Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15 <90% PRO>

The early issues of Ben Settle's Email Players (Issues 1–15) established a radical "offline" newsletter model for digital marketers, emphasizing daily frequency, psychological "infotainment," and the rejection of standard marketing "value" tropes. These initial issues laid the foundation for his "Email Players Playbook" system, focusing on writing emails in under five minutes that simultaneously act as both content and promotion. Core Philosophies of Early Issues

Daily Frequency: Moving from weekly to daily emails to build deeper connections and explosive authority. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15

Issue #15: The "Exile" Strategy

The final issue in this collection is a blueprint for quitting social media forever. The early issues of Ben Settle's Email Players

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"). Taking controversial stances: Even if they lose subscribers,

The first 15 issues (roughly the first 1.25 years of the publication) established the foundation for Settle’s "infotainment" methodology—a strategy that combines entertainment with hard selling to make emails incapable of being ignored. Core Philosophies in Issues 1–15

  1. Taking controversial stances: Even if they lose subscribers, they strengthen the bond with the remaining ones.
  2. The "Villain" Arc: Positioning oneself against a common enemy (often the "gurus," the "mainstream media," or generally accepted industry myths).
  3. Unfiltered Authenticity: Writing exactly as one speaks, including flaws, typos, and aggressive opinions.
  • No Video: Settle believes video is passive consumption. Text forces the reader to think.
  • No "Funnel Hacks": There are zero tips on increasing Facebook click-through rates. Because Settle doesn't care about Facebook.
  • Focus on "The Grind": Issue #2 is literally called "The Boring Secret." It talks about showing up every day to write an email, even when you have writer's block, even when you have the flu. No magic bullet. Just discipline.

While each physical newsletter is exclusive to Email Players subscribers, the early catalog focuses on these recurring themes: