The most ruthless writing technique ever invented?

Following is a “secret” to creating tighter, more pithy, more engaging, and, dare I say… more ruthless writing. Not just for emails and sales copy-related purposes. But also for any and all other kinds of writing you do, too. Frankly, what I am about to show you (right in this email, I won’t obnoxiously just tease it, gonna tell you exactly what to do) is something that has dramatically improved my own writing in probably every single email I pound out, every single sales letter I write, every single bullet I fire off, every single book I author, every single Twitter post I brain fart, every single video or audio bit I record for the BerserkerMail YouTube channel (and, starting tomorrow, inside the BerserkerMail Facebook group we are launching, ooh…), and every single customer service reply I respond to… as well as every random text sent to friends & family, and even every piece of fiction I write. Are you ready? Are you set? Are you sure? Okay, then here goes — Stefania as my witness: I recently finished the screenplay (adapting my Zombie Cop novel). And while writing it (during October and November) I worked on it all morning, and again a couple hours before bed while Willis took his bath. I couldn’t not work on it. It was (still is, I just this week re-adapted the screenplay which was adapted from the novel back into rewriting the novel to make it much better — I call it “reverse osmosis content creation”) in my head, and I legitimately lost sleep sometimes because I was so anxious to get back to working on it the next morning. Yes, it’s fun to adapt my own IP. But that is not the only reason it’s so fascinating to me. Another reason is the process of writing a screenplay has easily been the single best power lesson in pithy, tight, “action-only” writing (ideal for copywriting — long form, short form, emails, whatever it is) I’ve ever gotten. The last time I got this kind of power education in writing was when I learned Paul Hartunian’s method for writing press releases. I probably learned more about the mechanics of “pithy” and downright ruthless writing from banging out lots of press releases via his system than any other writing, copywriting, or email source. But writing screenplays has taken even what I learned there to a whole new level. Every word must count in a script. You cannot meander or have even a single punctuation mark of fluff. And it’s like a game to eliminate as many lines and pages as possible, while making the story better, more engaging, more likely to be read by some low paid script reader looking for reasons to toss the script out and get through the giant pile of scripts he has to churn through each day. You also cannot cheat margins, font size/type, or anything else. (Has to be 12pt courier font, strict margins, etc which is very important for producers and directors to calculate projected screen time, budgets, etc) Frankly, if you want anyone to read it, it has to be way shorter than you want it to be. To give you an example of what I mean: The first draft for this screenplay was a whopping 174 pages! On the second pass I had it down to less than 120 pages. Now that it’s done after 10 passes (as per my Copy Slacker methodology, incidentally) I got it down to 103 pages and it’s probably 103xs better than it was at 174 pages, which is why I spent all week rewriting the novel based on the screenplay. To do that, it’s just cut, cut, cut… Every nibble of fat trimmed. Every corner smoothed down. Every dangling mite zapped. Every bloated description pared down to its core image/idea and every bit of dialogue ruthlessly curated, and the list goes on. Overkill? Well, maybe, but realize this: Years ago, screenplays — especially from new writers — would not even get looked at if they were over 120 pages. Now it’s much worse. They have to be around 90 pages due to lazy script readers and bean counters wanting a movie to be played more times each day to increase ye olde box office gross. This, and the shyt product Hollywood has been putting out over the last few years is just one of many reasons I believe the entire Hollywood system as we know it will crash in the next 10 years or so, and maybe earlier… with whole new opportunities rising from the ashes. Immoral of the story: Writing that screenplay forced me to become a better, more pithy, and more discerning and, yes… ruthless writer. Ruthlessly cutting, editing, re-writing, thinking how to say more with less words, and use more imagery and Vision than cold descriptions and facts. Not to mention being more ruthless about knowing what I leave out can often speak far more loudly than what is left in. Which brings us back to your business: This one tip alone — writing a screenplay — is a writing technique that can serve your emails, sales copy, and other writing quite well and radically transform all your writing in ways you cannot possibly fathom until you’ve done so. And before you even ask: No, I’m not saying you have to write a screenplay. Although it certainly won’t hurt your writing or your storytelling skills. And I do obviously recommend it. But if you don’t want to do that, then the next best thing would be to learn, practice, hone, and master the copywriting technique (there is a lot of overlap in how old school copywriters and old school screenwriters approached their craft, believe it or not) I spend a lot of time teaching inside the January Email Players issue. To be clear: I certainly did not invent this writing technique. It’s been around for a long time. And I can count how many books I’ve seen it mentioned in with 1 finger. But now? It’s no longer something I just casually think about and do — I am super focused on it, constantly obsessing over it with all my writing (including this email), and decided it was a perfect lesson to teach inside the January issue since it is the milestone 150th issue and I wanted to do something special inside. I cannot think of a better purely writing “technique” to use than this. And, again, this applies to any writing you do. Not just emails or sales copy or whatever. I think my best customers are going to be some smiling mo’fo’s when they see this. I know I have been the more I use it, see how much more engagement it gets, and how much more dramatic, memorable, and influential my own writing has become as a result the more I wrench on it in all my writing. The deadline to get in on time is practically here though. Once I send the list to the printer tonight, that’ll be it. I say this for the foolishly procrastinating types. This is not only arguably the most valuable issue I’ve ever written in my totally biased opinion, but also the meatiest — clocking in at 64-pages (over triple the usual size), not to mention I’m giving a free copy of my newest creation to those who get in by the deadline: “Email Players Annual #2: Mad Men Copywriting Secrets” You can read more about that in the P.S. But let’s just say it’s been a long time in the writing. Something I’ve “saved up” for just such an occasion as the 150th issue anniversary. To subscribe in time while you still can use this link immediately: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle P.S. Here are some of the secrets inside the bonus described above I’m sending with the January Email Players issue to those who subscribe in time for it: * The sneaky headline trick old school copywriters used to pre-test ads without spending a single dime. * Cunning advice (straight from a private, internal memo at the Leo Burnett agency back in the day) about how to trick egotistical clients (for their own good, of course) into running your sales copy “as-is.” (Old school screenwriters basically did the same thing to get scripts approved, today it’s practically a forgotten trick of the writing trade.) * A powerful Mad Men secret to making your business mysteriously attractive that can be like “catnip” to high-paying clients and others you wish to sell to or influence. * The World-Building technique all the Mad Men agency owners (the ones whose names are still on their companies today long after their deaths) used to position themselves as “the” agency to hire — with certain clients practically magnetically attracted to them, and probably even only them, and likely wanting nothing to do with anyone else. * How to exploit a dangling piece of psychological “wiring” in every human being’s brain to help make your emails and other marketing extremely hard to ignore and a whole lot more engaging. * A sneaky way to adapt Ogilvy’s enormously successful “Man In The Hathaway Shirt” ad from the 1950s into a high converting opt-in pages for your business today. * How the late Mad Man Leo Burnett would address a room of stuck up and snobby vice presidents of giant corporations to keep their egos in check and “prep” them for what he expected of them as clients. * How an old school phone salesman and high school dropout was able to ethically & legally out-negotiate & out-maneuver a room full of high-falutin’, and super educated and wealthy lawyers hired by a bank to get what he wanted. (Nothing directly to do with Mad Men — but what this phone salesman did is something that was quite common for people in the know to do back in the day to get what they wanted in contracts and deals.) * A clever way that certain bashful Mad Men copywriters used their shyness to help create far more powerful advertising. * A (admittedly bizarre sounding to most marketers today) advertising sales trick that David Ogilvy learned from a furniture salesman for turning a product’s flaws into reasons to buy. (Including tips for exactly how to turn high fees, bad reviews, and even slow service into reasons to buy.) * How David Ogilvy used good, old fashioned trolling (he was a world-class troll) to help get compliance and engagement from everyone from heads of corporations during high-pressure negotiations to his own wife in the kitchen. * A ridiculously effective door-to-door salesman technique (that, believe it or not, works even better on Facebook today, I have found) that can help you create headlines, offers, emails, and other marketing that can just seep right into the psychology and souls of your leads and customers, giving them almost no choice but to want to buy what you’re selling! (Does that sound almost like hype? Maybe so. But realize this: it was not uncommon for this technique to works so well it’d sometimes set record for product recalls for weak products.) * Just how brutal and soul-crushing old school Man Men were in their advertising campaign critiques. (One of the most respected copywriters of the day and creator of the famous Pillsbury Doughboy — Rudy Perz — said they’d make him feel like a “martyr”, and the creative director and original Marlboro Man model — Andy Armstrong — once literally suffered a nervous breakdown over one of these brutal critiques, if that tells you something.) * The little-known way the Leo Burnett Agency created such memorable and influential cartoon characters that helped sell truckloads of the products they promoted * The 7-word advertising principle that helped build one of the biggest and most respected ad agencies in human history. (And that is still around today almost 100 years later, while most have long-since floundered.) * Why fire-breathing atheist David Ogilvy was such a big fan of the Catholic Church. (Nothing really to do with copywriting or marketing, but his reasoning could be useful to anyone who runs teams or has lots of employees.) * The Mad Men attitude (almost non-existent today) that can help freelancers, coaches, consultants, and other businesses go from begging to business to having so many new leads practically begging to hire you you might even need a waiting list. (Best part: you don’t even have to be that great at what you do or, for that matter, “do” anything different — this is just a make a simple mindset shift in the way you approach your business.) * David Ogilvy’s bizarre email list-building secret (created back in the 1950’s — long before the invention of commercial email) that can also make your business stand out in an overcrowded marketplace and increase your sales. * A shrewd insurance selling method (that smart radio and magazine advertisers forced their customers to do since it worked so well) that can help drive your email response through the roof. * How an “honorary” Mad Man copywriter (who was a NYC public employee and not an ad man at all) used ANTI-direct response slogans to help create some of the most profitable and memorable advertising every penned by the hand of mortal man. (And yes, what he did can be used to write all kinds of profitable headlines, subject lines, bullets, and any other kind of direct response sales copy.) * A one-on-one interview with a “for real” Mad Man! In fact, the TV show producers even consulted this guy due to him being in the thick of the agency business back then, and who was involved with campaigns like The Marlboro Man, Fly the Friendly Skies, & industry-famous campaigns for Gallo Winery, Proctor & Gamble, Colgate, Vicks, Chanel, Max Factor, Philip Morris, and the list goes on. This interview is a rare look into the psychology behind how these guys worked. How they thought. And, yes, how they made lots of money for their clients and themselves. Here’s the link: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2023 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 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