best copywriting critique service I ever done used

A righteous bone for those looking for copy critiques: An Email Players subscriber once offered to pay me to critique his email in the weight loss niche. And while there was a time (the first couple years of my Email Players newsletters' existence, circa 2011-2012’ish) when I would do email critiques for new paying subscribers, I never enjoyed it. If anything, I found it a drag on my time and attention. And, frankly, it was not something I think anyone up in my world should be paying me for anyway, as I am probably the last guy who should critique their work. There are a few A-listers who do great critiques worth paying. But even they are not as good as the service I am about to recommend. A service that will likely do a far better job than a copywriter can, that does not even charge for its services (if they did, I would then avoid), and that, if you know what you’re doing, can radically change the way you write your ad copy if you take their feedback to heart, don't fight it, or let your ego get in the way. In fact, I used this service myself many times. Like, for example, when I co-owned a business selling eBooks to overweight women many years ago to the tune of turning 40%+ of the list (according to the late Jim Yaghi who ran the traffic, at least) into buyers. And it was probably a lot more than that since we were selling a ton of Kindle books and there was no way we knew of at the time to track any of that. But I did indeed find this particular resource for critiques invaluable at the time. It not only helped write my headlines but entire emails and big chunks of copy, too. All free and mine for the using as I saw fit. So what was this service, you ask? Well, it’s like I told my subscriber above when he asked me to critique his work: “the best people to critique for weight loss copy is fat people, not copywriters” i.e., the market is the best critique "service." I know that probably disappoints a few eager-beavers reading this. A lot of copywriters think they need some secret or tactic or trick & tip... the magic headline formula or turn-of-phrase that'll propel their response into the stratosphere... instead of zeroing in on the raw basics & fundamentals. Like, for instance, knowing the market better than you know your own best friend. That is how I approach the markets I know nothing about... I talk to them, stalk them (online), and walk with them as much as I can. You can tell who does that and who doesn't. The ones who don't just study ads, those who do study the people. In weight loss, for example, this is why few of my ads sounded or looked like anyone else's. I wasn't swiping my competitors, I was swiping my market. Same when I wrote ads in golf, self-defense, for MLMers, and the list goes on. All enormously successful, all because I studied the market first and foremost. This certainly ain’t just my experience either. If anything, I learned this approach from much better copywriters than I will ever be. I remember hearing how Gary Halbert would write ads aimed at the blue collar workers, take his ads to the bar, and pay people to listen to him read them aloud and give their feedback. When he did his famous Coat of Arms sales letter he talked about how much of a failure he was at it until he started knocking on doors and talking to would-be prospects. If you’ve seen an early version of that letter, it’s rife with typos, none of the versions I saw had a headline, there were no screaming bullets or fascinations, nothing that the goo-roo fanboys would get excited about. It was just a letter, written to someone in the market, about them, their wants, and inside their world. And so it goes. I rarely trust anyone’s opinion on my copy outside of the market. And even then it’s mostly just structural advice, formal stuff, etc. If anything, I’ve received some of the WORST advice from copywriters and realized I was often much better off doing the opposite of whatever they would say in some cases, unless (UNLESS...) they knew the market better than I did. In those cases, having a copywriter critique your ad can move mountains, in my experience and can be worth whatever they charge. But the ones who gave bad advice? It wasn’t bad because they aren’t great copywriters — they all have been, and much better than me probably — but because they did not really know the market, or study it, or certainly not talk to anyone in it. It’s why my weight loss emails for example did great, the copy did great, even though they had no before and after pics, looked amateur (the design, zero flash or dash), had a pic that probably most women hated, had few of the same claims you see in other ads in that market, etc. For instance, while they'd talk about losing x number of pounds I'd tell stories like some evil bytch tagging a woman's fat pics on Facebook just to keep her demoralized and heavy. One day I may even compile all those emails (100s of them) into a big swipe file and sell it. We'll see. Anyway, this does not mean I did not make lots of copywriting mistakes. But even when I did, it did not really matter as much as it ordinarily would because I knew the market so well to the point I gained genuine (not temporary) empathy for it. And to this day I think 99% of advertising in that market — almost all of it predatory, and not in any kind of way someone with a conscience would brag about — is insulting, stupid, and serves the revolving door the niche is known for, even while wondering why they can't sustain their numbers while focusing more on acquiring new customers than building relationships with and selling more to their existing customers. Anyway, I don’t know where else I’m going with this. Except, maybe this: In the September Email Players issue I breakdown one of my sales letters down page-by-page, bullet-by-bullet, and precept-upon-precept to explain all the psychology behind what makes it work, that I suspect anyone could take and apply the principles that make it work to your own business’ ads, emails, marketing. And one of the things I talk about is why I despise the typical mercenary approach copywriters take (response at all costs -- and at the customer's expense in many cases) I am referring to, although from a different perspective that I think many who read it will find as unique as it has been valuable to my own business. I also predict this will get even MORE so in the coming months. As the economy goes down, skepticism goes up. Money is not as easily parted with. And peoples’ BS detectors go into overdrive. But, I believe if you approach writing your copy the way I teach in this issue, all that skepticism will likely make your ads stronger, your response higher, and your profits greater — assuming you follow the spirit behind what I am trying to say, generate quality leads, and avoid swiping, fapGPT’ing, and approaching everything as just a “tactic” like a lot of copywriters unfortunately do. That’s my opinion anyway, and so it is. You can read more about what’s inside this issue in the PS below. But if you want to subscribe in time before the deadline go here: []( Ben Settle P.S. Here’s more of what awaits you in the September Email Players issue: * A bit of a strange copywriting writing trick I learned from an attorney that can help (1) make your sales copy more legally compliant and (2) increase your sales at the same time. * A bizarre secret (found all throughout the Bible) that can help automatically give your ad copy more credibility, more drama, more intrigue, and, yes, more sales. (And no, it does not matter if you’re writing to anyone religious or even "turning on the rotisserie" atheists — does not matter, this tweak of human psychology works across the board.) * What the great retired A-list copywriter Doug D’Anna told me on a Twitter Spaces call about what would have made his world class copy even better, stronger, more responsive had he focused on it more early on in his career. * The sleepy-looking “S-word” you can add almost anywhere to your sales copy to snatch more attention, nab more engagement, and grab more response. * An ingenious way of writing bullets in a way that feels like you are teaching something but, in reality, you are only making the reader hungry to buy what you’re selling. * A Hollywood screenwriter secret that can not only make your ads more persuasive, but can also make the experience of buying as fun and enjoyable as child opening Christmas presents. (Not even exaggerating either — this is the exact same psychology that makes it so a child can’t sleep at night before Christmas but applied to your advertising. Powerful stuff. And most copywriters never think about it.) * A writing secret used by Stan Lee (when naming the fictional country of Wakanda that sounds so real many people literally have admitted to looking for it on a map) that can add lots of drama to your sales copy. (The secret is also “baked” into the mega selling book title “The South Beach Diet”, if that tells you something.) * A neat little twist you can put on your ad copy bullets that can help make them automatically (the brain almost can’t help itself but focus on what you’re selling when doing this) get more attention, more engagement, and more sales. * One of the best places to learn how to write powerful headlines that practically nobody look at anymore. * A “quickie” guide (you can see on display in one of the late Gene Schwartz’s most infamous ads) to writing persuasive pre-headlines for your ads and sales letters. * A trick I learned from the late, great copywriter Robert Collier for writing longer (even entire paragraph-sized) bullets without losing peoples’ attention. * Why it can be a big, fat, even business-fatal mistake to write to, pander to, and sell to “hyper buyers.” (I doubt 1 in 1000 copywriters will agree with this controversial — but absolutely proven in my 22+ years in the game — take on copywriting. I even had to explain this to one of the world’s top direct mail guys recently, but he understood after I showed him my side of the story. Yes, hyper buyers are easy to sell to, and yes you can get a lot of buyers, and yes that is who probably 99% of copywriting books, courses, teachers tell you to focus on selling to… but if you are the business man who has to deal with the fallout of catering to them, I suggest reading this very closely and carefully. Most copywriters take a mercenary approach and only care about “response” — which is a big mistake, imo. Anyway, more about this inside.) * A clever way to write deck copy (the copy under the main headline) that takes away some the “bite” people feel when reading a sales pitch — potentially making it more likely to be read, consumed, bought from. * One of the top 10 copywriting courses I posses that isn’t even about copywriting. (Admittedly I do not know where you can get this today, except maybe on eBay.) * How to choose the perfect photo for your sales letters. * How to structure your ad copy opening sentences in a way that has “built in” believability and credibility. (Probably even if you say something totally crazy.) * 3 magic transition sentences (based on what the late, great A-list copywriter Jim Rutz did in his ad copy) that can help make your sales letters, emails, and other marketing compulsively readable. * A delightfully sneaky way to get rid of “sticker shock” when selling high ticket offers. * A shrewd (but gutsy, almost nobody will even test it, they’re too scared) way of writing sales copy that can help open the reader’s mind, automatically lowers his sales defenses, and sometimes completely removes price resistance. * Why so much sales copy written by zoomers (that has nothing to do with the quality of their actual writing) gets ignored or even mocked by prospects they are attempting to sell to. * How to “recruit” celebrities to help write your ads without paying them anything. * An unusually persuasive way (that, I think, was invented by Gary Halbert) for writing bullets that add a thick persuasive layer of interest, intrigue, and engagement to nab sales you probably would not get otherwise. * How to shamelessly (but legally and ethically, no stealing or plagiarizing required) use the work of experts (even famous experts) about whatever you are writing about to help better sell your offers. * What to say when you get to the last third of a long sales letter to help keep readership higher, more engaged, maybe more likely to buy. * A surprisingly effective way to use yellow highlighting in sales copy to nab way more readership and sales than you probably would otherwise. * 3 tried-and-true sentences (you can swipe “as is” if you want, I don’t care, and don’t even know who first invented them) to segue into your close — whether in long sales copy, emails, or any other kind of advertising. * And a ho' bunch more. In fact, I am also including a special 8-page bonus report called: “The ‘Get off my lawn!’ Zoomer-Friendly Direct Marketing Cheat Sheet” I don’t, as a rule, cater to Zoomers, pander to Zoomers, or have much to offer Zoomers. Not even necessarily through any fault of their own, either. Usually when they come at me I’m like the old fart in the lawn chair telling them get the hell off my property. But a couple months ago a guy asked if he could interview me by email. His questions were coming from what sounded like a Zoomer perspective. I cannot say he is a Zoomer for sure, though, as I have never seen him. The questions just come off as Zoomer-ish. Good questions though. And he came at me with respect, and not with any idiotic entitlement like a lot of the youts do. Anyway, I thought my answers might be useful for all generations of Email Players subscribers. Especially since they are quick, raw, and curt. Just like my temper when I see Zoomers on my lawn… All right, that’s what awaits you in the September issue. To subscribe in time to get it while you still can go here: []( 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