The sneaky way old school copywriters pre-tested ads without spending a dime

True story: A few years ago, one of my Email Players subscribers said he wanted to know more about how to write emails and sales copy in a way where it’s hard for people to tell they are even being “sold” until the very end, and then they feel they need to buy whatever it is you are selling. There are lots of ways to do this. And the old time copywriting masters had this practically down to a science. Especially the great Norman B. Norman. I’ve known about him for about 20 years and have used one of his tricks ever since. I first heard of it in an interview Dan Kennedy did with Walter Bregman. (Do not ask me how to get that interview nowadays, no idea) And in that interview Mr. Bregman told a story about Norman B. Norman who invented a advertising methodology he used to call: “Knock-Knocks” This was based on how guys like that did market research. Which, incidentally, was door-to-door. In fact, some of these agencies were so fanatical about market research sometimes everyone from the executives and President of the company to the secretary would have to take part in these door-to-door market research adventures. i.e., everyone had to know the market. Something to tuck away for next time you have a meeting with your VA… Continuing with the story: A Knock-Knock was a hypothetical where when they had a new client they’d ask themselves “If I was dropped in a neighborhood full of people who would be interested in a product like this, what would I say — cold, door-to-door — to not only get someone to not shoo me away, but practically yank me inside to tell them more?” That was the basic gist of it. Walter used this as an example: Their ad agency got a client for a detergent. And someone at the lab said, in an off-hand remark: “This thing works just as good in cold water as it does in hot water.” Back then that was a big deal. They knew that because of all that door-to-door market research. And back in those days the hot water recapture speeds were a lot slower, and that was an inherently fascinating sales appeal to housewives. Thus, the idea of being able to do the laundry for a family of 5 or whatever in way less time was appealing. Which is where the Knock-Knock came in. They could imagine knocking on the door and simply saying: “This works as well in cold water as hot water” She’d make the connection easily enough. And apparently, in that particular instance, sales were off the chart. The only problem was, it was not a very good product. And they set a new record for product recalls. Which is another lesson in and of itself... The bad news is: Door-to-door market research isn’t all that practical anymore. Not only because most people work during the day away from home (well, pre-covid, at least), but also because people tend to not like door-to-door intrusions, find it creepy, and may even pretend not to be home or whatever. The good news is: There are some ways to do it online. And a few years back, I figured out one particular way to do it in the golf niche. A way that could work in any niche. And it worked so well, the intel I gained from it helped me write a sales letter (and accompanying emails) that helped us get $5 buyers (not leads, buyers — for an offer that was 3 or 4 or more times that price, you do the math…) at the time. It also helped me create a new headline tactic, too. And guess what? I teach exactly how I did this (that I can’t imagine anyone else not being able to use as well, and maybe even easier than I did) in my eBook I am giving as a bonus to a product I am selling as an affiliate today: “Ravings of an Adman!” This eBook is a compilation of 13 Email Players inserts — each 3 or so pages — that ran in the newsletter for over a year. They were stream-of-conscious mini-topics that were not enough inner-madness to build an entire issue around, but still highly Valuable, quick to learn (and implement), and straight from the asylum of my mind where I’m always thinking about email, marketing, copywriting, influence, and persuasion. They were wildly popular, too. And, in some ways, were more “tactically” useful than the issues they were included with. Some of the secrets inside this collection of inserts include: * The strange (but true) way I use to “get away” with strategically sending blatant sales pitch emails that lack any value or content. * WebMD’s clever trick for writing long copy sales letters and emails people almost can’t resist reading word-for-word. * Why it’s borderline immoral and evil not to outright SHAME your leads, market, customers, and clients into buying your products & services. * A secret way to get critical market data without needing any complicated or sophisticated tests, software, or thousands upon thousands of website visitors each day. * A nagging Facebook woman’s secret to selling high-ticket health offers without needing to make any claims, citing any benefits, or possibly even having to mention a product! * 3 email “power words” that can put lots more sales in your evil piggy bank. * A “mini swipe file” of 9 high-selling headlines (easily “adapted” to email subject lines) from one of the greatest copywriters who ever lived you’ve probably never even heard of. * The founding father of online advertising’s secret to knowing (without running a single test or asking another soul’s opinion) if an email is worth sending to your list or not. * How to write emails that make otherwise boring or irrelevant topics exciting and fascinating. * The “sock secret” to writing an endless number of emails that can sell the hell out of commodities. * The TURP (not Trump) method used by high-level negotiators to help blast up your response, sales, and profits. * The wannabe reverse engineer’s guide to knowing the mentality about how I start emails. * A disgraced blockbuster Hollywood director’s dirty little secret to making movies that break box office records. * 15 little-known & fascinating facts about the mysterious, insult-slinging recluse who was the greatest email copywriter who ever walked the earth. * A nearly “fool proof” email sale sequence structure almost any business can use to blast up sales with as little as an hour or so of “work.” * Advice to people who find copywriting to be more like slitting their wrists and bleeding over the page than “writing.” * Down & dirty “stealth” research tips that have been worth — literally — millions in sales of my own products and probably tens of millions collectively to clients I used to work with. * Another research tip (straight from the lips of the World’s Greatest Copywriting Coach) that has helped me invade multiple markets and niches I knew nothing about prior and make big sales out the gate. * What the world’s most secretive A-list copywriter (99% chance you’ve never heard of him, even if you are a copywriting fanboy) told me on a phone call back in 2008 that can potentially turn even a newbie with little or no talent into a proverbial mad genius with writing headlines. * How copywriters can use one of the founding fathers of podcasting methods (for doing interviews) to secretly get clients to write as much as 80%+ of your copy they pay you to write for you! * The official elBenbo guide to pricing your products & services! * How the late, great Gene Schwartz would sometimes “invalidate competition” in his ads to make it almost silly to even THINK of buying from anyone else. * And a whole lot more... but you get the idea. But this eBook is not for sale. You can only get it as a bonus via using my affiliate link (by tonight’s deadline) below to buy a secret copywriting course called "How to Convert White Space into Advertising That Sells”, for a fat $200 off the regular listed price. But a word of caution: The course is one of those esoteric programs that won’t appeal to everyone. Just us copywriting geeks & freaks, mostly. Frankly, if you just “casually” like copywriting I recommend a hard pass. It’s pretty much all Steak, and almost no “sizzle.” It’s also something the late, great Clyde Bedell created many years ago (in 1963) after the Newspaper Advertising Executives Association who saw his work “first hand” practically all but begged him to create an easy-to-use, systematic course after seeing how ridiculously successful his techniques were in so many different industries. And yes, a lot of it is 100% applicable to the internet. In fact, most of the course’s customers are internet marketers. All right, if you want my eBook and this Clyde Bedell course at a fat discount, do this: 1. Buy it at the link below by tonight, Friday 10/8 at midnight EDT 2. Once inside you’ll have access to everything — including my eBook. (No need to send me your receipt) Here’s the link to let your copywriting geek flag fly: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com/bedell]( Ben Settle P.S. Direct all questions about the product, your order, how to access the content, or anything else related to Michael Senoff — not me — using the contact info listed on the sales page. This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2021 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