Gary Cooper's technique for making content sound different than all the other pick-me's out there

An Email Players subscriber (not sure he wants me naming him) asks: “It looks like you attempt to just sound different than anyone else in your industry, rather than ‘taking The easier route’ and focus on entertainment and controversy. If that is so, do you have a certain ‘technique’ or ‘way’ to go about it or does is just stem from you genuinely being different?” There are a lot of things I do for that. And they all help me stand out from the shallow content pick-me's desperate for clout. But one thing probably anyone can do is in an interview with screenwriter Wendell Mayes. In the interview he talked about how the late — and very high paid and popular with his fans — actor Gary Cooper was a lot more complicated man than his critics gave him credit for. Ironically, I once saw an interview with another screenwriter (I forget his name off top of my head) who did not like working with Gary Cooper at all. Basically he said Cooper was not an actor, just a “personality.” Different strokes... Anyway, back on set: Wendell gave an example of something Gary Cooper did that is a perfect example of not only what made him stand out as one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors, with the top billing that comes along with such a reputation… but also something just a few high paid content creators in-the-know that I see anymore do today. Something I believe anyone — old or newish to the game — can do as well. Here's what happened: Wendell told the story about how in one of Cooper’s westerns there was a scene where a gunbelt hung on the wall and Gary Cooper’s direction for that scene was to take it off the wall. A very simple, ordinary, thing, with no deep connotation or direction in the script. Or from anyone else, for that matter.. But Cooper was not a simple, ordinary guy. And so he started doing something during the rehearsals that probably drove the entire set mad with impatience… and to the point where, finally, the movie’s director got fed up and had to ask him what the hell he was doing. i.e., "Why not just take the damn thing off the wall so we could move on?" Gary’s reply was, in many ways, priceless. And I mean that literally. Especially for anyone who creates and/or sells content. In fact, what he said is easily one of the most valuable content creation lessons I’ve ever heard. And long story short: What Cooper did not only made what would have been a very boring, non-dramatic, even "plain vanilla" task… but also made it so the movie was also probably a lot better and more engaging by default, and it almost certainly added yet another layer to his star power, box office draw, and celebrity status (and probably his infamy status too) all at the same time. Believe it or not, what he did had nothing to do with any inborn genius either. Nor was it a skill or talent thing. And when I read what he did I immediately thought about my own business… and it occurred to me how when I was just getting started especially there were two things I did to help propel my business far faster and farther than it would have otherwise… including past some of my more talented and well-connected peers back then. Those two things were: (1) Outworking any other copywriter, writer, or content creator (you can always outwork the other guy — even if he’s more talented, better connected, has more skill, etc) (2) Create my content, sales copy, with the exact same approach Cooper did to his scenes I didn’t read the Cooper story until somewhat recently. But I definitely did use the approach he did — and when I thought about it, others who have progressed very quickly in this business that I know have done the same thing even though they, too, were not naturally gifted at content, copy, marketing, selling, etc. And I believe this thing Cooper did — that I did just sort of out of necessity to stand out in an already growing marketplace starting back in 2002 — is why I was able to grow a more recognizable, profitable, and influential business than a lot of my peers who got in around the same time. Not because I’m a naturally “better” writer or content creator than they are. I can assure you (and my trolls would no-doubt agree) I'm not. But because of tapping into this same phenomenon Gary Cooper did to become a well respected and very high paid actor in a town and cutthroat industry full of talented actors with better connections, skill, ability than he did. You know who else did this thing Cooper did? I would argue the late, great copywriter Jim Rutz did. By his own admission (in an interview he did for the late Clayton Makepeace) Jim outright said he was not as well-read or knowledgable a direct response copywriter or marketer as the other A-list guys or know the books and rules like they did. And yet, during his day he was hands down always in the top 3 copywriters on the planet... even to the point of working on pure commission — no fee — such was his ability to create content (sales copy, in this case). Yes, I am deliberately teasing this whole thing. I could just come out and say it. But without the necessary context I gave in the King-Sized (32 pages vs the usual 20 pages) April Email Players issue where I teach exactly what Cooper did and that you can do in your content starting right away… it is highly unlikely anyone will give it the required respect it requires to use it... much less aggressively and ruthlessly do it vs just thinking you already know/do it when very few people do, even if they like to think they do. One last thing about how to "Cooper up" your content: Yesterday I mentioned some of my favorite content creators to study. Well, guess what? As diverse as those guys are, as well as their topics… they all use(d) Cooper’s secret too. If you want to learn it, do it, profit from it, then here’s the deal: 1. Today’s the deadline to get in on the April Email Players issue 2. Go to the URL and carefully read the sales page 3. Also carefully read the obnoxious yellow page you’ll see after clicking the link If you still want in after that then pull the trigger. Sit back and wait for the April issue to arrive. When it shows rip it open, and read the first tip - which is the Gary Cooper secret. Here’s the link: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle P.S. Here’s a lil’ taste of what’s inside this King-Sized issue: * A content creation secret used by famous actor Gary Cooper to turn otherwise boring, ordinary, bland, and totally “plain vanilla” scenes into fascinating & memorable moments people remembered for years afterwards. (Especially useful if content you sell is otherwise easily found free on YouTube or Google.) * A shrewd way used by everyone from Dr. Seuss to Mister Rogers to even Quentin Tarantino… for creating content people love to pay for and consume even if it’s not mind-blowingly original. * The “fights are bullshit” secret for writing emails that can potentially make lots of sales even if you hardly even mention your product or offer at all. (This is directly from the writer who helped make The X-Men a household name and a billion dollar IP for Marvel Comics. And it can work like a charm when creating other kinds of content, too — from sales copy and emails to books, courses, talks, and everything in between.) * An old school writing trick for making your content so compulsively engaging & hard to stop reading/watching/listening to it might even piss people off! (No joke — doing this not only pisses off Stefania whenever she reads or edits my content… but it even irked my book designer when she was creating the interiors of one of my books.) * 7 ingenious ways (based on what Dungeons & Dragons in the 80’s did to help stop IP theft in its tracks) to aggravate & foil content pirates who are probably drooling right now at the chance to steal and sell your hard work. * The “Scorsese touch” content creation & monetization secret I’ve been using for the last several years to help write emails that sell like crazy without having to constantly hard pitch my offers. (Including helping me sell scads of my perfect bound books that look like they should sell for $13 at Barnes & Noble for as much as a $1,000+ a pop…) * A content creation trick (that's gone all but extinct since the rise of “Influencer” culture) that can help you sell your offers on the sneak inside your content. (I also show you an example of an email doing this that got the highest clicks, opens, & sales for us during a highly competitive affiliate campaign… even though it barely even talks about “the product” or benefits or has all that many claims.) * 2 things amateur copywriters, coaches, & online marketers can do (starting immediately) to help grow a bigger and more influential business than their more talented & well-connected peers and competitors. (These are the exact 2 things I did over 20 years ago to quickly blow right past a lot of my own more talented, better connected, and far superior copywriter and/or marketer peers.) * A cunning way to craft content that can help your business stand out head & shoulders in niches overrun with competition and distractions. * An ancient kung fu fighting tip (used by the late, great copywriter Jim Rutz did a lot in his ads, believe it or not...) that can help make even the most mundane, ordinary, and typical content/information look & feel exciting and sexy. * A 3-point content creation approach pioneered by Earl Nightingale (when he was a radio broadcaster in Chicago) and later perfected by Dan Kennedy (when speaking on the Peter Lowe tour) that can help get your content ridiculously high engagement & sales. * Why always trying to be contrarian or a “rebel” is a recipe for ending up ignored at best or even an abject failure in the content creation game at worst. * How to use your content to seize the coveted “cat bird seat” (i.e., he to whom business seems to flow effortlessly) in your industry. (Old school Mad Men like Olgilvy, Burnett, Norman, Foote, Cone, etc were pros at doing this — and it’s one reason why each had their own horde of clients who gravitated just to them, only wanted to hire them, and often didn’t care how much it cost.) * How to approach content creation in a way where your name and brand can be all but “infused” so strongly in your customers’ braincells they start seeing you almost everywhere and almost in everything they look at! (I won’t say doing this is easy — it’s not — but it is the big secret to how you achieve true marketplace omnipotence where your content can spread to the four corners of the earth and all but sell itself.) * How to summon energy & excitement “on demand” to create content when you don’t feel like it, don’t want to it, and it feels like such a chore you’d rather be doing ANYTHING else but creating content. (The late Heath Ledger tapped into this phenomenon to help create his most memorable performance as the Joker. And I've been using for a long time to pound out all kinds of content even when I'd rather be doing something else. You can, too, if you take this approach to heart, apply it, and work hard at it.) All right that’ll do it. If you want in on time for this issue you have to hurry. Once the deadline hits tonight it’ll be too late. Here’s the link: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2024 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