical scholar named EW Bullinger wrote a book called “How To Enjoy The Bible”.

One of the best parts is this (paraphrased):

When we come to ask ourselves … “Where did I learn this?” “How did I get this?” “Who taught this to me?” it is astonishing to find out how much we have imbibed from man, and from traditions; and not the Word of God. All that we have learned…must be tested and proved by the Word of God. Where we find it is true we must learn it over again, from God. And where it will not stand the test of His Word we must be not only content, but thankful to give it up…

And guess what?

This advice is SOLID GOLD when applied to marketing.

Why?

Because, just like with the Bible, there’s a lot about marketing that doesn’t jibe with typical orthodox “doctrine” (and especially goo-roo doctrine).

Happens all the time, too.

It even happens with the old school marketing geniuses.

There is, for example, something Claude Hopkins emphatically taught that I now profitably do the exact opposite of (see “The King Of Selling Online” report — www.CrackerjackSelling.com — part 5).

If you test, you’ve likely seen this phenomena, too:

Where doing the **opposite** of what you’re “supposed” to do yields more sales and profits.

Let’s face it — every market is different.

Every marketer is different.

Some things may work better for you due to your unique experiences, talents, product and market than they would for me (and vice versa).

Which is why it’s vital to test everything.

Yes, even the “set in stone” stuff.

Otherwise, if you stubbornly cling to “rules”, and never color outside the lines once in a while, you’re almost certainly stepping over the proverbial dollars to pick up pennies.

And that particular marketing “sin” is unforgivable.

Ben Settle

OK, so I just saw Sherlock Holmes last night.

Awesome movie, and I highly recommend it.

No… not just for the action, adventure and entertainment — but because I think there’s just an awful lot to learn from the good detective if you’re a marketer and entrepreneur.

Why do I think that?

Well my dear Watson, here are a few reasons…

• Has A Distinct And Likable Personality

• Fast Thinking In Stressful “Do Or Die” Situations

• Obsessive When On The Job

• Avoids Using “Black Hat” Methods And “Tricks”

• And Lots, Lots More

Frankly, I could do an entire MONTH of emails just on all the ways Sherlock Holmes can make one a much more effective marketer and entrepreneur.

But I don’t want to include any spoilers and ruin it for you.

So instead, here’s your “homework” assignment:

First, watch Sherlock Holmes.

And secondly, note all the things Sherlock does that can be DIRECTLY applied to your business and marketing.

Nonsense, you say?

A waste of your precious time?

Methinks not.

In fact, you want to know something?

Some of the most successful marketers in history were HEAVILY influenced by the movie industry — including advertising genius David Ogilvy and the legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz. (Eugene Schwartz even insisted marketers watch EVERY movie that makes over $100 million — and it wasn’t for the overpriced candy and stale popcorn, neither!)

So please… go ye forth and watch Sherlock Holmes.

It could be one of the most profitable things you do this week.

Ben Settle

P.S. This may sound obnoxiously presumptuous (heck it IS presumptuous), but you want to know something else I think about England’s greatest detective?

If he were a marketer, I bet he’d use many of the solid and proven principle based methods (that don’t rely on tricks, gimmicks or typical goo-roo nonsense) found in “Crackerjack Selling Secrets.”

You can see for yourself at: