Why monsters need to be monsters in your sales copy

A true story relevant to writing both fiction & sales copy: I was once back-and-forthing about the 9-book Enoch Wars series of novels (I am launching the 9th— and final — book in the series today, and bribing the hell out of my list to get it, see below for details). And I got to telling Greg Perry — Oklahoma’s #1 used book dealer, and who also publishes the novels for me — about something I might change if I had to do the books all over again. It was about toning down a particularly gruesome part in the 6th novel. (That involved a monster eating lots of children — that I wrote 4 years before having Willis, and smacks a bit more roughly now than it did when I wrote it back in 2016…) And how I’d make it more of a fantasy the monster had. i.e., just a thought the monster'd have, and then snap out of, then move on to the story. Greg’s reply? “You’re too close. Keep everything. Monsters need to be monsters.” He is, as usual, correct. And it also got me to thinking what good advice that is for copywriters too. Way too many copywriters — and I was guilty of this 21 years ago when I first got into the copywriting game — never even come close to going far enough when it comes to showing the horrors and evils of what can befall their readers if the offer they are selling isn’t bought, consumed, and applied. A great piece of advice that “snapped” me out of being a weenie was: “You won’t know you’ve gone too far, until you’ve gone too far at least once. That was from the great Personal Branding author Peter Montoya. And it has guided all my writing every since: Fiction, email, sales copy, or otherwise. All right, enough. Let’s talk about my latest novel — the 9th and last volume in my Enoch Wars series — and the insanely valuable bonus training I will gruesomely bribe you with if you buy the book and send me your receipt by the Friday 8/25 at midnight EDT deadline. Greg (biased as he is) said this about the novel: “I just need to tell you how brilliant this is. How you took a series that seemed to be done and completely gave it an unexpected and glorious ending. . .A masterpiece Ben. SS is a masterpiece. It DEMANDS that I start back on book 1 as soon as things settle here. Which they might be about to do.” And as far as the bonus? Realize it can only be accessed in the Enoch Wars mobile app. So you will need an updated Apple or Android smart phone to listen to it. And it is called: “Email X-Sellence” It is an in-depth training I gave to Email Players subscriber Brian Kurtz’s private & prestigious Titans Xcelerator community about email copywriting & inbox delivery. Here are a few of the things I taught them: * A frank discussion between myself, Brian Kurtz, and an A-list copywriter with God-only-knows how many controls under her belt about how to use (and, maybe even more important, how NOT to use) humor in your emails and sales copy. * How to “connect” a topic or story in your emails to your offer when they are totally unrelated. * A deep, back-and-forth discussion on how to good at reading between the lines about what your list really wants or needs and what they say they want or what you guess they might want. * 4 things you can do (probably even starting today) if you struggle with always having something to say in emails, finding inspiration for emails, or getting into a routine of writing emails. * 2 Hollywood directors whose movies are near-perfect examples of how to build Vision (that can help make the sale sometimes without even using claims or benefits…) in your emails and sales copy. * Advice to younger copywriters for navigating the glut of goo-roos and bull shyt floating around, and how to know who is the real deal to be followed and who is full of crap to be avoided. * How to get away with selling right from your emails and not even needing a sales page. * An inside look at the “Anti-marketing” approach I take to business where I don’t obsess over (or even look at) my stats, numbers, metrics, or a spreadsheet while still growing a business that more than suits my needs. * The very LAST thing I would ever outsource in my business. * Why anyone prancing around masterminds or at conferences or on social media billing themselves as an “email deliverability expert” should be taken with a big, fat grain of salt. (And who the for real email deliverability experts are.) * The 3 most important (non-technical, that anyone can do — even if you’re brand spanking new to email marketing) things you can do to help your business get the highest email inbox delivery possible. (Our Chief Architect at BerserkerMail was recently telling me that of everyone using the platform I both send the highest volume of email and also get the highest delivery according to our Enterprise sending service… and these are the 3 things I focus on more than anything else, and always have.) * Why you should probably run as fast as you can from any email platform whose support tells you to “game” Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc for inbox delivery and engagement. * The single best way that’s probably ever been invented for making sure you’re writing engaging emails people want to read and will even look for you in the spam or promotions folder if you do wind up there. * What you can learn from the failed car company Saturn about email inbox delivery. * The shoeshine boy-turned world famous motivational speaker & sales author (who probably never sent a single commercial email in his entire life, for all I know) I recommend reading if you never want to have a problem with email engagement, inbox delivery, or sales for the rest of your life. * How to know exactly what to sell to your list with email that beats doing surveys, asking them what they want, or running yourself ragged chasing trends all to hell. * Why I don’t cater to, sell to, or try to attract zoomer customers. (Nothing personal against the broccoli-headed ones, and there are exceptions… but there is an important marketing lesson behind my reasoning that can help probably any business do better with email, marketing, and selling.) * An almost laughably simple thing any business (new to email marketing or seasoned pro) can do starting today to new opt-ins — the second they opt-in — that can probably help ramp up your sales, engagement, and email inbox delivery. * Why you should always assume your list is full of bald-faced liars (“buyers are liars” is one of the single most proven truisms in all of direct marketing), and not believe a single word they say. * A totally counter intuitive way (that I did not even realize was some big deal until recently, I just assumed all subscription offers buyers did it, but apparently not) of using email that can potentially get your subscription offer buyers to stick around longer and cut down on your churn. * Why subscription offers are suddenly so tough to make work lately for a lot of direct marketers — and what you can do to reverse that if your subscription offers are dying on the vine. * Hands down the single the best question you can ask on a survey if you want to make more sales, have happier customers, and grow a stronger business. * How to know what your list, clients, and customers want to buy… before they even do! (Only down side to this is, if you do it right, you’ll likely get people ignoring that carefully crafted sales copy you sweated over for weeks and months, and just go right to the order form to buy during your launches. A good problem to have…) * A once-popular show that is a near-perfect “template” for how to run a thriving, email-driven business with a passionate group of customers who potentially wouldn’t even dream of going anywhere else, or buying from anyone else but your business. * A quickie crash course in how to apply the Scientific Method to your business. * An email list curation secret straight from one of the single most controversial & polarizing books in human history that has been more responsible for my business having one of the most responsive lists in my niche than any other method I’ve ever used or tried in the past 20+ years. * How having a philosophy behind your business can automatically get the best customers gravitating towards you by “default”… while repelling the worst customers at the same time. (A philosophy is not something you can “swipe”, lift, or steal without looking and sounding like a complete moron. It comes from a very specific place unique to you. And while I don’t give any answers for people on how to formulate a philosophy or what kind of philosophy to have… you will hear a few different examples of what having one can look like to think about.) * Why it’s silly to let AI, fapGPT, etc write your emails if making more sales and building a lifetime relationship with your list/clients/customers is important to you. * And lots-a’ more. All right, one more time: To get this bonus (which, again, is ONLY in the Enoch Wars mobile app, and not available anywhere else - so an updated Android or Apple mobile phone is required to access it) you must (1) buy Enoch Wars: Serpent Seed in print or Kindle format before the Friday 8/25 at midnight EDT deadline AND (2) send me your receipt BY that deadline (not after — or it will be ignored). Here is the link to the buy the novel: (If you live outside the US, you might have to manually search for it on Amazon) [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com/enochwars/serpent]( Ben Settle P.S. A perfectly reasonable question some people have when they see me promote a novel in the Enoch Wars series is: “Do I need all the other novels to read this latest one?” And the answer is yes and no. Yes, if you want to read the story as intended. No, in as much as you will figure things out as you go, and it in many ways stands on it own. This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2023 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