Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15 2021 Jun 2026

Early issues codified several "Success Maxims" that Settle still teaches today:

In the world of direct-response marketing, few names evoke as much strong reaction—or as much profit—as Ben Settle. Widely regarded as a modern master of email copywriting, Settle pioneered an aggressive, high-frequency, entertainment-focused style of email marketing that flipped traditional corporate communication on its head.

– Ben Settle has a long-running free daily email and podcast that covers many of the same principles as the Email Players issues. Subscribing to those is the ethical way to get his core ideas for free.

: How to write emails that look like pure content or storytelling but are actually "stealth" sales letters that sell without being "salesy". Turning Unsubscribes into Profit

These issues serve as a meta-template. By reading them, you are not just learning how to write email; you are learning how Ben Settle built a highly profitable, recurring print newsletter business model. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15

Inspired by lifestyle—writing one daily email and then being done for the day—Settle spent years refining a system he calls "infotainment" . This method treats email like talk radio: entertaining, personal, and consistently leading to a call to action.

A central pillar is the "daily email" habit. Settle argues that if subscribers like your content, they can't get enough of it; frequent mailing establishes authority and keeps your brand top-of-mind.

He treats the inbox like a Netflix series.

Start with a bizarre, funny, or provocative story from your daily life, pop culture, or history. Early issues codified several "Success Maxims" that Settle

The early issues of Email Players focus on shifting a marketer's mindset from "providing free value" to "selling with every word". Key themes include:

These early issues aren't just archives; they are the "Red Pill" for anyone tired of low open rates and "polite" marketing that doesn't sell. What’s inside the "Foundational 15"? The first 15 issues of Email Players

Most marketers were obsessing over click-funnels in 2016–2017. Settle used issues #9 and #11 to argue that funnels are "digital debt"—they look good on a whiteboard but fail in real inboxes. Instead, he proposed the "one-email sale," where a single, well-crafted message drives the entire transaction.

Once the structural habits are formed, the next phase of the newsletter tackles the second biggest hurdle marketers face: What do I actually write about every day? 1. Mining Daily Life for "Email Gold" Subscribing to those is the ethical way to

: Settle argues against putting customers on a pedestal or trying to be "liked." Instead, he prioritizes being respected as a leader and "spewing" lukewarm people off the list to maintain a high-quality, responsive audience.

: A core gift for new subscribers that outlines a 94-email daily sequence (3+ months of content). List Building (Issue 2 & Beyond)

from issues 1–15 (without copying the text):

The Email Players newsletter by Ben Settle is a legendary resource in direct-response marketing. This comprehensive breakdown analyzes issues 1 through 15, revealing the core strategies that transformed email copywriting. The Foundation of Email Players

Issues 1–5 formalize the basic anatomy of a high-converting daily email: