Yesterday I broke down what I think is the #1 difference between Ben Settle and I when it comes to the emails we write.
And that is our hero/heel positioning.
Ben positions himself as a “heel” (aka a villian).
And I position myself more as a “hero”.
Both ways work…
We just choose to have very different personas in our emails.
Now in addition to our different personas, there’s another BIG difference I see in the way we write our emails.
And this is one is something that we are literally polar opposites on…
And that’s how much (or how little) we share of our struggles and failures.
From reading Ben’s emails for the last 11 years, I would compare his approach when it comes to sharing struggles and being vulnerable to the approach that Trump takes.
Which is basically “show no weakness”.
Trump doesn’t want his followers to know he has problems.
Or that he’s worried about something…
He always tries to portray strength…
He wants you to believe he has it all figured out, and that you should listen to him.
This is very similar to what Ben does.
I remember joking with Ben when I first met him that his emails are like a “king talking to his peasants”.
He got a good laugh out of that.
But I think it’s accurate…
And for the villian role that Ben plays, I think it’s the right move.
If he shared more of his struggles…
Or he was open about his vulnerabilities…
I think it would be incongruent with his character.
And it would probably hurt him in the long run.
So sharing struggles and failures is not really a big feature of Ben’s emails.
Which is a big, big difference between him and I.
Cause I’m the opposite of that.
I try be more of the “every man” who you relate to.
So I share personal things like…
How my mom never believed in me and even called me a “scammer” when I was younger (and how that still hurts me to this day)…
Or…
How one of my ex’s dumped me and started dating a Cleveland Indians pitcher because I was a broke copywriter who couldn’t provide for her (talk about feeling like a loser)…
Or…
How I used to feel like a complete fraud as a copywriter, and I was worried clients were gonna discover that I actually sucked at copywriting and didn’t know what I was doing (a common feeling among most copywriters)
I regularly share things like this.
Mostly because I know it’s relatable…
And I know it will help you feel more seen.
So you may not be able to relate to how successful I am…
But you probably relate to a lot of my struggles…
And my embarrassing moments.
So that’s why I put a big focus on those.
Anyways…
I know a lot of my list is on Ben’s list as well.
So wanted to break that down for ya and show you “under the hood” of the things we do differently.
Lots of similarities between us…
But also a few key differences…
Either way, his emails are well worth studying…
So if you’re not on Ben’s list yet…
I’d highly recommend getting on it and paying attention to how he tells stories…
And how he uses those stories to sell a ton of books, courses and newsletters.
It’s really a master class in selling.
Plus you also get a handy 17-page email “cheat sheet” that’s loaded with tons of email ideas and winning subject lines when you get on his list.
So well worth getting on his list.
You can sign-up for his list (and snag a free copy of the 17-page email cheat sheet) right here.
Enjoy,
– Justin
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