Ben Settle

How about a little pre-Halloween action today?

You down with that?

OK good, because while the following will be a bit (or a lot) strange, it could save you from a ton of frustration and maybe even financial ruin.

Here’s the low down:

As you may (or may not) know, I’m a big monster movie fan. I used to glue myself to the TV watching those old black and white monster shows as a kid. And what freaked me out most were the dang zombies.

You know of what I speaketh, don’t you?

Those stinky, rotting animated corpses lurching around in the dark looking to feast on human flesh?

Well, one zombie movie “theme” is this:

What’s dead should STAY dead.

The idea being, whenever someone tries creating zombies or whatever (i.e. to bring back a dead friend, spouse, pet, etc), the zombies end up destroying he (or she) who brought it back to life.

And you want to know something?

Marketing is the EXACT same way.

For example, a while back I tried my hand at creating a certain kind of product, wrote the ad for it and put it out in the market place.

It was a flop.

I mean, nothing in this campaign worked.

Nobody wanted the product.

Nobody was probably even reading the ad.

And certainly nobody was buying.

In other words, it was dead as a corpse.

And yet, with each failure I became more obsessed with finding ways to “inject” new life into the campaign — like by changing the ad copy and finding new traffic sources.

The result?

I dang near lost my shirt!

Until finally, I realized my entire campaign was nothing more than a stinky, rotten zombie wandering around cyberspace with people running from it and trying to destroy me (its creator) in the process.

Ugh.

Anyway, here’s the “Halloween” lesson:

Marketers should NOT play with dead things.

If it’s dead… it’s dead.

And if you insist on trying to bring it back to life, you’ll only create your very own marketing zombie that feasts on your time, money and energy.

And that, tough guy, WILL scare the hell out of you.

Ben Settle

P.S. For lots of ways to “zombie proof” your business, check out:

• www.CopywritingGrabBag.com
• www.CrackerjackSelling.com
• www.AffiliateTrumpCard.com

Ever hear of the “shake and bake”?

There’s actually a bunch of definitions for this.

What I’m talking about is the military version as told by one of my clients in the self defense niche.

He ‘splained it like this:

When certain soldiers are on the battlefield, locked in mortal combat with someone trying to kill them, one thing they are trained to do is “shake and bake.”

Here’s what that means:

(If you’re easily grossed out you best turn the channel…)

They plunge the knife into their enemy’s chest and then shake the living hell out of that knife (while it’s STILL INSIDE the enemy), causing him excruciating pain and suffering.

Zowie!

Pretty gruesome, ain’t it?

But guess what?

You can also use this extremely violent combat principle (in a non-violent way) in your marketing, copywriting, advertising and selling.

How?

There are LOTS of ways to do it.

For example, when writing bullet points, you can fire off as MANY of them as you possibly can (assuming they’re not boring). Each one shaking and baking that “persuasion knife” inside your prospect’s psychology and mind until they can’t stand it anymore and buy.

You can also do this with email, too.

One reason why some of us email almost every day (or have a gazillion emails pre-loaded in an auto-responder) is because we’re doing a “shake and bake” on our market’s desires and needs until they buy something.

And what about phone selling?

I once heard about this guy (who sells high end financial services) who calls his prospects an AVERAGE of 9 times before they buy.

Talk about a shake and bake!

This dude just goes after them over and over and over — shake and bake, baby — until that persuasion knife reaches his prospects’ sweet spot and they write him a check.

Anyway, just something to think about.

Gross?

Maybe.

But what were you expecting with the above headline?

Cookies and milk?

Ben Settle

P.S. I got 101 “shake and bake” marketing tips waiting for you inside my coming Crackerjack Selling Secrets book. You can get on the notification list (it’ll be ready soon) at:

I ever tell you about the time I farted in study hall?

It was kind of a hair raising experience.

And, while the following probably won’t make you any smarter, you may find it useful if you see the lesson “between the lines.”

Here’s what happened:

I was in se7enth grade, and it was 8th period (the last period of the day). I was sitting there, lost in a book I was reading when, all the sudden — RIIIIP! — the fart popped off without warning and the noise ricocheted off my wooden seat and around the giant “echo-friendly” room.

Laughter erupted and everyone turned my way.

My 13-year-old heart raced and my mind reeled.

How am I gonna get out of THIS mess?

Luckily, I always had a talent for wiggling my way out of trouble (like detentions, doing chores, etc) and did the first thing that came to mind:

I turned and looked at the kid BEHIND me as if he did it.

Did it work?

You bet it did!

And everyone laughed at HIM instead. (Wasn’t I a little stinker?)

OK, so what’s the point?

To blame others when you make a stink of things?

Actually, I’m not sure there even is a point.

Except for maybe when you make a loud noise, people notice.

Have a nice weekend.

Ben Settle

P.S. For dozens of ways to make a big, fat noise in your market, and get lots and lots of buyers checking out your products and services (while ignoring everyone else), toot on over to:

No time for dilly-dally today.

Below are se7en “sales killing” marketing blunders. If you’re making any of them, then you might be robbing yourself blind and not even realize it.

Ready?

OK then, giddy-up…

1. Ignoring market skepticism

Chances are, in the last 12 months your market has been screwed by everyone — their government, their boss, their bank, their investment adviser, and maybe even their favorite goo-roo.

They probably assume you will screw them over, too.

Hey, and speaking of goo-roos…

2. Goo-roo worship

I swear, some people would jump off a bridge if their favorite goo-roo told them it’d put money in their pocket.

Hey, don’t get me wrong.

Most of us have our favorite goo-roos (mine are mostly dead people, but I still have ’em). And there’s nothing wrong with modeling successful people.

But dogmatically following their every movement?

Big, big mistake.

Especially if you don’t sell to the same market.

3. Following the crowd

Ken McCarthy told a funny story about this in his “System Club Letters” book. He was in New York during a bitter cold spell and saw a long line of people (“the crowd”) waiting for cabs at the airport.

Yet, there was an empty cab stop across the street.

Within minutes Ken was in a warm cab while the “crowd” froze their butts off at the airport line.

The point?

Following the crowd will get ya every time.

4. Tactic-based marketing

This may shock some people, but he (or she) who knows their MARKET best, wins.

Not whoever knows the most sales “choke holds” and closes.

5. Blindly following other peoples’ test results

You wouldn’t do that, now would you?

I know I have, and the results were NOT pretty.

6. Thinking content is king

Content is mega important but, IMHO, there’s something FAR more profitable.

Do you know what it is?

If not, then you’ll love the first Crackerjack Selling CD Club lesson (coming soon to a mailbox near you).

7. Giving away too much free info

Look, by all means bait the hook. But to catch a catfish, are you going to put half the chicken on the hook… or just the chicken’s liver?

Just something to think about.

OK, that’s it for today.

Until next time, be cool.

Ben Settle

Here’s a question that recently rolled in…

“Ben, how do you do it? How do you write an email every day plus your other copywriting duties and projects? Do you wait for inspiration or do you just write?”

Pretty dang good question.

It’s true I write an email most every weekday (and sometimes on the weekends), have a TON of writing going on in another info-publishing business I partner in, got my own projects (like the ad for the Crackerjack Selling CD Club I’m writing now), plus a freelance gig usually going on the side and numerous other little projects nipping for my attention.

How do I do it?

Is it because I’m some kind of super writer?

Am I just easily inspired?

Do I spend all day writing, Writing, WRITING?

Nope, nope and nope.

As I’ve said before, I actually hate writing (although I find it extremely therapeutic). And compared to some copywriters, I’m a lazy sloth oozing all over the couch each day watching soap operas and talk shows.

But, I do have a “trump card” that helps me take care of business.

A secret that makes writing easy and (GASP!) even fun.

Want to know what it is?

OK, here goes:

I give myself permission NOT to write.

Sounds strange, doesn’t it?

But it’s true — I put ZERO pressure on myself.

I have a goal (i.e. write a daily email tip, write this ad, work on this book, etc) but I never force myself to do it.

Nor do I rely on willpower or wait to be inspired.

(If I did, I’d never get anything done.)

Instead, I simply look at what I want to get done, give myself complete permission to NOT do it and — booyah! — the words (usually) flow as easily and effortlessly as lies from a politician’s lips.

It’s all about removing the pressure, baby.

I also have a few other “tricks”, too.

Like the one found in chapter 2 of The Copywriting Grab Bag involving the Bible, The National Enquirer and my bathroom.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Until next time, keep writing…

Ben Settle

I’ve been blessed to know a lot of great marketers.

Not just goo-roos, either.

But mostly just extremely successful marketers who work their own projects and never teach what they know (i.e. instead of selling shovels to gold diggers, these dudes have a secret map to the gold which they KEEP to themselves.)

Anyway, lately I got to thinking about these people.

And how a lot of them (almost all) share certain traits that have probably had a lot to do with their rise to the top.

Here are a few of these traits…

• Love breaking rules
• Sense of humor
• Stubborn
• Open minded to new ideas
• Yet, don’t suffer fools gladly
• Obsessed with their work (it’s not “work”, it’s play)
• Passionate
• Relentless
• Contrarian
• Aggressively guard their time
• Laser-like focused on goals
• Short attention spans
• Geeky
• Driven by someone they have to “get back” at
• Optimistically pessimistic (i.e. expect things to go wrong and behave accordingly)

There are more traits than this.

But it can’t hurt to study this list whenever you get stuck and need a little inspiration.

I mean, who knows?

Some of their “stuff” may just wear off on you.

Ben Settle

P.S. There’s another thing many (although not all) of the most successful marketers I know do online. Something I believe is the #1 most important thing you can do when selling (especially on the Internet).

In fact, it’s so important, it’s going to be the FIRST Crackerjack Selling CD Club lesson.

And you know what?

I believe if you do nothing but this one thing, even if you screw up everything else, you’ll be successful in sales, marketing, copywriting, advertising — the whole kitten ka-boodle.

To jump on the notification list, go to:

Had an interesting time at the doctor’s last week.

I won’t say it was fun (is going to doctors EVER fun?)

But it was interesting and even kind of useful from a sales and marketing standpoint.

Here’s what happened:

Two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with something by my regular (allopathic) doctor which I have absolutely zero symptoms for (it only showed up on a blood test). And last week I sally forthed to an alternative (anti-aging) doctor for a second opinion.

No… I’m not dying or anything like that.

It’s just a minor league (really minor league) health “glitch” I’m hoping was incorrectly diagnosed the first time. And, frankly, it’s a joke compared to REAL health problems people are facing. (Like cancers, strokes, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, etc.)

Still, it got me to thinking.

Right now, this particular “ailment” is HOT on my mind.

I’m googling everything I can on the subject.

And I’ve sorta become a wannabe expert about it (like I told my naturopathic doctor, “I know just enough about this problem to be dangerous to myself”).

Anyway, here’s the point:

There’s nothing about this health problem that’d bore me.

No sales letter on the subject that’d be too long.

No cold call that’d I hang up on.

And guess what?

Chances are, you have people like this in YOUR market, too — who really want to solve the problem you have the answer for.

And if you want to make selling super easy, focus on THEM.

In fact, if you do, you almost can’t fail.

Anyhoo… something to think about.

For lots more natural sales cures directly from Doctor Settle’s prescription pad, check out:

Ben Settle

Have you heard the latest FTC hoopla?

The gummint “chatter” about how they are reviewing the testimonial laws and (from what I’ve seen) making them so tight, it won’t hardly even be worth using testimonials anymore?

Well, nobody really knows what’s coming down the pike.

But a lot of marketers seem pretty freaked out by the idea.

Me?

I rarely rely on testimonials (even if I have them) to do my selling for me.

They are, in my opinion, one of the weakest forms of proof out there right now since they’re so easily manufactured and since most sound completely canned anyway.

Hey, don’t get me wrong.

I LOVE using testimonials.

And I use them in my own ads when possible.

But this lame idea that you “need” testimonials is a myth. (I can remember at least one time where testimonials HURT my response.)

And you know what?

If you can’t sell without testimonials, you got bigger problems.

Probably with your positioning, story-telling or (most likely) with your message to market match.

Anyway, here’s my point:

Don’t let the FTC’s latest brain fart shake you up.

If you focus on learning to sell using the natural (never changing) laws of human behavior and basic sales psychology, you got nuttin’ to fear from the FTC boogeyman.

In fact, do you know what?

Since so many other marketers tend to rely on testimonials (instead of learning how to SELL), you’ll be WAY ahead of the game.

Just use their ignorance to your advantage.

Ben Settle

P.S. For dozens of ways to sell without needing so much as a single testimonial, check out my new book Crackerjack Selling Secrets:

Let’s rap about testing today.

Do you REALLY need to test?

Or is it just something other marketers like to say when they can’t answer your question?

My opinion?

Testing is MUCHO important.

In fact, if you don’t do it, you’ll kill your own profits.

How so?

Well, it’s kinda like in the movie “Iron Man.”

Ever see that flick?

Part of the story is about how billionaire weapons creator Tony Stark (Iron Man) gets caught in a terrorist attack, and the explosion lodges little pieces of shrapnel into his chest that are constantly moving towards his heart.

And once they make it — bam! — he’s a dead man.

The solution?

One of Tony’s fellow prisoners (the terrorists capture Tony to make them a missile) hooks up a makeshift electromagnet to Tony’s chest which keeps all those tiny pieces of razor sharp shrapnel from reaching his heart. (While also making his Iron Man “super suit” work.)

Anyway, here’s the point:

Testing is the EXACT same way.

It’s like strapping a giant electromagnet to your ads that keeps all the “shrapnel” in your market (i.e. your competitions’ ads) from destroying your response.

I don’t care how “killer” your ad is, either.

Sooner or later it WILL get massacred.

Unless, of course, you keep testing and measuring.

So yeah, testing is big time important.

By the way, this is why I’m keen on interviewing a testing expert for my upcoming Crackerjack Selling CD Club who can guide people through how to do it.

I’m not sure exactly who, yet.

But it’s definitely on my list of “must haves.”

So anyway, as Iron Man himself would say:

Just like superheroes, great marketing isn’t born — it’s built.

And usually one simple test at a time.

Ben Settle