Ben Settle

I have a rather bizarre admission to share with you:

Lately I’ve been opening a lot of spam emails.

Well, maybe not a “lot”, but certainly more than usual.

Why?

Is it because I want to read emails about male “enhancement” drugs?

Uhm, no, think I’m good to go there, thank you.

Is it because I wanna try that Acai Berry stuff?

Nope.

Is it because I need a new wristwatch, handbag or other doo-dad these spammers are always pushing?

No, not that either.

So what’s the reason?

Well, weird as it sounds, the reason I’ve been opening so many spam emails is because of the subject lines.

Lemme explain:

Some of these Spams-R-Us writers are using langauge that’s extremely appealing to me as someone who does business online. Even to the point where I’ve been playing around with them for mine, and my clients’ emails.

Here are a few examples of some recent ones that “got” me:

Not exactly blatant spam headlines, are they?

In fact, I doubt any of them would be flagged at all. And I actually thought, at first glance, these were from marketing lists I’m on!

And guess what?

If you want some cool email subject line templates (especially if you’re in a business-to-business market) these all make great “fodder.”

Each one is easily tweaked and swiped. (I used one for THIS email.)

They likely won’t set off the spam alarms with the ISPs.

And, if you make your emails relevant (that’s the key) to these subject lines, they could nab you more sales.

Whoda’ thunk you can get value from spam?

You can learn more about email marketing, including how to write subject lines and thwart the spam filters, in The Copywriting Grab Bag in Appendix 8 and in the interview with Jay White on the bonus CD.

Until next time…

Ben Settle

P.S. Speaking of The Copywriting Grab Bag and email marketing…

One of my “secret weapons” for emails is old comic book ads.

And you want to know what?

The CD that comes with the book contains dozens of comic book ads. Many of which can make writing subject lines, blog titles and especially PPC ads a LOT faster and easier:

Unless you’re brand spanking new to marketing (or have been living in a cave?) you’ve likely heard of the famous “80/20” rule.

This is where 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.

So, for example:

20% of your customers pay you 80% of your moolah.

20% of your website gets 80% of your visitors.

20% of your time is when you get 80% of your real work done.

And so on, and so forth.

But guess what?

There’s also ANOTHER 80/20 rule nobody ever talks about.

One you probably won’t hear much about from the goo-roos or see in their big ol’ fatty info-marketing products.

But it can make a HUGE impact on your sales.

And make selling far easier and even “routine” for you.

Here’s the story:

Several years ago, I was listening to some motivational speaker on tape (can’t remember his name), and he started cracking jokes about people who like to complain.

One of his jokes went like this:

Ha!

It’s true, though, isn’t it?

And believe it or not, this little joke reveals a gigantic opportunity for you and me.

Because, to paraphrase the motivational speaking guy above:

OK, so how can this help your sales?

Well, it means nobody really cares about your customers.

Nobody wants to hear them out.

And nobody is taking the time to see things from their point of view.

All of which means…

If you’re the one person who DOES care about your prospects and customers… who DOES hear them out… and who DOES take the time to see things from their point of view… you’ll get their attention, their respect and their business.

It’s so easy, too.

All you have to do is… well… care about them.

Just like you’d care about a loved one or friend.

To see the world through THEIR eyes, emotions and challenges.

This is one of the 7 “lynchpins” of my Crackerjack Selling Secrets system that can make selling 10 times easier for anyone.

And it’s the easiest kind of selling there is.

It not only gets you short term buyers… but also customers for life who will become like your very own “disciples” — spreading the good news about you, your products and your business to everyone they know.

Hey, I KNOW this caring stuff isn’t exciting.

It’s not nearly as sexy as the dopey “black hat” persuasion tricks some people love to brag about using “on” their customers and tricking them into buying.

But sexy or not… it works like gangbusters.

Ben Settle

What I’m about to say is EXTREMELY… geeky.

In fact, of all the geeky stuff I’ve ever told you in these emails, this baby takes the cake.

But…

If you hear me out, and let the message “gel”, I truly believe you could find a renewed sense of purpose.

A mission beyond just making moolah, surviving or living it up.

And maybe, just maybe… an urge to kick some SERIOUS boo-tay in your business and life.

Anyway, here’s the story:

Yesterday while farting around on YouTube (helps me unwind) I came across a clip from “The Two Towers” (from The Lord Of The Rings). It was the Samwise Gamgee monologue — when he’s telling Frodo why they HAD to hang in there.

Why, as all went to hell in a hand basket, they HAD to keep going.

And they HAD to keep fighting — no matter how hopeless it was.

Now I’ve seen this movie lots of times.

And I could probably quote the book chapter by chapter and verse by verse as a kid.

But this time it “stuck” with me.

Especially in light of the world financial woes, political scandals and freaky health alerts the media farts out each day. (If ever there was an institution that actively tries to crush your spirit, the “news” is IT.)

And you know what?

If you read Sam’s monologue (below), and put it in context of the challenges YOU’RE facing right now, I believe it’ll have a positive impact on your day, your year and possibly even your LIFE.

OK, here goes:

SAMWISE: It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo–the ones that really mattered… full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing. Even darkness will pass–a new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine all the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you and meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think I do understand–I know now. The folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back. Only they didn’t–they kept going, because they were holding onto something.

FRODO: What are we holding onto, Sam?

SAMWISE: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Sam’s one smart little hobbit, ain’t he?

And his advice is solid gold:

Don’t let the naysayers stop you. Shut out the nightly news nitwits trying to paralyze you with fear and doubt. Dig in, pray for strength and wisdom, and do. your. thing.

If you have a worthy goal, you WILL be challenged.

Question is… will challenges STOP you and send you scurrying back to The Shire?

Or will they PROPEL you forward, making you even more hellbent on throwing the accursed Ring into Mount Doom?

Only you can answer that.

And when the day comes, it’ll be the defining moment of your life.

Ben Settle

Got LOTS of subscriber questions over the weekend.

Mostly about the new website change.

Specifically, “Ben, why are you not focusing on copywriting anymore?”

Answer:

I AM still focusing on copywriting in a way.

Here’s the thing:

What a lot of copywriters desperately need to “get” is copywriting is NOT writing. Copywriting is in a totally different league than writing. Heck, copywriting is not even in the same sport as writing.

Yes, writing ability helps.

But FAR more important is your ability to SELL.

To sell in an email, ad or sales letter.

Or to close big ticket deals on the phone.

Or to persuade someone on joint venturing with you.

Or to know how to sell on social media sites without coming off as an obnoxious cyber carnival barker.

And so on.

It’s ALL selling.

The same strategies I use to write ads are the exact same age-old strategies revealed in my upcoming Crackerjack Selling Secrets book.

The same strategies (in many cases) in The Copywriting Grab Bag can be used in tele-seminars, selling in videos, selling coaching services, etc.

It’s ALL selling at the end of the day.

But here’s the thing:

Most people think sales is a dirty word.

Almost like the “f-word” of business.

And who can blame them?

Most people DO come off as hypey carnival barkers pushing some substandard product nobody wants, needs or has any desire to possess.

And my new “mission” is to make sales FUN for people.

To make it 100% ethical and comfortable.

And to help you make mucho buckeroos without using any funky manipulation, stoopid sales tricks or high pressure closes (NONE of which work very well anyway).

Think of it like the old TV show “The Munsters.”

Remember that show?

The whole family were basically monsters — like Frankenstein, the were-wolf, the ghoul, dracula, etc.

And whenever the mailman or the water meter guy or whoever popped in they’d get freaked out by the look of them.

Because they LOOKED like monsters.

Except, of course, for the blonde hottie cousin living with them — Marilyn. Everyone liked and trusted her. Because she looked like a nice, normal person — not a monster.

And that’s how selling is, too.

You can use the lame manipulation, gimmicky, hype-filled tactics everyone on the Internet uses and come off as a monster.

Or you can be like the blonde chick in the Munsters: Inviting, attractive and EASY to talk and do business with.

Anyway, that’s the idea behind the new site.

Stick around and I think you’ll start selling more with less effort.

Ben Settle

The last 24 hours have been quite an adventure.

After changing my website around to reflect the new focus of what it’ll be about, I had a seemingly endless string of glitches happen.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

It’s like some evil little techno-gremlin was sabotaging my every move.

The little bastards.

In fact, one of my auto-responders sent out 60+ emails to most people on that particular list in one night — Doh!

The moral of the story?

If you read this site (or my daily email tips) because you want to get better at selling, marketing, copywriting, etc, that’s fine and dandy.

But PLEASE take any technological advice you see here with a big, fat grain of salt.

Ben Settle

P.S. Next time… something a lot more interesting than this to talk about.

The Copywriting Grab Bag blog is now dead.

Fini.

A digital corpse — face down in a freezer with a tag on its toe.

What the heck am I talking about?

After a LOT of thinking and planning and strategizing… I have decided to end the Copywriting Grab Bag site.

Hey, it’s been fun.

And we had a lot of laughs (well, I did at least).

But having a purely copywriting site has outlived its purpose.

And so, I killed the “Copywriting Grab Bag” blog… and replaced it with the “Crackerjack Selling Secrets” blog — which is also the title of the new book I’m giving free to those who join my (soon-to-be-launched) CD-of-the-month paid continuity program.

You can read more about this at:

Now, if you enjoy these emails, listening to the podcasts and watching the videos on the site, never fear.

Because BenSettle.com is NOT going anywhere.

And these daily tips are here to stay.

But instead of being “copywriting” focused, they’ll be sales & marketing focused.

Oh sure, I’ll still rap about copywriting sometimes. But it won’t be the focal point. And if you subscribed for copywriting info, that’s okay.

Because copywriting is just selling.

And 99% of these tips will always be applicable to copywriting.

Anyway, here’s the bottom line:

If you sell anything for a living — face-to-face, email, copywriting, Internet marketing, network marketing, telephone, social media, deal making, whatever — these tips will be even MORE relevant than ever.

And the best is yet to come.

Ben Settle

Hello boys and ghouls…

Been getting mucho requests to do another “marketing monsters” email and so, dang nab it, I’m gonna do it.

Got a couple really nasty ones for ya, too.

The kind that’ll give you nightmares and have you screaming for your mama (or your lawyer) in the middle of the night.

Ready?

Okay then… here. we. go —

Hell Hound Lawyers

These vicious beasts foam blood at the mouth and have no soul.

They do truly nasty things, too — like seek out deals to kill… drag innocent people through frivolous litigation to take as much moolah as they can… and sometimes even defend the other marketing monsters who have attacked **you**!

These killer canines are cunning and vicious.

Often the only way to beat ’em is with your OWN hellhound lawyer.

Pray one never catches your “scent.”

Government Bureaucrat Boogeymen

Just like the hell hound lawyers, these things lack a conscience.

They love to sneak into your personal life, your private records and even your bank accounts… and take and use whatever they want for their own twisted ends.

Unfortunately, LOTS of these monsters roam the countryside.

With more and more created each day.

And the more successful you are, the greater the chances they’ll target you. So make sure you’re prepared.

They’re bite can literally murder your business.

Copywriting Crypt Keeper

This emaciated wretch is more a danger to himself than you.

He haunts the marketing graveyards constantly running ads that are lifeless, useless and don’t have an ice cube’s chance in hell of working.

His laugh is annoying and he stinks pretty bad.

But other than that, this shriveled up bag of skin is no threat.

Unless, of course, you copy & swipe his advertising.

OK, that’s all for now.

I have lots more marketing fiends to warn you of.

For now, sharpen your wits and arm yourself with the right weapons.

Like the marketing & copywriting secrets in The Copywriting Grab Bag and in these daily emails.

That way you can be sorta like the “Van Helsing” of your market.

And have nothing to fear.

Ben Settle

Remember that email about insanity few days ago?

The one where I said the definition of insanity is actually the opposite of what some would have us believe?

Well, here’s a funny little add-on:

That same day, someone told me I’d basically proven Albert Einstein wrong with that email — as the whole, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” is often attributed to him.

Although, I have heard he never said it, some author did.

But either way, whether Einstein said it or not, there’s one thing we’re in complete agreement with:

We both suck at spelling.

I cheerfully admit to being one of the world’s worst spellers.

And Einstein’s spelling was so bad he was pronounced “retarded.”

Ouch.

But you want to know something funny?

The more ads, emails and other writings I do, the less I seem to care about spelling anymore.

It’s just never an issue.

Especially since most adults read at a 5th grade level — and wouldn’t know the difference between “there” and “their” or “its” and “it’s” anyway.

And it never seems to effect response either way.

In fact, my ads are pulling better than ever — even though I couldn’t care less about spelling and grammar.

The point?

If you suck at spelling, don’t worry about it.

Use your spellcheck and try to sound like an intelligence adult.

But if a few typos or grammatical mistakes slip through the cracks, don’t sweat it.

They may actually work to your benefit.

And hey, if nothing else, you can say you have something in common with Albert Einstein 😉

Ben Settle

P.S. You can learn more about why (and how) bad spelling and typos can help your ads on page 60 of The Copywriting Grab Bag.

It’s a short chapter, but it explains why you will sometimes see certain marketers and copywriters laughing all the way to the bank even while butchering the English language.

Here’s a tip that’s been a loooong time coming.

In fact, I’m surprised so few people talk about this.

Especially since it can have such a nasty effect on your sales, profits and peace of mind.

Anyway, here’s the scoop:

For the past several months I’ve been doing a lot of work in the golf niche. And since I basically don’t know jack you-know-what about golf, I’ve been slowly but surely getting up to speed.

And one thing I recently learned about is “Gamesmanship.”

Gamesmanship is basically when someone tries to sabotage your game both psychologically and emotionally.

It’s done through things like negative, jerky comments and innuendos while you’re playing — trying to mess with your head to screw up your game.

It’s actually pretty insidious.

And it’s why even really good players sometimes choke for no reason.

And guess what?

We have gamesmanship in marketing, too.

There’s always some snarky, “a-hole” grandstanding, never helping, and just driving peoples’ confidence into the dirt.

I see this at LEAST once per week in my own business.

I routinely get emails from know-it-alls living in their moms’ basements telling me how I’m the devil and everything I’m doing in my emails and business is “wrong.”

And trust me, nobody’s exempt from this.

In fact, “A-List” copywriter Doug D’Anna once talked about it.

In my copywriting book he briefly tells the story about when he was just getting started, slugging it out trying to get clients.

Yet one guy — who was well known in the industry — was ACTIVELY telling people to avoid him like the plague. Telling potential clients that Doug was no good. That he had no clue what he was doing, was a terrible copywriter,and not a good hire, etc.

That’s some serious mind games, if you think about it.

(BTW, Doug got a written apology from this guy later when he nabbed his first control).

Anyway, here’s the point:

Gamesmanship happens in business just like in sports.

And when it happens to you (and it WILL), recognize what it is.

Don’t let it rattle you.

And take it as a sign you’re probably doing something RIGHT.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want to “gamesmanship proof” yourself, here’s how:

1. Shut out the nitwits (that’s why God invented the delete key).

2. Ground yourself in the fundamentals of your craft so solidly you’re impervious to anyone’s stoopid comments or half baked insults.

You can learn over 122 ways to “get grounded” like this at: