Ben Settle

A newbie raises his head above the fray:

“…read one of your emals saying you don’t want to deal with newbies. But if you have some good advice at all for those of us starting out I can really use it!”

The reasons I don’t cater to, sell to, or deal with newbies are many.

But I’ll give the question a wack.

Here’s advice I’d give to 20-years ago me:

1. Detach from caring what anyone but the market thinks about a product idea, marketing idea, or copywriting idea

2. The ONLY purpose of a website (if direct response) is to build a list, and probably every single copywriter, writer, or writing-related person you know will fight you on this – but ignore them, as they know not what they are saying, and are most likely following my advice about this without even realizing it

3. Invest in and study Earl Nightingale’s “Lead the Field” audio program ASAP

4. Don’t pay for informational products, but do buy them (will not explain further here)

5. Polarization is far more effective than moderation

6. Ignore all marketing-related advice you see on social media until you can discern what is good advice and what is baboon shyt

7. Strategical thinking will make you far more than tactical thinking

8. Don’t think like a writer, think like a publisher

9. Never engage one-on-one with a troll who has less influence than you

10. For sales skills read everything you can get your hands on by Jim Camp, Barry Maher, and Joe Girard

11. Superior customer service will forgive a lot of marketing sins

12. Build a network as quickly & aggressively as you can

13. Stay out of debt, and don’t put any business-related products or trainings on a credit card – go dig ditches or something until you an afford it

14. Problem solving is a far more valuable skill than solution giving

15. Everyone (yes, me included) is full of crap until proven otherwise

16. Understand that being popular is not necessarily the same as being in-demand and vice versa

17. Learn the difference between selling & pitching and know when to do which

18. You can never have too many merchant accounts

19. Finally, do NOT buy any of my higher-ticket books or subscribe to the Email Players newsletter.

You aren’t ready.

Especially if you don’t have a real business yet.

Besides needing a real business how will you know when you’re ready?

The answer:

If you have to ask, you aren’t ready.

But if and when that day comes, simply go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

A few weeks ago I saw a rather amusing meme that explains the utter futility of arguing on social media (back when I bothered), or with trolls on my list, or anywhere else.

Especially about showing them any stats, numbers, analytics, etc.

The meme went like this:

Study 3 years for degree.
Study 3 more for PhD.
Join lab, start working.
Spend years studying problem.
Form hypothesis, gather evidence.
Test hypothesis, form conclusions.
Report findings, clear peer review.
Findings published, reported in press.

Guy on internet: “Bullshit.”

Some more thoughts:

It’s the exact same with people up in the marketing world who have spent many years figuring out, testing, experimenting, and honing a way of doing things, only to teach it and then get naysayed by a bunch of newbies and goo-roo fanboys who aren’t even qualified to pour water out of a boot, much less comment on such matters. In fact, I remember many years ago Sean D’Souza giving a talk at one of Ken McCarthy’s System Seminars about his sequential selling and consumption model of marketing — which is almost the exact opposite of a lot of what people were doing, teaching, and selling at that time especially.

Still is in many ways.

And yet, the naysayers just couldn’t help themselves.

“Where’s your stats & numbers proving this works!”

Sean’s answer:

“We don’t use analytics or any of that and I don’t have any data — I started out as a cartoonist and I moved to marketing and this has allowed us to take 3 vacations per year, buy houses, travel, do all the things we really wanted to do. We earn more money than we need.”

My experience:

When people clamor for stats & analytics, tests, etc they aren’t looking for truth.

If they were, they’d simply test out whatever they are asking about.

Which is always ironic.

Because for people — i.e., so-called internet marketers — whose only answer to every question is “test!” they don’t seem want to test much.

More:

I got a question from a newbie lately that was similar.

He asked:

“It seems you avoid talking what what your profit per month per lead is, whys that? I know its because you will be inaccuratley jugged but im still quite curious. Its like the guy who teaches game but doesn’t show his girls.”

I literally have no idea what my profit per month per lead is.

Nor do I care.

If I was paying for traffic I probably would, but I don’t.

So I look at my sales and see how they trend over time.

And I also find talking about numbers turns on the derelicts on my list who I like to avoid.

(The low information types who get excited over fake photoshopped bank statements, etc)

But, sometimes I break that rule of not showing my numbers.

