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EDITOR’S NOTE:

Ben Settle is a copywriter.

He’s also a publisher, an investor, a novelist.

I’ve been receiving his daily emails about marketing and copywriting since 2015. Believe it or not, I have thousands of emails from Ben in my Gmail. 

And I’d say 80% of those are grayed out, indicating they’ve been opened. And if I opened one of his emails, there’s a very good chance I read the whole thing. Because Ben’s copy is designed to pull you down the page:

It always starts somewhere random, with something intriguing or curious, emotional. And it always ends somewhere familiar, with the same call to action. And somewhere along the way, Ben always finds a way to bridge the dots — to make a connection — seamlessly, masterfully. 

What’s more, he always makes it look easy. 

So it’s possible I’ve read — and enjoyed — Ben Settle more than any other copywriter. (I only wish I’d found his newsletter sooner.)

And now I’m incredibly honored to have him on for a VGC Micro-Interview. I loved it and hope you will, too. 

In only 523 words, Ben shares:

  • 2 things that make it almost impossible to lose in marketing…

  • The book he read over and over and over for 6 years straight…

  • Why it’s better to think like a Publisher than a Writer...

And more…

Please enjoy one of my favorite interviews to date. 

Thank you, Ben.

Let’s get started:

“What’s your work routine?”

A typical day - weather permitting - is waking up around 3 or 4 am, and choke down a fist full of supplements and nootropics. 

Then I work for an hour or two on the latest book or promo or email campaign with a big cup of spicy tea. 

After I see it get light enough outside to see, and sometimes when it is still dark to avoid tourists or other people, then walk for 10 miles for about 3 - 3.5 hours, during which I listen to audio/video content ranging from audio book biographies, to how-to business/marketing/copywriting, to socio-political content, to religious type content about current events, culture, prophecy, or whatever interests me in that area. 

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I also tend to do a lot of my customer service, phone calls, and many times content creation on these walks. 

When I come back I eat, nap, then work on something else later in the early afternoon - usually something related to my mobile app software company where I do more coaching & call-related tasks.

“What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”

I wish I'd thought more like a publisher and less like a "writer." 

You cannot scale being a mere writer -- copywriter or otherwise -- or have the kind of freedom, creative control, and income potential being a publisher of writing can do.

“What did your biggest professional failure teach you?”

My biggest failure was trying to start and revolve an info publishing business around Google and SEO -- specifically using article marketing -- only to watch Google "slap" article directories across the board, and wipe out almost two months of 10-15 hour days of writing well over 1,000 various articles, blog posts, emails, etc in a very short period of time. 

I learned about the stupidity of hacks & tricks, especially around a 3rd party platform like Google, and about the value of following the solid fundamentals of business building.

“What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your craft’s learning curve?”

Writing all those articles — 10+ hours per day when doing the above — to the tune of thousands of pages of content very quickly, forced me to write fast, pithy, and accurately, with as little editing as possible. 

Writing a single email each day or even a full length long copy sales letter is as easy as falling off a log now, when before that it was a grueling event.

“What book has helped you the most over your career?”

The System Club Letters by Ken McCarthy — specifically for imbibing the raw fundamentals of business, marketing, and copywriting. 

I cannot recommend it enough. It was — literally, and yes this is TMI — my bathroom reading for about 6 years straight. I don't let anyone borrow it…

“And your parting piece of advice?”

We are entering a time where you almost can't lose if you: 

1) sending your list daily consistent emails they look forward to & enjoy reading and buying from and…  

2) aren't a flake by doing what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it.

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