Ben Settle

I got a quick update about The Copywriting Grab Bag book.

I (finally) found a printer, and the cover is currently being re-designed to fit the new format (spiral bound).

So it should be ready somewhat soon.

In the meantime, a lot of people have asked for more details about what exactly is in the book?

What are these secrets I’m always obnoxiously teasing you about in my emails and on my blog?

So I decided to list some of the cool stuff in the book at:

www.CopywritingGrabBag.com

And remember, if you get on the “pre-notification” list, you will have a chance to get it at a discount when it’s released.

Enjoy your Sunday. 🙂

Ben Settle

P.S. If you’re skeptical if there’s anything “new” in this book, that you can’t easily find in other books, courses and even seminars, check out the audio testimonials in the sidebars.

There are “from the gut” testimonials (not canned, “bought and paid for” testimonials) from marketing greats Terry Dean and Ken McCarthy (who have pretty much seen everything)… as well as from other marketers who slug it out every day in the business world — where everything they do is tested and measured.

Just read an interesting news story about taxes.

Apparently, over 83% of corporations have “tax havens” — other countries where their moolah isn’t taxed, or is taxed at a much lower rate than here in the overtaxed United States of Obama.

And you know what?

There’s actually a powerful copywriting lesson in this.

Here’s what I mean:

As you know, I rail a LOT against using hype.

Some people don’t like that — and that’s fine.

To each their own, I say.

But the reason I do this is because every test I’ve seen or participated in has thus far shown using empty bragging, boasting and hype lowers response (dramatically) compared to more down-to-earth, “reason why” ads that talk to people like they’re human beings instead of drooling, biz-opp zombies.

However, if you don’t know how to write ads any other way (don’t laugh — many people don’t)… then I want to tell you about a few “hype havens.”

Or instances where you can probably get away with it.

No, your response probably won’t be as high as it would if you learned how to write a real ad.

But it may not affect you at all — or at least as much.

Anyhoo, here goes:

Hype Haven #1: Selling to a pre-sold list

If you know how to brilliantly pre-sell your list so they are anxiously awaiting your product’s release, and in a way where most will go straight to an order link and won’t even read your ad anyway, then you’re golden.

You can literally just slap up an order button if you want.

And get sales no matter what you write.

Hype Haven #2: Superior positioning

If you’re the “top dawg” in your niche, you can almost get away with anything.

At least, temporarily.

Including having inferior products, crappy customer service and… yes… ads slathered up with lots and lots of hype.

Frankly, your kool-aid drinking following will buy from you, defend you, promote you and even quote you chapter by chapter, and verse by verse no matter what you do or say.

Hype Haven #3: Can’t refuse offer

Finally, if someone is starving, and you got food, will it really matter if you hype up how good your food is?

Will it matter if you’re rude and offer bad customer service?

Will it even matter if the food is half cooked or tastes bad?

Not if the person is starving, it won’t.

And it’s the same with marketers who offer the right people, the right product, at the right time.

They still make loads of sales even if they do everything else “wrong.”

Anyway, I’m in NO way endorsing using hype in your ads.

But if you don’t know any other way, at least get yourself safely nestled in one of the “hype havens” above.

It’ll go a long way towards making you more moolah.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you don’t have superior positioning, a brilliant pre-selling strategy, or are not selling to a starving crowd, then what do you do?

Well, you’ll have to try harder and write real ads.

Luckily, you can learn over 122 fast and eazy ways to make more sales and moolah from your ads in The Copywriting Grab Bag at:

I recently had a copywriting brain fart while reading the Bible.

It happened while reading about false prophets and “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

You know — the dorks acting like God’s messengers, but twisting scriptures around, and basically having people do the exact OPPOSITE of what God really wants them to do.

And it occurred to me we have a bit of that in the copywriting world, too.

In fact, I call ’em:

And at first glance they LOOK like good teachers.

They SAY the right things.

They ACT the right way.

They KNOW all the right people.

But when you partake of their “doctrine”, you find theirs is truly a rotten fruit indeed.

In fact, listening to one of these guys can not only hurt your response… but put your business in some serious jeopardy, too.

How so?

Because learning copywriting is like opening a feed sack.

If you don’t open it right and pull the string across the top — it’ll rip down the middle instead… with everything spilling all over and making a gigantic mess that’s all but impossible to fully clean up.

All of which is why it’s so important to be able to identify these “false prophets” so you can rebuke them and not be cursed by their “unclean” advice.

Of course, that begs the question:

How can you discern when you’re learning from one of these copywriting “false prophets”?

What are their “marks”?

Well, believe it or not, they have lots of marks.

Some are obvious, some are not so obvious.

For one thing, some of them are still hawking their copywriting services all over the Internet for a few hundred bucks.

I have NOTHING against doing that, by the way.

