“Pulp novelist”

The reason, of course, is because I write pulp novels.

A lot of people throw the term “pulp” around.

But I like how my pal Robert Bruce puts it. He was the guy who, back when he was one of CopyBlogger’s editors, originally convinced me to start writing fiction when I told him about my idea for the first novel.

He put it like this in the intro to my 7th Enoch Wars horror novel:

Early in the twentieth century, a group of men armed with manual typewriters, early mornings and late nights, gallons of coffee, and insane daily word counts gave rise to the illustrious era of publishing defined by “pulp” fiction.

Built on the back of innovative (and cheap) paper production, magazines like Black Mask, Weird Tales, and True Detective appeared and continuously churned out incredible stories and novels of adventure, sex, noir, science fiction, and mystery that the public devoured.

This “pulp” fiction differed in style and production to the more critically acclaimed literary tastes of the day — because these writers wrote stories that people actually wanted to read.

By that definition, I like to write “pulp” emails and sales copy, too.

And not just for this book & newsletter list.

I’ve seen some peabodies running around the internet saying my “style” of doing email and sales copy only works to my own audience and list. And it’s all pure, unadulterated, and “uncut” lies. I used my “style” – if you want to call it that – of emails to clean up in the diet niche, the golf niche, and, most recently the financial offer niche.

And what is that “style”?

Pulp.

I write pulp copy and fiction.

I suggest you do, too.

You’ll make more sales, get more engagement, and have more fun.

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Ben Settle

The post Pulpit of pulp writing first appeared on Ben Settle.

But here are some of the specific reasons that may or may not apply to your business:

* I like to walk around when teaching – as I think better, perform better, and teach better

* It’s much easier to just turn on my phone’s recorder app – and then release the Kraken vs diddling around with video production

* I already spend several hours per day tethered to a desk writing – and the last thing I want is to be tethered to a chair, seat, or camera creating and/or editing video

* Health & energy – one reason I like to do Zoom calls & webinars walking around outside looking at nature while getting sunlight, audio only, is because I have long noticed people chained to a desk indoors staring at a screen are more low energy & dull witted than those moving around

* Steve Jobs, incidentally, took his meetings outside on walks – and he did so for similar reasons

* Better customers – this is subjective, but in my experience audio content attracts higher quality customers who listen and pay attention, and not screen zombies

* Talk radio effect – talk radio pulled far better and higher spending customers for Limbaugh and other right wing talk shows back in the talk radio era vs customers gotten by TV, from what I’ve read

* More likely to be consumed – we learned this years ago from our Learnistic mobile app clients… that’s not to say video isn’t consumed too, but nobody has to plan their time around listening if they commute, drive, workout, walk, etc

* Fast – for me to create & edit as there are no real “production” values, and starting with the last couple courses I did (10-Minute Trader and Breakthrough by Breakthrough, Schwartz by Schwartz) I use a special service I talk about in the September Email Players issue to make my hideous phone audio sound almost studio quality

* Better for learning – audio-only forces your brain to pay attention and use your imagination, and makes for convenient re-listening for repetitive learning.

* Watching videos, on the other hand shuts down the part of your brain responsible for logical thought and activates the part that makes you more prone to suggestion – great for selling, not so great for deeper learning, and I know of no other direct marketer who wants to admit this, incidentally, but neuro scientists have known this since the late 60’s

* I prefer audio personally – so I enjoy creating the content, and that joy rolls “down hill” to the listener vs if using a format I dislike, like video, would also then roll down hill

* I am an advocate for Dan Kennedy’s truism: ‘build your business to suit your preferences’

Mine happen to be audio when creating courses.

On a related note:

The September Email Players issue is all about my “Framework” for creating courses. I have multiple such Frameworks for doing them in a quick few weeks, to as fast as a few days or even in a single afternoon, in some cases.

And doing them without losing quality of content.

And, in a way you can often charge a lot for, if you choose.

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Ben Settle

The post Why I don’t do video courses first appeared on Ben Settle.

“Ben you mentioned early in your life you were an mlm pleb because you didn’t have any proper understanding of marketing and making money, what advice would you give to someone who’s kind of plagued by a similar string of past failures and beating themselves up about not immediately understanding all of these things and making money ions earlier than now”

* Fill your schedule with so much work attached to near-impossible deadlines you won’t have time or energy to care about the head trash.

* Disappear from your social circles completely for at least 6 – 9 months.

* Then disappear for another 6 – 9 months.

* Don’t argue with people online as they are literally pigs – you both get dirty when you argue and the pigs like it.

* Tell people No if they ask something of you intended to manipulate, gas light, or control you.

* If you’re not working then be reading something that will make you better at what you’re working on.

* If you’re driving, exercising, walking (see below), shaving, on the toilet, or in the sauna or shower, be listening to content that will make you better at what you’re working on.

* Adjust your schedule so you are working during brightly lit (sunshine not artificial light) days, and sleeping in pitch darkness at nights

* Don’t drink alcohol, do drugs, or consume caffeine.

* If you have a girlfriend break up with her if she’s not excited about helping you achieve your goals via her actions, attitude, penchant for self-sabotage, 24/7 craving for attention & validation (yours or others’), or shows any disrespect to you, your time, & your goals.

* If she is excited about helping you achieve your goals then marry her.

* Read the books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes each at least 10 times.

* Pick someone from your life who has tried keeping you down and think about that idiot every time you want to slack off, coast, or quit.

* Curate your friends, when in doubt cast them out.

* If you have a job or clients to serve, start serving them even better than you are now, but the first hour of the day always, without exception, belongs to you.

* Walk 5k – 15k steps per day not just for health but also clarity.

* Finally… hike up the skirt, strap on the balls, and get the job done.

After all, time is passing no matter what you do.

30, 60, 90 days from now you can be closer to what you want, or still asking the internet how to get it.

Might as well make the best use of it.

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The post How to get rid of that nasty head trash first appeared on Ben Settle.

But recently one of my marketing pals said to me, “You have inspiring levels of AI hater in you.”

And it reminded me of a little ditty I wrote back on Easter in the free Settleheads Facebook group, about the James Moffatt translation of the Bible I’d just finished reading at that time, and what God thinks of idolatry in Ezekiel 36:17.

Moffatt translates it this way:

“…when the Israelites lived in their own land, they polluted it with their practices; to me their practices were as loathsome as a woman’s menstruous discharge”

Basically what I think of generative so-called AI.

But I don’t think all so-called AI is loathsome.

In fact, there are some legitimate and impressive things about the technology, too.

Just not the generative kind which most people will be priced out of being able to use in the coming months anyway, I believe.

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Ben Settle

The post AI is as loathsome as a woman’s menstruous discharge first appeared on Ben Settle.

“Makes me feel better for stopping your newsletter.  You wrote a really nasty letter saying I couldn’t ever come back.  This email shows what you are really made of.”

He was replying to an email from a few months ago about my “After School Special” offer.

And, specifically, the email was about how to turn a cranky feminist into a ride-or-die wife.

Anyway, I had to look his records up to see what he was even referring to.

And the “nasty” email that upset him so?

It was an automated message he got a full year earlier (guy literally hung out on my list seething for year – a trooper) that people who unsubscribe used to get back when I used 1shoppingcart.

This email said:

You will not be billed again and you will not be allowed to re-subscribe again later, at any time, for any reason.

If you do not understand why your subscription was canceled it is most likely because you had subscribed in the past and returning to Email Players after leaving not allowed. In that case, your subscription has been voided already, and nothing will be sent.

Ooh.

So nasty!

Imagine taking tax advice from a guy who got so rankled by that.

His fragility made for a strong advertising lesson, at least.

Because it reminded me of a clip of Bill O’Reilly talking to comedian David Spade:

O’REILLY: “Every day, Donald Trump wakes up from his two hours of sleep, okay? And his first thought is, ‘How can I torture my enemies?’ So he says stuff just to get The View ladies upset-just to get Whoopi Goldberg agitated.”

DAVID SPADE: “It works! Hahahahaha.”

O’REILLY: “He didn’t like Trudeau. Trudeau is a little nebbish to him.” “So he goes, ‘How can I annoy Trudeau? I’m taking it over!’ And boom.”

Something to ponder for your own business.

This is the psychology, in large part, behind what I teach in my paid Email Players newsletter when the subject comes up.

More about that here:

www.BenSettle.com/alt

Ben Settle

The post Fragile authors make for strong advertising first appeared on Ben Settle.

Bro, how’d you become so popular? 

Your writing is as confusing as my grandma’s speech. She’s 93 by the way. 

I don’t know if it’s self-amazement or what you’ve got going, but you really need to read your writings a few hundred times before your press the send button.

Thanks. And looking forward to seeing writings I actually subscribed you for.

I don’t know what reply guy was “actually” subscribed for.

But the email he replied to was about how to make writing easy. And according to the Flesch-Kincaid readability calculator, the email he replied to is:

“Reading Level: 8th & 9th grade ( Plain English )”

These reply guys ain’t exactly getting any brighter.

And it’s like I wrote about last month:

I’ve been teaching email writing, copywriting, and other kinds of writing, content creation, and persuasive communication for nearly 25-years. This month is, in fact, the 15-year anniversary of my prestigious Email Players print newsletter, where I write a lot about ways to sell, persuade, and influence with writing.

And during that time I’ve amassed well over 1,000 testimonials.

But admittedly, even I cannot help illiterate reply guys.

All right, enough about these scholars in residence on my list.

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Ben Settle

The post Reply guys ain’t getting any brighter first appeared on Ben Settle.

Many years ago, a famous fitness pro said, “You should be embarrassed by the workout programs you wrote six months ago.” The reason: it means you are constantly improving your craft. I’ve tried to take a similar mentality with writing emails and it seems like yours are constantly evolving as well. 

I bring this up because not too long ago you shared you are “more interested in quality than volume” with your emails. How have your standards for your emails risen? And do you have a process for improving/reflecting on your past emails?

My answer is you just got to

(1) genuinely love your work, and…

(2) be obsessed with wanting to Serve your customers.

If either is missing, email is a slog and a chore, just hard, frustrating, and full of uncertainty.

But if you got both going for you then email is mostly easy, fun, and something you want to do – where improvement happens almost automatically.

In my case, the older I get, the more I just enjoy the process.

I just take my time and focus on reader’s Experience.

Everything else you see about this is just distraction.

That is my humble, but accurate, opinion.

That probably disappoints those who think complicated = smart.

But more times than not, life works the exact opposite.

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Ben Settle

The post How to make writing easy first appeared on Ben Settle.

The Oregon Eagle is a local paper I have ownership in, that was founded by Email Players subscriber Richard Emmons. The ridiculously profitable email marketing “advice” in this article may or may not be read by its intended recipient.

But that doesn’t mean your business can’t benefit from it:

“Benevolently Abusive” Trick Lets Drazan Get All The New Voters She Wants

This “trick” lets businesses get all the new customers/clients they want, too.

Here’s how:

I once consulted a customer (who sells high-priced Method Acting “bootcamps”) about email marketing. And at the time he usually got zero sales in December, no matter how aggressively he marketed or how good his ads were.

That is until I taught him a “benevolently abusive” (I don’t know how else to put it) marketing trick I invented.

The first time I spoke with him (beginning of that December) … and in about 20 seconds… I gave him this secret “formula” for using simple, plain text emails I’d been using to see big sales spikes.

The result?

$100,000 in sales that December when he usually made $0 and the next month he made $230,000 – including $19,000 in one day.

What was this secret I taught him to get all the new students he wanted? That I also believe Christine Drazan can also use to get all the new voters she wants? And that I further believe business owners can use to get all the new customers & clients they want?

The answer:

1. Send two emails per day to your email list.

2. Send the first email in the morning.

3. Send the second email 12-hours later at bedtime.

4. That first email is inspirational and makes readers feel good and optimistic. In Drazan’s case, a real-life story about legislation she championed that dramatically changed someone’s life. Something that shows what’s possible if she’s elected.

5. The second email is a real life (ideally in the news) story about some horrifying violent crime, illegal immigrant rape, or drug/homeless-related attack on children that plants a “Vision” inside peoples’ heads that makes them anxious, scared, and unable to sleep.

“Rinse & repeat” every day until the election.

Again, this can be “adapted” to businesses. Find what inspires and horrifies your customers and send two emails per day: the morning email feels good, and the evening email feels awful.

Why does this work?

Because it creates a “benevolently abusive” relationship with your list with intense highs in the morning, and intense lows in the evening. The evening email keeps people up, acid bubbling up in their esophagus’s, shaking them out of their apathy looking for a solution, and anxious to vote for it.

And when they read your “inspirational” morning email?

It’s like Ghostbusters in as much as, “Who they gonna call?”

Do it right, and the answer is YOU.

But there are two “caveats”:

First: most businesses don’t have an email list. Even if they do, they spank out boring, blatant “here’s what’s for sale!” offers that either go straight to spam or are deleted on sight.

Second: in Drazan’s case, she has an email list, but she doesn’t seem interested in mailing it. She only seems to want to spam us with texts which everyone loathes.

Not so with email.

In fact, according to a StudyFinds survey a few years back, the average person has two email addresses and is on 500 mailing lists!

Email is not only NOT dead, but people read them, and it works better than ever.

But only if you use it, and do so wisely, with techniques like the one in this article.

More about the paid Email Players newsletter here:

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Ben Settle

The post A truly BEN-evolently abusive email trick first appeared on Ben Settle.

Hi Ben, I’ve been an avid reader of your emails since I was 16, probably. That was years ago, and time has flown by; I’m already 19 now.

So, if you’d be willing to give me a chance to hear back from you, I’d truly appreciate it, even though it may not help you or give you anything in return. I just want to try my luck and ask for one piece of advice: how can I become a great writer like you?

I asked you specifically because, among all the email copywriters, you’re the most authentic.

Have a good day, Ben. Whether you respond or not, thank you so much.

I don’t know about “great writer” which is, really, a bit much.

Delusional, though…

Whatever the case, here’s the answer to his question:

Hike up the skirt, strap on the balls, and then shut up and write.

That’s the big “secret.”

The secret to writing is there are no secrets.

In fact, I remember many years ago when Gary Halbert admitted in an interview, towards the end of his life, that it had taken him a good 15-years to get his writing to the level everyone considered great.

And that was primarily a function of just writing.

Not meditating about writing, thinking about writing, or talking about writing.

But actually writing.

Good, bad, fugly, doesn’t matter.

You just write, and keep writing, and then write some more.

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Ben Settle

The post Shut up and write first appeared on Ben Settle.

And if not, why?

And I quoted & replied to it in an email flippantly saying:

“no, I don’t have much time for fiction these days.”

That got me a bit of grumpy mail, it turns out. But it also amused quite a few people, too. One of the guys who was probably not amused by me, but was definitely amusing to me, fapGPT-prompted this reply below.

He said:

I read your response about not having time to look into Islamic scripture, and I think you’re missing something important.

You’re someone who clearly understands the power of language, persuasion, and emotional impact. But the Qur’an — regardless of belief — is one of the most linguistically influential texts in history. It didn’t just tell stories. It challenged an entire culture that prided itself on mastery of language, and it did so in a way that left even its strongest opponents struggling to respond.

This isn’t about religion. It’s about language, structure, rhythm, and impact.

Dismissing it without engaging with it — especially as someone who builds a career on understanding how words move people — feels like a blind spot.

You don’t have to agree with it.

But from a pure copywriting and persuasion standpoint, it’s hard to argue it’s not worth at least examining.

At the very least, the question isn’t whether you believe it.

The question is: Can you afford to ignore a text that moved — and still moves — hundreds of millions of people, at scale, across centuries?

Why, yes, I can afford to ignore it.

But the irony of the above reply about learning how to write that was so obviously sharted out written by generative so-called AI is glorious unto itself.

There are many lessons packed between the lines in this.

Some obvious and some maybe not-so-obvious.

But the one I want to leave you with is specifically for if you are finding yourself discouraged by, or even succumbing to, the gaslighting from generative so-called AI companies and their tech bro moonies in the geek chorus shilling it all over hell and gone.

And that lesson is this:

If you write using your own brain, your own personality, your own flaws, and your own experiences… you really have no “competition.”

Least of all from these guys running around saying you’re going to be left behind.

And that, as they say, is all she wrote.

Okay, enough fun for the soul.

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Ben Settle

The post How to rightfully divide the AI writing scriptures first appeared on Ben Settle.