Many, many years ago I clicked on a Facebook ad and wound-up subscribing to a random email list that was all about email marketing.
I had never heard of the guy writing the emails…
He seemed a little grumpy…
Like he was intentionally trying to push people away…
Which reminded me a lot of Dan Kennedy (the Godfather of direct marketing)…
So I kept reading his emails…
Eventually I bought his print newsletter…
And even a couple of his books…
And then in 2019 when I was at the Titans mastermind, we wound up seated next to each other.
So for two days, we shot-the-shit on email…
World-building…
Story-based emails…
And a whole lot more…
Anyways…
If you don’t know who I’m talking about at this point, it’s Mr. Ben Settle.
I think Ben nails the principles that Dan Kennedy has been preaching for years in regards to “personality marketing” probably better than anyone today.
So I’m gonna share a few of the things I’ve learned from Ben over the years…
1. “This is who I am, take it or leave it”
This is something Ben is great at.
He has no desire to appease people by changing who he is.
Cause he’s not trying to appeal to everyone.
He knows that if he puts himself out there as he is, there’s a group of people that are NOT going to like him.
And there’s a group of people that will love him.
So every email he sends…
Or book he puts out…
He is constantly pushing people to either agree with him (and bond with him) or to be repelled by him.
This is intentional.
And most copywriters and offer owners would be smart to have a little more “this is who I am, take it or leave it” in their business.
Alright let’s hop to the second thing I’ve learned from Ben…
2. Entertain, don’t inform
One of the things I screwed up early in my career was making my emails all about the information.
Well guess what?
People don’t want information.
People want to be entertained.
Why?
Cause information is boring.
Just look at the number of people who watch CSPAN (information) vs Fox News or Youtube (entertainment).
What people really like is when you tell engaging stories…
Or you create drama…
And then you have like 15% teachable moments in there.
That’s what people like.
The entertainment has to come first.
Cause otherwise they won’t pay attention.
It’s kind of like when you give your dog a pill and wrap it in peanut butter.
You’re giving him what he wants (peanut butter)…
But also a little of what he needs (the pill)…
This is how good content works as well.
Entertainment always comes first.
Alright let’s do one more of these…
3. Mail your list everyday (sometimes more)
Most people these days are onboard with the “mail everyday” philosophy.
It’s proven to work.
You make more money…
And your open rates improve.
So it’s a win/win.
However, I never really thought of mailing more than once a day.
And when I saw Ben doing it, it shifted my reality of what was possible in this regard.
I mean, there’s been days I’ve gotten 6-7 emails from Ben in a single day (usually on the final day of a sale he’s having).
But it doesn’t feel intrusive.
He makes ’em entertaining.
So I wind-up reading ’em.
Point being…
There’s this idea that you can only mail your list so often, otherwise people will get upset.
I think Ben has proven this isn’t true.
You should be doing daily emails at a minimum…
And in some situations even more.
Many of the Agora companies mail 2x a day…
Alt Daily does the same…
I have no idea if Ben started this trend…
But he’s definitely hit on something a lot of marketers (myself included) didn’t think was possible.
So make sure you’re mailing everyday (and possibly even more).
Alright, I need to wrap this up…
And make some breakfast.
If you’re not on Ben’s email list yet, I suggest you get on it.
The dude understands personality-branding…
And storytelling on a level that most marketers don’t even consider.
So I suggest you hop on his list if you’re not on it yet.
(BTW his opt-in page is a great study in how he incorporates his personality into everything.)
It’s not just your standard opt-in page.
It’s very “Ben Settle-y”.
I suggest you give it a look here.
– Justin
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