I think it’s a great way to get your feet wet and get some moolah rolling in.

But it’s when they start filling other unsuspecting peoples’ heads with bad advice, treating opinions as facts and misleading new copywriters with cockamamie theories that don’t have a prayer of working… that I feel a burning dose of righteous indignation.

In addition, another “mark” is… their clothes.

Many of these guys LOVE wrapping themselves in robes made of nothing but stitched-together ads from other copywriters.

And no… I’m not talking about swiping here.

I’m talking about outright stealing other peoples’ ads — sometimes even word for word.

And by the way, you can tell if you’re in one of these preachers’ “flocks” because many of their disciples can’t seem to form an original thought.

Can’t seem to create an original ad.

And get VERY angry when you call them on it.

Instead, everything is “swipe and steal!” — regardless of the moral, ethical and even legal implications.

Anyway, there are more marks to look for.

But those are (IMHO) the two biggies.

Watch your arse.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you’re serious about learning how to write ads that make money, you must study and show thyself approved. To learn at the feet of some the world’s greatest living copywriting masters, check out the appendixes in The Copywriting Grab Bag:

Holy mama I seem to have touched a nerve with this.

I keep getting emails about “who” I’m talking about in this post.

Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not talking about any individual in particular.

More like a mixture of people who I have seen haunting certain marketing and copywriting forums and giving bad advice to people I care about.

It just bothers me because, I remember when I was starting out. I got lucky and latched onto Gary Halbert’s site and got some personal instruction from some very generous people who had no reason to help me other than to help.

But what if I’d ran into someone teaching the wrong way to do it?

Someone who doesn’t care about their customers, doesn’t understand the relationship between copy and the more important elements like list, offer, positioning, etc?

Who thinks stealing other peoples’ stuff (not swiping, stealing) is okay and tells others to go and do likewise?

It’d have ruined my business probably and I wouldn’t even have known why.

So for those of you asking about this particular individual or that particular individual, the answer is no. It’s not.

I’m just talking about “types” here.

I’m FAR from perfect, so the LAST thing I am in a position to do is judge anyone in particular.

If you use “Twitter” I think you’re gonna love this.

Why?

Because there’s something I’ve been doing (you can just as easily do) with Twitter, that makes links in my tweets FAR more likely to be clicked on.

In fact, my traffic spikes every single time I do this “thing.”

What is this “thing” I’m doing?

Writing my tweets as bullet points.

In other words… if I want people to click a link, I don’t say, “cool new resource” or “new blog post” anymore.

Instead, I say something like:

A secret (and kinda bizarre) way of finding dozens of new leads, clients and customers at your local coffee shop

or…

@rayedwards uses an ordinary telephone to build his Internet marketing bizness?

or…

How NOT to get laughed at by people you want to joint venture with

This actually works so well, I turned off the service that automatically tweeted my latest blog posts.

Now I write cool bullet points instead.

Bullets like you’d see in a sales letter — full of tension, contrast, drama and curiosity.

And that’s today’s email tip:

When using Twitter to get people to click your links, make ’em bullets.

The kind that make people think:

Doing this will pack your tweets with a LOT more “punch.”

Ben Settle

P.S. I firmly believe bullets are everything in copywriting — the “#1 skill” to learn.

It’s so important, I am adding a special bonus to the CD that comes with The Copywriting Grab Bag book:

A 6 page report packed with nothing but bullet point templates.

This is the EXACT same list of bullets I use in my own ads.

And believe it or not, some of my clients have told me the ONLY reason they hired me was because they couldn’t resist the bullets in my ads, and had to buy the product I was selling. They wanted that same “power” in their ads.

Anyway, the book is sorta kinda almost ready.

I’m still talking with printer/fulfillment houses.

But anyone on the pre-notification list is going to have a chance to get it at a discount:

We’re finally at the end:

The 7th “Tightwad Marketing” secret.

In a lot of ways, this is probably the eaziest and most practical of them all.

Anyone with a customer list (and a pulse) can make it work.

And once you get the hang of it, you can create “instant cash flow” whenever you want — without raising your prices, finding new customers or even getting a loan.

Anyway, what am I talking about?

This lets you give yourself a pay raise almost at will.

I have seen as much as 30% of old customers (i.e. people who have bought from you once, but who you have not heard from since) be “reactivated” with just one or two well crafted reactivation sales letters.

And the best part is, it’s simple.

REALLY simple.

You basically just contact your dormant (or as I call ’em, “hibernating”) customers who have bought from you in the past (but who you haven’t heard from since), with a generous “can’t refuse” offer.

One so generous you might only break even on it.

I mean, why not?

You don’t have to spend any extra money to get these customers.

They have already expressed interest in you and your stuff before.

And in a lot of cases, all they need is a good “excuse” to buy from you again.

After that (if you nurture them right) they will many times KEEP buying from you for years in the future.

It’s just a great way to jump start your cash flow.

And that’s about it.

This past week you’ve seen 7 cool “tightwad” marketing secrets.

Each is a snap to implement.

And each is designed to put moolah in your pocket quickly, easily and cheaply (usually free).

I hope ya profit handsomely from them.

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want even MORE tightwad marketing secrets, check out the interview at:

P.P.S. Next time… something completely different.

Almost done with the “Tightwad Marketing Secrets” series.

As you’ve seen, these tips are all very eazy to use.

And they really can help you generate (almost) unlimited leads, prospects and sales in 2009 and beyond — while spending little or no money.

So far we’ve covered:

Today’s Tightwad Marketing Secret is a bit more “technical.”

And there are even some people who try to purposely make it confusing.

But it’s really pretty eazy.

And can give you a LOT of quality traffic (and sales).

And that is none other than:

SEO — search engine optimization — is extremely cool (IMHO).

It’s free… requires only a few little “tweaks” to your site… and can attract a TON of new leads, subscribers and customers to your website.

And before you even ask:

You don’t need a bunch of backlinks, articles, forum posts or any of that stuff to get started.

Eventually, you may want that stuff.

But there are many things you can do right NOW (today) on your website — without getting a single backlink — to get some serious “Google love.”

In fact, sometimes you need only make a few little “adjustments” to your site — like linking your pages together properly and strategically using the right keywords — and you can see some BIG TIME search engines jumps.

I know I have.

Not long ago, I went from page 10 or 15 to page 1 for a certain keyword phrase on Google within 3 days (and made something like $400 the SAME day it happened — it was pretty cool).

And that was with just 1 backlink (on a popular ezine site ANYONE can get backlinks from) and making a couple changes on my blog.

No big deal at all.

But here’s the “snag”:

It’s kinda intimidating to know where to begin with SEO.

Some people have practically gone out of their way to make the subject confusing and mysterious. (Usually people selling SEO-related services.)

But you don’t have to worry about that, because I put up a little SEO copywriting “shortcut” for ya.

It’s an interview with a couple aerospace engineers (turned Internet marketers) who have conducted hundreds of scientific SEO tests for theirs and their clients’ websites.

These guys are like “SEO Scientists.”

They test EVERYTHING and act like kids in a candy store discovering new ways to drive traffic, leads and sales to sites almost overnight with SEO

And their stuff is perfect for SEO “newbies” and veterans alike.

Anyway, you can grab it now at:

Ben Settle

P.S. If you want even MORE advanced SEO training — without paying a single penny — check out Ray & Ferny’s (the two SEO Scientists above) training site at:

It’s mostly geared for network marketers.

But ANYONE in Internet marketing (no matter what you sell) can use their stuff to make moolah (and quickly).

Hope you’re ready for “Tightwad Marketing Secret” #5 (of 7).

Because it’s definitely a doozy.

And something you can use TODAY if you really have a fire under you’re arse.

Anyway, here it is:

Tele-seminars are a gold mine for online marketers.

They’re fast, cheap (free in many cases) and let you “connect” with your prospects in a way you cannot duplicate in email, print or on a computer screen.

The concept is pretty straight-forward:

You get on the phone with a group of people about a subject they are interested in. At the end (and throughout the call — subtly) you pitch whatever ya got to sell (or to do something you want them to do).

Your listeners love it because they get valuable information.

And you will love it because you can sell your stuff at the end. PLUS you can use the recording as content on your website, slap it on a CD, or even sell it (quick product creation) — either as a download or with a service like Kunaki.com

And let’s face it:

Getting on the phone and talking about something you’re passionate about is not “rocket science.”

It’s a LOT easier than busting your brain writing copy.

And it can be a LOT more persuasive, too.

I dunno about you, but I’ve bought VERY expensive products based JUST on listening to a tele-seminar — whether there was a written sales pitch or not.

Anyway, I love tele-seminars and I think you will, too.

And to get you started right, I have a free resource for you that goes into some specific strategies on how to “moolah-tize” your own tele-seminars.

Specifically, an audio interview with Internet marketing “Jedi” Ray Edwards.

Ray Edwards routinely uses tele-seminars to generate tens of thousands of dollars for himself and his clients.

And during our interview, he gave away a pretty sweet secret for getting your own tele-seminars up and running almost right away (using free online forums) — without struggle, expense or needing any prior tele-seminar experience.

You can listen to it (or read the transcript) at:

Ben Settle

And by the way, speaking of Ray Edwards…

Ray recently teamed up with Internet marketing “pioneer” Kirt Christensen to create an advanced Internet marketing membership site. And to “bribe” you into giving it a try, they are giving away a PILE of advanced Internet marketing training for just $1.

And the best part is:

Whether you join or not, you can download the several thousand dollars worth of advanced (and proven) Internet marketing videos, tools and training they’ve cooked up for you no matter what.

You can check it out at:

OK, so far we’ve covered 3 of the 7 tightwad marketing secrets:

• Public speaking
• Media publicity
• Breakfast clubs

This 4th is one of my all-time my favorites.

In fact, it’s sorta like the “Mount Olympus” of tightwad marketing secrets.

And that is:

JV’s are EASILY the fastest, quickest and (if you do them right) most profitable way to market your products and services.

Why?

Because they let you “leverage” OTHER peoples’ time, money, resources, customers, personal branding and talents to sell YOUR products and services.

Now, there are probably thousands of ways to do JV’s.

But the one I like best simply goes like this:

You sell your product (or service) to someone else’s customer list and vice versa.

For example:

Let’s say you sell a dog training book.

You find a marketer with a list of 20,000 dog owners.

You go to this dog list dude and make a deal to sell your book to his list of 20k dog owners and split the profits.

You win by selling more books and building your list without spending a single penny.

The list owner dude makes extra moolah without having to do anything but push that “send” button.

And, assuming your book is top notch, he also strengthens the “trust factor” with his list — making them FAR more likely to buy from him again when he recommends a product (thereby putting more moolah in his pocket).

Pretty simple, yeah?

Hey, it IS simple,

But, just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

Especially when it comes to setting up these JV’s.

You can’t just say to someone, “Hey! I got this cool super duper product. How about you sell it to your list and I’ll let you keep 50%!”

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

These days, that’ll just get you laughed at.

So how should you contact people about doing JV’s?

Especially if you don’t know a lot of people or are just starting out?

Luckily, there are dozens of really simple ways to do this.

And instead of listing them in this email, I am going to refer you to an interview I recently did with “The Joint Venture Man” himself: David Dutton.

David started his business as a dirt broke college student with no connections, no money and no contacts (just a cell phone) — and now joint ventures with people most of us only read about or see on TV.

Like the legendary marketer Jim Straw, Joe Vitale, David Frey, Willie Crawford and even the stars of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.”

With David’s unique methods, you don’t need to be in anyone’s “good old boy” club.

You don’t have to beg, plead or bug anyone.

And you don’t need to be “extroverted” or be a good “bs” artist.

All you need are a few (very simple) JV secrets David has discovered, and you can quickly set up profitable joint ventures with almost anyone in your business, niche or industry.

You can listen to this extremely valuable joint venture interview free at:

Ben Settle

P.S. David also has a product about how he connects with marketers with giant lists and influence at:

Ready for “Tightwad Marketing Secret” #3?

Okay then, let’s hit it:

This 3rd one is something a lot of people may have heard of… but almost nobody understands.

And while it mostly applies to local businesses, it’s an extremely cheap (literally the cost of a cup of coffee) way to market.

What am I talking about?

I first heard about this back in my netwerk marketing days.

It was a brilliant idea then, and it’s even MORE brilliant now.

Especially since with the tanking economy, more people may be open to it.

Here’s how it works:

Basically, you contact 5 or 10 (or however many you want) other local businesses in your area — all non-competing, with no two the same kind of business — and ask them to join your business breakfast club.

So, for example, you can have the copywriter, the web designer, the bankruptcy lawyer, the accountant, the mechanic, the roofer, the printer, the bizopp guy etc.

And maybe once per week you meet at the local coffee shop, cafe, bagel place, whatever…

… and just exchange leads.

For instance:

You have Mike the mechanic at the table with Bubba the bizopp guy, and Mike’s friend is afraid of getting laid off and is looking for a way to make moolah in his spare time. So Mike gives his buddy’s contact info to Bubba.

Or, Chester the copywriter might know someone who needs their books done and gives that person’s contact info to Al the accountant.

Or, Luke the lawyer knows someone looking for a good roofer, and gives that person’s contact info to Roland the Roofer.

Or, Paul the printer has clients desperate to start marketing online but don’t know how (there are LOTS of businesses like this in your hometown), and gives Ike the Internet marketing consultant all these clients’ info.

And so on, and so forth.

Anyway, so instead of y’all selling each other… you’re simply exchanging leads.

And when you get a lead, you just contact that person and say:

“You don’t know me, but we have a mutual friend. His name is Al Accountant and he suggested I contact you…”

See how that works?

Not only do you get hot leads ALREADY LOOKING for a business just like yours…

… but they come with a juicy endorsement from someone those leads know.

Very powerful stuff for prospecting and selling.

And works for almost anything you can sell locally.

Ben Settle

P.S. Since yesterday’s post about publicity, a few people have asked if I write press releases, what my fees are, my availability, etc.

If you want the inside scoop on this, simply go to: