There’s always somebody out there

One of my all-time favorite movies is: “Rocky Balboa” I like it so much for two reasons: 1. It got rid of the nasty taste in my psyche left by Rocky V which, far as I am concerned, does not exist, never happened, and ain’t “canon” as the fanboys like to say 2. All the great success lessons embedded within Take, for example, the part where the current champ, Mason “the Line” Dixon, who is hated by everyone, seeks counsel from his old trainer Martin — the guy who made him into the champ, but was dumped in favor of managers who took over Mason's career once he got big. Mason is now publicly ridiculed and despised by boxing fans for having never fought a true contender, holding his own greatness back in the process and he knows it deep down. Here is the conversation: MARTIN: You got everything money can buy, except what it can't. It's Pride. Pride is what got your ass out of here, and losing is what brought ya back. But people like you, they need to be tested. They need a challenge. MASON: But you know that ain't never gunna happen, there ain't anybody out there Martin. MARTIN: There’s always somebody out there. Always. And when that time comes and you find something standing if front of you, something that ain't running and ain't backin up and is hittin on you and you're too damn tired to breathe… you find that situation on you, that’s good, Cuz that’s baptism under fire! Oh, you get thru that and you find the only kind of respect that matters in this world. Self respect. The gut shot in the above exchange: “There’s always somebody out there” A lot of online marketers — especially social media guys & ghouls who made it big due to the nature of algorithms and the power of charisma & status (a good power to have, btw, if you got it) without having to learn the basics of marketing — who have been coasting along since 2015 or so, are now finding this out. You can see it in their ever-more-desperate posts. Their whining about algorithms not being as generous as they used to be. Them having to resort to bottom feeding click bait for engagement nd getting paid on views instead of actually producing anything that benefits lives. There ain’t no way that’s going to last. Whatever the case: To use another Rocky analogy, once you win your title you have to defend it. While you get successful and want to coast and lay back a little… that’s when Clubber is training, working harder, gaining ground, coming after you. I have seen this over and over and over in the past nearly 23-years since I’ve been up in this business. It is why I always, every day, and have been doing so this whole time, from the moment my eyes open in the morning… focus on something one of my high school coaches used to drill into our heads: “You can always outwork the other guy” I have found this to be true across the board. You can’t control natural talent and aptitude. But you dayem well CAN control how hard you work. Anyway, something to think about in the coming weeks, months, years as the economy goes completely to pot. (The recent talk of lowering interest rates and flooding the economy with more debt notwithstanding — it will only delay the inevitable if it doesn’t totally crash everything, best to be ready…) “There’s always somebody out there” also reminds me of something else: A question I got from an Email Player subscriber. Since I am not sure if he wants me to name him, I am leaving him anon but it was a great question. I wish everyone thought about (and asked about) this sort of thing. Here it is: === I have a campaign that I’m putting the parents of my patients through when they enroll their child in our program. The campaign has three goals: 1. To give the parent comfort that they did the right thing by enrolling their child. 2. To educate them about what they can expect and what they need to do. 3. To ask for (eventually) referrals. Currently I don’t have any CTA’s in the emails. They are just warm fuzzy’s … and I’ve only written about seven of them. The question becomes should I put CTA’s in them? For example, we have a line of supplements that will help the process. (We do include some supplements while their child is enrolled, but we have more). I could point the parents to the cart for these items, but my feeling is that it’s too soon in the beginning and to wait for a week or two. Not knowing my market, can you comment on the general should there always be a CTA in emails sent to my list? === The short answer? Always sell the next thing. If for no other reason because there’s always somebody out there. And they will sell to your customers if you won’t. The longer answer? Is in the October Email Players issue. This goes much deeper, and there are even more practical reasons than I just gave above for my attitude about this, that has served my various businesses quite well, and that I suspect will serve your businesses just as well, or even better, potentially. All is revealed inside for those who possess it. The deadline to subscribe in time to get it is almost here though. So if you want in, best hop to it, Pokey: []( Ben Settle P.S. Here’s a taste of what is inside the October issue: * A clever way (I first heard back in 1998 in an MLM training from a sales genius) to ‘hack’ your brain into becoming more successful, having a bigger business, being more influential, or whatever your goals are. * The case for purposely looking like an asshole to all your friends, loved ones, and business peers. (Especially useful and profitable if you’re a hopeless people pleaser, and you know it’s hurting your business, your income, and peace of mind.) * A powerful merchandising secret (used for decades by the billion dollar retail store industry) that the late, great Gene Schwartz used to create some of his most memorable and profitable ads. * A “crash course” on how to set up your merchant accounts on rotation… with no one account getting all the sales, staying off radars during launches, and protecting your business from being shut down by a nervous Nellie bureaucrat if you make too much money too quickly. (I also show you the exact services I use… a guy you can contact right away to get the ball rolling who also can help coach you through chargebacks… the ideal number of merchant accounts to have… the exact best time to shop for a new merchant account… and where to find people to help you with the tech side if you are not comfortable doing it yourself. This one part of the October issue alone can potentially be worth 100... maybe even 1000 times the price over time — not only in lower fees, but peace of mind, time saved, and the list goes on.) * Best place to put a link in an email if you could only put one in and HAD to make the sale. (I put all mine in the same place in 99.9% of my emails — but that does not mean YOU should, or that I even would put it there, in every case. See inside for my take on this.) * A NON-email goo-roo approved fact (whether they like it or not) about placing links in emails to help your business get the best inbox deliverability. * How Steve Jobs and Walt Disney approached their content and product creation for maximum engagement, sales, and user-experience. (That you can apply to your emails just like they did to computers and animation.) * A clever method of crafting emails (found in The National Enquirer in all places) that can help get more of your emails delivered, opened, read, and clicked. * A geopolitical insight (straight from a respected Israeli military historian’s work about what causes wars and genocides) you can apply directly to your emails to get more sales, have more influence, and seize more engagement in your niche. * A little known insurance salesman trick from the 1950’s that can help give qualified prospects on your email list almost no choice but to buy your offers. * A sneaky way to use email to know what people on your email list want to buy before they even do! * Advice for whether or not you should sell something right away after someone buys or wait a week or two. * Why I recommend avoiding probably 99% of copywriting books, courses, programs, or training created post 2005. * The paranoid copywriter’s 10-word secret that can help make your copy as engaging (and, thus, as responsive) as you possibly can from headline to close. * An insider look at what Gary Halbert taught one of his #1 students about what the most important part of advertising is. * My uncensored opinion (probably nobody wants to hear) on the latest bit of jargon used by copywriters: ‘dimension’. * The “Faustian” secret to getting zero (or, at least, nearly zero) opt outs and spam complaints. * The world’s greatest living copywriter’s secret to more than tripling your skill level at writing sales copy within a year or less. 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