Back in 2013 when I was still writing my first novel “Zombie Cop”, I asked my publisher Greg Perry about what he thought of the little “Easter eggs” I peppered throughout the books.
Were they necessary?
Dorky?
Waste of time?
His answer:
I am paraphrasing, but he basically said yes, keep those in, those are the little things 90% of people will miss, but the 10% who do get them will treasure the stories more, become much bigger fans of the stories, and enjoy the stories in ways they never would otherwise.
Turns out, he was spot on correct.
And, ever since then, I’ve doubled down on including such “Easter Eggs” in all my emails, content, videos, podcasts, and even customer service. All of which, I believe, has created a much stronger, more fanatical, and more prosperous/successful fanbase of customers and subscribers who “get” these things, and profit and/or benefit from the content far more as a result.
And if you think this is some fluke, think again.
Fast forward several years to this last summer.
I read about how Disney World has been doing this for decades to build its irrationally fanatical fanbase.
Like the “Be Our Guest” restaurant, for example.
They use expensive & painstakingly created little carvings of the Beast’s head instead of customary (and much cheaper) little circles on the ceiling.
A very small percentage of people will ever notice much less get it.
We’re talking probably less than 10% of customers.
Yet, those are almost certainly the most fanatical, most likely to return many more times in their lives, bring entire generations (kids, grandkids, great grandkids), watch all the movies, aggressively defend the Evil Mouse’s most insane decisions, and work tirelessly to give the company as much of their money as they possibly can, and train their families & friends to do the same.
The Evil Mouse does this sort of thing in probably hundreds of other ways, too.
Like using real plants vs fake plants maybe 2% of people would notice.
Or applying a fresh coat of gold paint daily on their castle.
And the list goes on.
Little, tiny, seemingly insignificant things, often done at enough expense to make the accountants wince since they can’t be tracked or measured… that add up to a far bigger, more powerful, and fanatically followed brand.
No, you cannot “measure” or “track” or “test” these things.
(Thus, the screaming accountants.)
But show me a business that does this, and thinks about it and, even most importantly, has a methodology for this, and I’ll show you a business that has a brand people love to follow and will cheerfully buy from for years and decades into the future.
As far as a methodology for this, I can’t help you.
I have my own little ways of doing these things, but they aren’t at-all methodized.
They are all in my head.
And, really, even if I did, I wouldn’t be the guy to learn it from.
So, instead, I found a resource to begin (just a first step) help teach how to think like this I am gifting to my loyal Email Players of the Horde as a Christmas gift in the December “Email Players” issue.
No, it’s not anything super “ninja!” or anything like that.
It’s simply a book I bought in bulk.
And, again, it’s merely the first step in creating this kind of mindset.
So if you are looking for a “hack” or a “trick” or whatever, this ain’t it.
Nothing I offer deals in those things
Amateurs & newbies seek trick & hacks, professionals seek Wisdom, after all.
And, Daddy doesn’t cater to amateurs & newbies…
Whatever the case, the deadline to subscribe in time to get the December “Email Players” issue is tomorrow (11/30). If you are growing tired of chasing petty hacks & tricks, and want to build a foundation for a business that can potentially grow bigger than you ever imagined over time, this issue and this bonus gift can possibly do just that for you.
Or not.
It really is up to you and what you do with the info.
Only fools think they can get heat from a cold stove…
If you want in, you best be quick about it if you want to make the deadline:
Ben Settle
P.S. I recently got an email from the great and esteemed Shameless Shamus Brown — one of my favorite sales & persuasion teachers, and easily one of the best sales trainers in the game. And what he said perfectly sums up who should and who should not be subscribing to “Email Players”:
Funny, I was just reading over your yesterday email about the December newsletter… I came onboard after you made this big shift in your focus.
I think I held off buying your newsletter before as it seemed tactics oriented around email. And while I can always use more tested tactics, that was not what I was focused on, I didn’t sign up. Until you changed focus, and the broader business building message appealed to me.
Now, what I am really enjoying about your newsletters, is they remind of the good ol days back in the early 00s of reading my Dan Kennedy newsletters.
i.e. I don’t cater to One-Trick Tommy’s.
If you are looking for tricks & hacks, go haunt someone else.
If you don’t have a business, a list, or an offer, go haunt someone else.
And, if you are not a long-term thinking business builder, go haunt someone else.
Plenty of more conventional places will be happy to service you.
Otherwise, if you want in on time, go here:
