Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15 -

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.

Hell yes, if you want to. He argues that neutrality is a lie. By trying not to offend anyone, you excite no one. He details how to use controversial topics (pro-gun, pro-choice, left, right—doesn't matter) as a "filter" to find your tribe. He warns: Do not do this unless you have thick skin. Issue #13: The Swipe File Issue Issue #13 is a goldmine. He literally gives you 20 of his highest-converting subject lines and opening lines from the previous year. He annotates why each one worked (e.g., "This worked because it shamed the lazy people" or "This worked because it rewarded the paranoid"). Issue #14: Killing the "Launch" The marketing world loves "product launches" with webinars, countdown timers, and scarcity carts. Settle hates them. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15

Most people obsess over subject lines. Settle argues subject lines are a distraction. The real secret is pre-suasion —what happened in the email yesterday . What you refuse to do defines your brand

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. He argues that neutrality is a lie

He explains the 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. Issue #5: The "No" List Issue #5 is less about writing and more about business structure.