https://wesschaeffer.com/blog/ben-settle-returnsHe has been publishing the Email Players since 2011Got into direct marketing/copywriting in 2002He stumbled into it when the world was quite differentHe found a Yahoo Group with a bunch of old-school marketersIt was run by Perry Marshall, and it was about Dan KennedyJohn Carlton was in therePaul Hartunian was in there, and he had a detailed debate with an internet marketing guyPaul argued that mail would never go awayBen wanted to have a physical newsletter, and now he doesSend Free was a free autoresponder back in the dayThey put you on a list called the “Send Free Roundtable.”It was great for newbiesBen dabbled in MLMGary Halbert wrote a letter called “Why network marketing sucks”Ben sent a cold offer to the roundtable list to write for free but get 5% of their sales…he didn’t get paid, but he learned and had work product to show to land new customersNow you have access to traffic and leads via social media and you can drive trafficBe your own customer firstFind a market and find an offer to sell yourself first, then you won’t be needy so you’ll land bigger deals, easierTo get started, start asking for referralsDan Kennedy calls them “upstream leads” when word-of-mouth finds you“I’m reassuringly expensive.”“Close first, then present.”Money makes life easierHe started with a cheaper, more generic newsletter at firstHe launched with three issues and people boughtIn 2011, $97/mo was “expensive” for a newsletterEach issue is 15-20 pages at least or moreOnce he has enough issues on a similar topic, he’ll compile them into a bookWrites three months in advance…all evergreenAs you look at the same content when you’re older, you see it in a new lightHe has no real competition…no nemesis…he’s solidHe says now is the worst time to sell anything in print due to inflationHe won’t mail to some countries due to feesFedEx is a painIt’s a crapshoot to mail internationally with the USPSBerserker MailSocial LairBackstory (on screenwriters)Reads a lot of biographiesLikes Arnold’s new bookNot a big self-help guyStallone’s book was good, too“Conquistador” about Cortez on how he bluffedThe FDR biography was good…saw how he dealt with trollsIt’s good to have competitorsConnect With Ben SettleGuest Site: https://bensettle.com/Guest Site: https://berserkermail.com/ Guest YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@berserkermail Guest Twitter: https://x.com/BerserkerMailGuest Twitter: https://x.com/elBenb0Guest Podcast: https://berserkermail.com/podcastGet daily tips on sales, marketing, entrepreneurship...and a little Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for free at https://wesschaeffer.com/dailyNot for the mediocre majority: Learn how I get more done in a quarter than most achieve in a decade in 12 Weeks To Peak™ https://wesschaeffer.com/12wConnect with me:X -- https://X.com/saleswhispererInstagram -- https://instagram.com/saleswhispererLinkedIn -- http://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/#12WeeksToPeak #SalesTraining #GoalSetting #PersonalDevelopment #LifeAdvice #GrowthMindset