How skinny Ben made fat sales in the weight loss market

Many years ago (way back in 2011) I gained ownership in a weight loss business. Specifically, selling eBooks about weight loss to women. Now, I’m not a woman. Nor am I overweight. Nor do I pretend to understand what being a woman is like. Thus, to sell to that market — and the ads & emails I wrote were ultimately enormously successful — I had to do some intense market research. Not just the typical kind of research where you talk to people in the market, read amazon reviews, look at other successful ads in the industry, etc. That is all useful. But the kind of research I did was far more… words-on. Here is what I mean: 1. I found the 3 biggest forums where the market hangs out 2. I sorted the posts by order of both number of views and number of comments 3. I read the STORIES people told in those threads and, without violating any copyright laws or anything like that, used all the hidden pains, stories, angst, problems, solutions, etc they talked about (that market would never admit to someone trying to interview them about what it’s like to have their problem) in my advertising. The result: Ads & emails no “copywriter” could write — including me. I let the market write the copy. Using their own way of wording things. Their way of describing the problem. And their other frustrations, fears, inspirations, etc. That’s why my emails would talk about things like their evil “friends” tagging their heavy pics on social media to purposely bring them down a notch or two. Or about that time when a woman (who was not pregnant) struggling to lose weight was asked by someone they’d just met when the baby was due. Or about one person in the market being told they are a “cardiac event waiting to happen” by their doctor. Or about the wife in tears after her husband told her he’s embarrassed of her weight, etc. In other words: I wrote about honesty. Honesty you can only get in places where people feel safe talking about such. Thus, the power of social media when used correctly. And, especially a social media platform where a bunch of drive-by traffic isn’t listening in, that is private, where the platform itself isn’t logging their every thought and word to be used in “creepy line” nefarious ways. Which brings me to our new SocialLair platform. One of the best ways to use it is customer and market research. The fact it’s private is a huge factor in getting people to open up. And the fact you have so much control over who is inside your own walled garden, who can comment, who can be invited, etc is also a big factor. A powerful tool for marketers. And especially for copywriters whose clients use SocialLair. In fact, if I was doing freelance copywriting, I’d use it to gather people in the markets I specialize in selling to for not only market research, but also possible JV opportunities with my clients. i.e., if I had a lot of financial market clients, I’d build a Lair just for that market. I’d become one with that market, become friends with it, become a part of it. When it came time to write ads to that market they’d be full of nuances and research not found anywhere else. And I’d make deals with my clients to sell their offers in my Lair to “my people.” The sales page explains some 33 ways to use SocialLair. And those ways aren’t even getting creative. The possibilities are probably endless. Anyway, you can still see for yourself via a free test drive of the platform. That is, if you hurry. Here’s how it works: 1. Until tonight (Friday June 11 at midnight EDT, or possibly earlier depending on demand) you can get a free test drive of it — after which free test drives will be closed for a while to “iron out” any lingering bugs & glitches, etc 2. Use it, fill it with content, even post ads inside & show it to your clients & colleagues if you want… and see if it “clicks” for you — with no credit card needed, and zero obligation 3. If you decide to subscribe during this test drive… you can have it for $35/month instead of the $50+/month it will cost in the future. Plus you will be “grandfathered” in for life at that price forever. (Barring any sudden rise in hard costs imposed on our systems due to 3rd party forces beyond our control — which is highly unlikely.) Bottom line: If’n you want to test drive it free, I highly recommend you do it now. After multiple software launches I’ve seen how it ain’t like info products. By that I mean, you don’t want thousands of people piling in right away. That only makes for a lot of frustrated & unhappy customers. It’s much better to grow slowly and roll out over time. Thus, today’s deadline to get your free test drive may get abruptly shortened without warning. And, even people who get in for the test drive may not be able to buy for a while if you linger too long to make a decision once inside. And of course if that happens where we close it early due to demand… and you wait too long to buy it after taking your test drive, you will miss out on the above savings. We shalt see how it goes. Really, it all depends on the demand. So this does not favor the procrastinator. To get the full details read the page carefully here: Ben Settle Copyright © 2021 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA To unsubscribe or change subscriber options, visit: