Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15 -

The marketing world screams "Give value! Give free content!" Settle calls bullshit on this in Issue #4.

The Lesson: Unpaid "value" is just noise. If you give everything away for free, your paid offer is worthless.

He explains the "Candy Shop Model." You let people smell the candy (free emails). You let them see the candy. But you do not let them taste the candy unless they pay. This builds desire. He argues that over-delivering free value is the fastest way to go bankrupt. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15

Before dissecting the first 15 issues, you need to understand the man.

Ben Settle is a convicted felon (a story he does not hide, using it as a badge of honor). He is an anti-guru. He famously refuses to "grow" his business beyond a certain size because he values his time and sanity over chasing an extra zero in his bank account. His clients range from supplement sellers to B2B consultants to adult entertainment moguls. The marketing world screams "Give value

The "Email Players" newsletter is his flagship product. Unlike typical marketing newsletters that teach "10 tips for open rates," Settle’s newsletter reads like a private journal from a cynical, hilarious, highly successful mercenary.

The first 15 issues are particularly raw. They were written before he became the "established" figure he is today. In these issues, he is still fighting, still testing, and still furious at the "polite marketers" who lie to their audiences. If you give everything away for free, your

Issue #5 is less about writing and more about business structure.

The Lesson: What you refuse to do defines your brand. Settle lists his "Nos": No phone calls, no meetings, no refunds (on digital products), no speaking gigs, no coaching.

He argues that every "No" frees up energy for the "Yes." For the email player, the only "Yes" is writing the daily email and shipping the product. This issue alone has freed thousands of marketers from the trap of "busy work."