The curse of the marketing pivot

Let us hearken back to when the Covid lockdowns first happened in March 2020. I heard the following “second hand” — so may be missing some content — because I don’t hang out with other copywriters and marketers (or, really, anyone else) much these days. And I especially don’t hang out with them on Facebook. But Stefania is still on there for her resale business in the buy/sell groups. And she still is connected to a lot of people in the copywriting and marketing world. And I remember her saying how many online marketers, Facebook life coaches, copywriters, etc suddenly — all in unison — started using the word… “Pivot!” … when all the lockdowns & quarantine nonsense happened. Everyone was suddenly an expert on how to pivot. And it was just pivot this. And pivot that. And time to pivot. And here’s how to pivot. And if you don’t pivot you’re screwed, yada yada yada. I get what they were saying. And I mean no disrespect to it, nor do I think they were wrong necessarily considering the lack of business owners who understand the fundamentals of marketing who were able to get by during the fat and easy-credit years. But in my way of thinking, if you have to pivot then that means you were never very strongly positioned in the first place. That is certainly no crime. And sometimes it’s unavoidable if you get caught with your pants down. But, in most cases I’ve seen, it merely exposes pre-existing weaknesses. For example: I changed absolutely nothing about my company and made more sales in 2020 than during any other year I’d been in business to that point. And I never once “pivoted.” All I did was adjust a little here and a little there, to exploit several opportunities I saw amidst the chaos of that year Like Covid obviously. But also the Black Lives Matter & Antifa riots, too. And you know what? I spend a lot of time in the upcoming “King-Sized” (28 pages vs the usual 20 pages) January Email Players explaining what I mean by all this, as well as how I used those two “crisis’” to make out like a bandit while also benefiting my customers at the same time. And it’s all related to a powerful way (literally anyone who has a list and legitimate business — whether brand spanking new in their industry or seasoned pro) you use to potentially profit during harsh economic times, so that your business doesn’t flail and wither away, but can instead grow and prosper the worse and more “f’d” up things get, with a customer base that is potentially far more rabid about listening to you, buying from you, and following you the farther the rest of the world sinks into despair. It’s not about milking money from misery. It’s about “transmuting” that misery into joy and peace of mind. Both for you and your customers/clients. But I have got to warn you: This one is not really a “how to” issue, as much as a “what to do” issue that requires thinking, introspection, and individual adaption to your specific business, situation, and market. I cannot do those things for you, any more than I can wipe your nose for you. Let the goo-roo fanboys take note. They will be especially disappointed by the almost “Pollyanna-ish” info inside that, I believe, can potentially blast a smart business owner’s sales & influence not just to the next level, but another 5 or 6 levels above that, even as the rest of the marketing world proceeds to keep doing what they’ve been doing, getting the same poor results they’ve been getting, while constantly chasing the same nonsensical bright shiny objects they’ve been chasing. That mean ol’ deadline is tomorrow. Subscribe while the subscribins’ still good right here: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2022 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. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA