Ben Settle

I’ve been on Twitter for several months now.

So far, I have 243 “updates” — and I try to attach as much value to as many of them as I can.

Below are 10 tweets that have generated the most replies and comments from my Twitter followers.

They each contain a valuable tip, resource or idea I’ve used to put more mool-ah in my pocket.

Here they are (in no particular order):

I have to admit, this is FAST becoming one of my favorite marketing e-newsletters: www.thejamesrwhelanagency.com

Looking at a site Ken McCarthy – www.KenMcCarthy.com – told me about yesterday: www.jott.com – he calls it a “writers best friend”

If Joe the Plumber simply copied Al the Plumber he wouldn’t either need Barry’s or McLame’s tax cuts… http://tinyurl.com/4uqrff

A gift for ALL fans of Frank Bettger (author of “How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling”) — www.bensettle.com/Swipe-File/swipe-bettger-article.pdf

Editing interview I did w/ a speaker-great tip for marketers: People instantly believe & trust public speakers-it’s “the podium effect”

American’s are pawning stuff at record paces http://tinyurl.com/44mtun — HUGE opportunity to buy stuff cheap and resell at fat profits

“North By Northwest” is on. Perfect copywriter flick — the “hero” is an advertising man, and the action pace is a great sales letter “model”

Reading an ad out loud multiple times to catch any snags or “bumps” in the copy before sending to client. Tedious but necessary…

Planning some hard-core publicity campaigns for next year — works like a charm in bad economies.

Reading Gerry Spence’s “how to argue” book — tip for writers p.124: “hands are linked to creativity — when problem solving, write, don’t meditate”

Anyway, hope you got some good value from the above tips.

If you liked them and want more, go to:

Ben

This one (I just wrote today) seems to be popular, too:

Every time I read a Bob Bly sales letter I’m in awe at how brilliantly simple his style is — awesome stuff and well worth studying in detail

A few months ago, I showed you a cool joint venture secret my friend David Dutton (“the most connected man on the Internet”) taught me when I interviewed him last year.

Basically, what you do is (1) Identify someone you’d like to connect with, (2) Make a simple video about how one of their products benefited you, and (3) Put it on YouTube and tell the person about it.

Below is a great example of how it works:

Ben

Got a great question from a subscriber this morning.

If you’re just starting out and want a “short cut” way of getting good at copywriting, then I think you’ll find this especially interesting.

Here goes:

QUESTION: I heard about the importance of hand copying ads when starting in copywriting. But in your ‘Copywriting Grab Bag’ book, you say we need to be careful what we copy as just because an internet sales letter pulled in lots of sales doesn’t always mean it’s worth copying due to the brilliance of product launch marketing and pre-selling.

What ads and sales letters should I begin copying out?

BEN: I used to mindlessly copy out Gary Halbert ads.

I chose Gary Halbert due to reading the story of a brilliant copywriter named Scott Haines.

When Scott was starting out, he was in a hurry to learn copywriting, and heard Gary Halbert say on a tape the best way to get good at copywriting — fast — was by copying out the ads of world-class copywriters by hand.

Only problem was, Scott couldn’t find any Gary Halbert ads.

But what he did find was Gary Halbert’s hard-to-find classic book,
“How To Make Maximum Money In Minimum Time” — and so he figured he might as well copy out Gary’s book.

After all, since Gary was considered “The World’s Greatest Copywriter”, copying any kind of his writing would be better than none at all.

Did it work?

It sure did.

For one thing, immediately after copying this book by hand, Scott’s ads started working and making some decent bux.

It also led to him working with Gary Halbert himself.

Anyway, the good news is Gary Halbert writings abound online.

But if you want the exact Gary Halbert book Scott Haines copied out (I mean, why mess around when you can go right to the “source”), I have seen it on eBay recently.

You can see a couple used copies for sale (pretty cheap, too) here:

Ben

Got an extremely valuable resource to tell you about.

A resource that WON’T cost you a dime….

… but definitely WILL help your marketing and copywriting.

Maybe even significantly.

Anyway, here’s what it’s about:

A couple days ago, my friend John Anghelache created a free online marketing newsletter.

However, unlike most newsletters, John’s is NOT full of commonly-circulated tips you read, nod and file away.

Instead, John’s stuff is “street-level.”

By that I mean, it’s full of tips and methods you can apply today and literally see results from by tomorrow.

John’s worked directly with some of the world’s top copywriting & marketing “superstars” — like Gary Halbert, Joe Vitale, David Garfinkel, Peter Stone, Michel Fortin, and more.

And his new website is literally an online “journal” (as he calls it) of all the cool and profitable things he’s learned along the way.

I simply can’t recommend John Angel’s stuff enough.

And I know you’ll get a TON of profitable ideas from reading it.

You can check it out at:

Ben

P.S. And for more John Angel marketing wisdom, check out the free interview I did with him (about swipe files) at:

Hope the title above doesn’t offend ya.

I’m not calling YOU “stupid.”

I’m simply paraphrasing our old president Slick Willy’s adviser who told him in order to win the election it was all about the economy — “It’s the economy, stupid!”

Why am I telling you this?

Because I’ve been doing a LOT of ad critiques lately.

And it never ceases to amaze me how much research these folks have done on their product, their business, their company, the benefits, etc.

But how little research they’ve done on their market.

For example:

Not long ago, I critiqued someone’s ad selling an eBook for single parents about making moo-lah online.

His headline basically went something like:

I mean, can’t ya just feel the love?

So before even looking over the rest of his ad, I asked him…

“When you talk with single parents on your list about earning some extra bux, do they talk about making huge stacks of cold, hard cash?”

“Well… not exactly…”

“What DO they say?”

And then he went into the REAL problems, pain and desires his list has.

And, let’s just say, they had nothing to do with sucking flapping stacks of cold, hard cash out of anyone’s wallet.

Anyway, here’s my point:

Your market is EVERYTHING.

It dictates what to say in your headlines. What to put in your offer. What benefits to feature in your ad. What benefits NOT to feature in your ad.

And so on, and so forth.

In fact, “A-List” copywriter Doug D’Anna told me he spends 40 hours ALONE just on market research before writing his ads.

That’s more than most people put into an entire project.

But that’s how seriously copywriters at his level take this.

And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same thing.

Ben

P.S. Speaking of Doug D’Anna…

I used to have an interview with him about digging into your market on my site, but recently took it down.

Just too darn valuable to give away.

However, you will be able to get this eye-opening interview in Appendix 6 (or via MP3 on the CD that comes with it) of my revised “Copywriting Grab Bag” book.

To be notified when it’s ready, go to:

If you’d like to have some rare copywriting and marketing books at dirt-cheap prices, then I’ve got some good news.

Check this out:

A couple years ago I was looking for a rare, practically impossible-to-find marketing book.

I was writing an ad for Ken McCarthy at the time, and asked him to point me in the right direction.

Before the question fully escaped my lips he said two words:

“Phil Alexander.”

Turned out Phil is not only the world’s foremost direct response marketing “historian”, but he can often find almost any marketing or sales book ever written.

Even the so-called “lost” ones.

In fact, Phil’s a lot like the character “Red” (played by Morgan Freeman) in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” — he’s a man who knows how to get things.

Anyway, I was just browsing Phil Alexander’s “wares” and noticed he has a TON of cool, out-of-print books often praised by marketing masters like David Ogilvy, Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Eugene Schwartz and more.

For example, he’s got classics like:

• “Ron Popeil Salesman of the Century” (I once heard Gary Bencivenga refer to Ron Popeil as the man who “can sell anything.”)

• “How I made $1,000,000 in Mail Order” by E. Joseph Cossman (Eugene Schwartz–recommended)

• “Influencing men in business” by Walter Dill Scott (creator of the now-famous “AIDA” formula.)

• “Reason Why Advertising” John E. Kennedy

• “How to Write a Good Advertisement” by Victor O. Schwab

• “My First 60 Sixty years in advertising” by Maxwell Sackheim

• “100 top copywriters and their favorite ads”

… And a ton more valuable books (many public domain!).

All basically dirt-cheap and ripe for the taking.

Anyway, you can check out Phil’s “candy store” of cheap, hard-to-find marketing books at:

Ben

P.S. Also, if you haven’t yet checked out the Gary Bencivenga-recommended booklet “Obvious Adams” (that I wrote about last week), there are still copies left at:

Just a quick FYI:

If you go to:

… and click on the tab on the left that says, “Free Goodies”…

… you can download an issue of Matt Furey’s newest magazine (titled, “Mastermind”) which contains some extremely cool ads you can put in your swipe file.

One of them is the looooong-running magazine control ad for his “Combat Conditioning” book (amongst others).

Excellent stuff and definitely worth downloading.

Enjoy!

Ben

For the past several weeks I’ve been revising (and finally writing an ad for) my Copywriting Grab Bag book.

While re-reading appendix 2 (the interview with Doberman Dan Gallapoo) I came across this fun little snippet and got a hefty laugh from it (as well as a hard kick in the arse because I haven’t been following the advice.)

Doberman Dan worked side-by-side with the late, great copywriter Gary Halbert. And the short lesson below is just one (of many) excellent Gary Halbert lessons he shared.

Anyway, here goes…

DOBERMAN DAN: I feel like I’m the lone voice in the wilderness crying out this truth that nobody believes until they actually try it. But if you’ve got an online business and you’re not keeping a database of your customers’ physical snail mail addresses and sending them direct mail at least every month… I’m going to have to channel the spirit of Gary Halbert. If you’re not doing that then you are a complete 100% shit weasel.

If Gary were here and he met an online marketer who wasn’t sending direct mail I think he’d probably whack ’em upside the head and call them a shit weasel. Because that one thing alone… can literally double your business in 30 days or less. I love the response I get when I tell online marketers this. And I’ve given this advice away freely which I will no longer do. In fact, this is the last time I’m going to give this away free, Ben. Because this is million dollar advice. But when I give it away free people don’t seem to value it.

I spoke with an owner of one of the biggest online marketers of supplements and asked about how often they’re snail mailing their list. And he said, “We don’t keep a database of snail mail addresses once we ship the order.” And I thought you’ve got to be kidding. Here’s a company that—based on the current sales—could probably add an additional $5 million per month if they would—and that’s on the low side based on my experience—if they send direct mail snail mail to the list every month. But the response is, “Yeah, but we capture email addresses. And we send a weekly, daily, whatever email promotion.”

Well, for a lot of reasons the emails are not getting through to the recipients nowadays with spam filters and all the other problems. Or, people’s inboxes are so crammed full of stuff, they’re deleting stuff. You know this, Ben, stuff you’ve even subscribed to that you want to get you probably delete a lot because you don’t have time to read it. So an email nowadays has a very low perceived value. But an actual snail mail letter or promotion that somebody holds that they received in their mailbox and hold in their hot little hands still commands more attention than an email in my most humble—but accurate—opinion.

You can read the rest of this fascinating interview with Doberman Dan in Appendix 2 of The Copywriting Grab Bag.

To be notified when it’s ready, go to:

Recently I read an article talking about why copywriters “MUST” go to marketing events.

That the best clients are at events.

And that, if you go to events, you will build your business far faster than you would otherwise.

I don’t know about this.

True, attending events can dramatically speed up your copywriting career goals… but it is definitely NOT a “must.”

How do I know?

Because I work with several clients who are, in most cases, the “top dawgs” in their niches — like Mike Dillard (in the MLM niche), Captain Chris Pizzo (in the martial arts niche), and Ken McCarthy (in the Internet marketing niche.)

Yet, I have never “met” any of these guys.

I have not “hung out” with them.

And I definitely did not “network” with them at a seminar.

Instead, they approached me because they knew what they were looking for, did their homework on me first, and know results count more than if someone is a seminar buddy or not.

My point?

If the idea of attending seminars makes you feel tired and sleepy (like it does me — which, according to Sean D’Souza, is perfectly natural for introverts)… don’t fret.

Don’t worry.

And, whatever you do, don’t fall for the line that going to seminars is “mandatory.”

Is attending events a good idea?

Absolutely!

Many of my copywriting friends built their businesses on seminars.

And if you enjoy networking and seminars then have a party.

But it’s not a “must.”

Believe it or not, clients are LOOKING for you as much as you are looking for them.

Your job is to demonstrate your stuff like you would any other product.

For some, seminars are the way to do it.

For others, it’s less direct ways.

The key is to do what works for you and never give up.

For more information on getting freelance copywriting jobs, check out the interview I did with Ryan Healy last year.

It’s packed full of real, useable ways to get paying clients.

Including many “introvert-friendly” methods that work just as well — if not better.

Ben