Like I did last Summer during our BerserkerMail launch:

To show the pointlessness of constantly obsessing over “open rates” I posted a screenshot in my SocialLair of my open rates during an 8 week time frame along with another screenshot of my shoppingcart with my sales over that time — showing my exact gross sales broken down by product.

The results were something like $217k in sales with lowly 13% open rates.

You could buy a decent house in some neighborhoods with that.

Maybe not guru numbers claiming to be $900 million copywriters or whatever.

But my business gets by…

Plus, I am not even counting the sales from my software companies & coaching program (Learnistic, BerserkerMail, SocialLair, and Profit Pirates – which ain’t exactly chicken feed), sales from one of my licensed offers, Kindle book sales, affiliate campaigns, etc. And yet I still had some people since then clamoring for more test results, tracking, etc.

And that was a reminder of this truism:

Not only can you not fix stupid, but stupid people are never convinced anyway.

So why bother?

As for the newbie’s PUA analogy:

I post testimonials all the time.

Every month.

Probably more often than I need to.

And unless they ask me not to name them, you can look them up.

Even ask them yourself to verify.

Thus, his game analogy was as silly as saying Fonzy surrounded by multiple girls while walking out of Al’s on a Friday night sucks at picking up chicks because he doesn’t give field reports in a Yahoo group talking about his exact ratio of picks ups vs rejections, money spent, and how many dates until he gets the average woman he pursues in bed, etc.

Anyway, lots in this email for the discerning marketer to pick out.

But probably not so much for the goo-roo fanboy reading this.

Although, as I say a lot, I don’t know why those mopes are on my list at all.

Nothing I can say or do will help them.

As for the the grownups?

That’s what my Email Players newsletter is for.

Something you can read more about here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Following is for podcasters and others wanting to interview me.

Recently I came to a decision:

I am no longer doing video interviews.

I’ve made exceptions here and there over the last couple years. But starting today that is no longer going to be the case. And, in fact, I’ll be sending anyone asking me to appear on their podcast, mastermind, masterclass, training, or other ventures via video to this (it will be put up as a page on my blog) so they know I won’t be appearing on video.

If they want me on their zoom or whatever, my video will be turned off.

And they will simply see my still shot face.

Why am I being such a video nazi?

The answer is simple:

I give my best performance via audio & far more enjoy the experience that way.

For me, being tethered to a desktop computer doing interviews is stupid.

I’m not saying people who like being tethered to a desktop doing interviews are stupid.

And I’m not saying those who insist on video interviews are stupid.

I’m simply saying for me it is stupid.

I do my best thinking & strategizing walking around, not having to look into a screen, and free to just talk, think, and give information unbound to a desk, not looking into a camera, and not even frankly being fully dressed in some cases.

A Stefania often says:

“Ben, you gesticulate a lot when you are talking.”

And she’s right.

People who listen to me live in our Profit Pirates coaching program know this.

And it doesn’t work sitting down in one spot looking into a phone or computer camera.

On a stage when speaking?

Fine.

In fact, I enjoy that.

But on video?

No.

More:

Audio is far more direct response friendly than video anyway. That is why most direct response ads are on radio not TV. And the information is far more important than the format. Anyone who doesn’t get that is simply too short for the ride. And, they should find someone else to interview.

This is not an attack on anyone specifically.

In fact, I fully realize this will kill many opportunities for me.

I also have good friends who I highly respect up in this business who not only disagree with every word I am writing here, but insist on video being on, and will probably not invite me back on their shows, masterminds, whatever it is.

And I am perfectly okay with that.

This is not me arguing with anyone, nor is it up for debate.

It’s simply stating how it’s going to be for now on.

One last thing:

I have heard video podcasters say that video helps audiences connect more with whoever is being interviewed.

And there is some truth to that.

But the reality is, engagement has very little to do with format.

And everything to do with communication & conflict.

Will not explain further.

That’s all I got for now.

Just realize this, Mr. Podcaster reading this:

If it were up to me, the entire internet would go back to plain text.

So my biases are now obvious.

All right, enough.

Let’s move on.

To learn about my 100% TEXT print newsletter Email Players, go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben settle

Came a great question from an “Email Players” subscriber:

…you talk about always plugging something in every email. Since I am an email copywriter, I always write something interesting and transition into a product pitch. But I feel the list may not be happy in the long term. What is a good ratio mix of sales and educational content in a week? Should I write blog posts and link them instead from time to time?

Your daily email horror hosts’s take:

He is making the exact same mistake a lot of email marketers — probably 99% of ‘em — are making. And that is, projecting one’s emotions & hangups about being sold to on to a list.

Listen up, listen good, and always remember:

Buyers want to buy.

Lurkers want to lurk.

Lukewarm people want to complain, whine, & bytch.

You have to decide which of those you want to focus on and serve.

If the answer is buyers, then write for & TO them.

That means, giving them something to buy.

Of course, that doesn’t mean not to make your emails worth their time to read. But it does mean at least giving your subscribers the opportunity to know your offer exists each day. Or, at the very least, sending them somewhere that will lead to a sale.

There is no perfect ratio of selling & content.

The art & craft is in seamlessly & naturally combining the two.

The last thing I do when I write an email is say:

“All right, I gotta make sure x% of this email teaches, and y% sells…”

Some of my emails are 100% teasing.

Others are even 100% pitching.

Once in a great while (2 or 3 times per year, max) they are 100% teaching.

But 90%+ of the time it’s a combination — all based on the content, the market, the market’s awareness and/or sophistication levels (ala Gene Schwartz’s teachings), what I want to write about, what I think my list needs to know, what is on my mind, what is on the market’s mind, the offer I want to tell them about, and a whole slew of variables that make any kind of perfect ratio of selling & teaching a complete myth with about as much basis in reality as Wakanda or Latveria.

That’s my take.

What’s far more important than the mythical content v pitch ratio is this:

Consistently writing & sending emails.

Getting to know your list, and build a relationship with it.

And do it with as little “friction” as possible.

Those are just a few of the benefits you can get by reading & applying Email Players each month.

More info here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

1. You’ll become a better writer

2. You’ll write better sales copy

3. Your writing will inevitably get faster

4. Generate more ideas (ideas beget ideas, emails beget emails…)

5. Clearer thinking

6. Accomplish more than your lazy social media-addicted peers

7. Generate more testimonials

8. Probably get more JV opportunities

9. More customers to which you can sell other offers to

10. More clients

11. Demonstrate your knowledge

12. Can be therapeutic

13. Might inspire others

14. It’s fun

15. Creates more financial security

16. Troll fodder handed to you more often

17. Entertainment when you see someone melt down over something you wrote

18. Can elevate your thinking

19. You can teach cool ideas to a receptive audience you wouldn’t be able to otherwise

20. Makes your other writing easier to pound out

21. Gets your business more attention

22. Lets you demonstrate leadership

23. Will very likely make you new industry connections

24. Can create other opportunities you never considered

25. Attracts better leads

26. Repels weak or unqualified leads

27. Less spam complaints (in my experience way less)

28. Creates friendly familiarity making the choice to buy from you much more likely

29. Builds & strengthens relationships with your list

30. New product ideas spring forth the more you do them and get feedback from your list

31. Gives you content to repurpose for other things

32. Better delivery rates (if you do email right)

33. You’ll make more sales

I could go on and on and on.

But if those 33 ways aren’t enough to light a fire under your righteous gluteus assimus, then probably nothing else I say will.

As far as training on how to write emails?

Go to this URL:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Recently my biz partner in all-things software Troy Broussard sent me this:

This ex-client of mine… former coaching client…

Texts me out of the blue and is about to publish his book and asks me about QR codes… I tell him about RedirectMe… perfect for what he needs and perfect timing…

He starts asking me all kinds of questions… 

—> I copy/paste images of the answers on the sales page…

He asks another…

—> I say “read the sales page”

He then starts to argue about why he needs to spend $20…

—> “Dude, you texted me and asked ME what to do… I told you… now you’re arguing over $20 with me… GO AWAY”

I’m becoming very Ben-esque… lol

GO AWAY…

High IQ guys like Troy (literally was a Navy nuclear engineer) can only handle so much low IQ behavior before cracking.

And it’s always fun to listen to him rant about such things.

But as I told him:

“You will officially achieve peak Settle when you not only ignore out-of-the-blue texts altogether, but don’t even know who sent them…because you had already long removed them from your phone…”

And so it is.

Something else:

One of the reasons for my “no coming back” rule with people who leave Email Players is not because I’m so hog nasty rich I want to turn away new business. It’s because 9 out of 10 times they have the same mentality as Troy’s ex-customer above.

Doesn’t make ‘em bad people.

Just makes ‘em terrible customers for my particular offers.

That’s why I am grateful for all the cheap competition out there:

Every ecosystem needs scavengers (carp, catfish, etc).

And it’s always good when those who leave my world “float” down to the bottom where those scavengers are. I certainly don’t want them anymore (if they weren’t intelligent/ambitious/interested enough to use the info before, they won’t later, so what is the point?) And the scavenger gets a free meal.

Everyone wins.

Uh-oh.

Hear that?

That’s the sound of a now-offended goo-roo fanboy angry typing me a response.

While he’s doing that, if you are interested in knowing how to write emails people look forward to opening, reading, and clicking, go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Came a question:

Hello Ben

I know you don’t like to answer questions unless it’s a customer. I have bought all your books on Amazon if that counts. I have recently found you and listened to all of your podcasts both of them. My question is how do I build a list while making my product? What is the incentive for people to get on the list and how does it work? Thank you for your time.

Translation:

“I bought all your books on Amazon & listened to all your 230+ podcast episodes except for the ones about list-building”

Yeesh.

My opinion:

I could literally hand this mope every Email Players issue I’ve written over the past 10+ years that talked about ways to grow or even add entire new income streams onto a business, and sometimes without even requiring an offer… walk him through it word for word, and even open whatever program he uses to write emails with… and it wouldn’t do him a lick of good.

How do I know?

Because he’s still wandering the goo-roo casino.

The goo-roo casino is a term I invented many years ago to describe this phenomenon.

Personally, I despise casinos.

Even more than I despise airports.

But I can’t help but admire how they get away with psychologically manipulating schmucks even when they’re losing into thinking they are winning — by the way the machines react with pretty flashing lights and music, and the way the numbers are presented.

It’s quite brilliant in its deviousness.

Now relate that to the so-called internet marketing niche.

It works nearly the exact same way — and unfortunately a lot of otherwise-smart people die (figuratively) penniless in the goo-roo casino, even as they think they are “winning” via buying yet another bright shiny cool sounding eBook all their other goo-roo casino pals on Facebook just bought, or by joining yet another coaching program everyone they know is talking about, when they haven’t even consumed, much less learned, the prior books/programs/coaching they invested in.

Which brings me back to the guy above:

Assuming he really did consume all my content he obviously didn’t really listen to it.

If he had, he wouldn’t have asked that particular question.

I can’t do much to help guys like that.

And this is especially the case with my Email Players newsletter.

Can’t help those types.

And they are better off shopping elsewhere.

The grownups who have a business, a list, and an offer I can help.

To see how go here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Sometimes I think my emails are like the Scarecrow’s mask in the movie Batman Begins, when Crane says about it:

“these crazies, they can’t stand it”

Take this blue flame special, for example:

“Have your attorney instruct you to provide a functional unsubscribe button to this spam. Should I send you a link to the attorney general’s page?”

The email he was whining about?

Was sent to him October 5, 2017.

Over 4 years ago.

The unsubscribe button didn’t “work” because he had long since opted-out.

Or take this dork:

(responding to my recent email about why I avoid masterminds)

“So, you’ve spoken at, attended, and paid for masterminds but you avoid them like liberals avoid omicron. That’s some serious double talk which is what [link edited out] listees did until they could no longer talk.”

Imagine thinking this is some kind of “gotcha!”

Especially when I literally wrote in the same email he responded to:

“the last one I attended (some two and a half years ago) where I first conspired with Troy Broussard to partner on some software platforms.”

Sharp as a tack that one.

As Stefania laughed:

(she gets to see all my nuthouse emails):

“I wonder how long he’d been sitting on that link waiting to spring it in you—‘Hah, that’ll show him!’”

No doubt.

As for the link I edited out from his reply above?

Sounded like (did not bother to click it) it goes to a site that lists people who died because they didn’t get the fake vaks-seen. Because, as everyone knows, people don’t croak from the covid 98% of the time because they are obese, elderly, or have multiple comorbidities.

No, they die from a fake vaks deficiency.

All right, I’ve had enough fun here.

More info on my Email Players newsletter here:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle