Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15 May 2026

In the noisy world of email marketing, few voices are as deliberately abrasive—or as consistently profitable—as Ben Settle. While gurus sell $2,000 courses on “funnels” and “automation hacks,” Settle has spent years championing a return to direct, conversational, and often confrontational email.

But his real goldmine isn’t his public newsletter. It’s Email Players—a monthly print newsletter (yes, physical paper) mailed to a tight-knit circle of subscribers. Issues #1 through 15 represent the foundational era of Settle’s philosophy, before the brand became synonymous with "enemy-fueled email." Here’s what makes this collection a cult classic among contrarian marketers.

Email Players 1–15 is a concentrated primer in a results-oriented, personality-first approach to email marketing. Its greatest value is less in novel tactics than in instilling daily-writing discipline and a sales-focused mindset. Use its lessons selectively: adopt the cadence and clarity, temper the tone, and prioritize long-term list health.

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Title:
The Unvarnished Art of Email Marketing: Lessons from Ben Settle’s Email Players 1–15

Introduction
In an era of marketing automation, AI-generated copy, and “growth hacks,” Ben Settle’s Email Players newsletter stands as a contrarian manifesto. Issues 1 through 15 lay the foundation for what Settle calls “emailing like a human being who isn’t a slimy used car salesman.” Rather than focusing on list size or open-rate hacks, Settle emphasizes direct, frequent, and personality-driven email marketing. These early issues reject the mainstream “bro marketing” advice and instead teach a philosophy: emails should be entertaining, useful, and slightly abrasive — because bland marketing gets deleted.

The Core Philosophy
From issues 1–15, Settle drills three non-negotiable principles. First, frequency wins: he argues that daily emailing (yes, even on weekends) builds a “mental movie theater” in subscribers’ minds. Second, controversy sells: Settle frequently picks fights with industry gurus, not for shock value, but to clarify his position and attract loyal buyers who share his worldview. Third, the subject line is a mercenary: it’s not about being clever; it’s about making a specific promise that the email body delivers.

Practical Tactics Unveiled
These issues are not just theory. Settle reveals several specific tactics. For instance, issue #7 covers “The Puppy Dog Close” for email sequences — giving value so generously that buying feels inevitable. Issue #12 deconstructs “The Hater Filter,” advising readers to intentionally write emails that make time-wasters unsubscribe, thereby sharpening list quality. Issue #14 introduces “The 6-Word Story” as a template for creating curiosity gaps without clickbait. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15

Case Study from Issue #9
In Email Players #9, Settle shares a client example: a supplement seller who switched from weekly “helpful tips” to daily emails blending personal stories, industry rants, and pure entertainment. Within 45 days, revenue per email increased 212%, and unsubscribes dropped. The lesson? People don’t unsubscribe from frequency; they unsubscribe from boring emails.

Critique and Limitations
Settle’s style is not for everyone. His tone can be aggressive, and some readers may find the constant self-promotion grating. Additionally, the advice assumes a responsive, warm list — a cold audience may not tolerate the same directness. Issues 1–15 also lack detailed analytics or split-testing frameworks, focusing instead on psychology and storytelling.

Conclusion
Email Players 1–15 is less a “how-to” manual and more a “how-to-think” about email marketing. Settle forces you to abandon metrics-obsession and remember that behind every inbox is a human who craves entertainment and authenticity. For marketers tired of the vanilla “value-first” orthodoxy, these 15 issues offer a bracing alternative: be interesting, email daily, and never apologize for selling. Whether you adopt his method wholeheartedly or adapt it, one truth remains — your email strategy is only as strong as your personality.

Next Steps for a Longer Essay
If you need a full 2,000+ word essay, here is the expansion blueprint:

Ben Settle’s Email Players newsletter (issues 1 through 15) represents not merely a collection of copywriting tips, but a foundational manifesto on the philosophy of autonomous business ownership. To understand these early issues is to understand the transition from "opportunity seeker" to "business architect."

Here is a deep analysis of the core themes, psychological frameworks, and strategic imperatives found within the first fifteen issues of Email Players.

Ben Settle’s Email Players is one of the internet’s longer-running newsletters focused on direct-response email marketing, copywriting psychology, and the mindset of a solo creator. Issues 1–15 offer an early, concentrated snapshot of the approach that later made the newsletter influential: short, provocative emails that teach selling through daily writing. This post summarizes the core lessons, highlights what works, and how modern marketers can apply Settle’s methods ethically and effectively. In the noisy world of email marketing, few

This is where Settle gets controversial. He introduces the concept that you need enemies.

The Lesson: You cannot serve everyone. In fact, you should actively try to repel the wrong people. Issue #2 details how to find your customer’s "enemy" (a bad habit, a rival guru, a government regulation, a limiting belief) and frame your product as the sword they use to kill it.

He dissects hate mail. He loves hate mail. He explains how every unsubscribe is worth $1,000 because it cleanses his list of tire-kickers.

In the crowded, noise-polluted world of email marketing, few names inspire as much cult-like devotion (or sheer agitation) as Ben Settle.

While most gurus push funnels, clickfunnels, and “automated webinars,” Settle preaches a return to the raw, ugly, and brutally effective art of direct response email. He doesn’t do podcasts. He doesn’t do YouTube interviews. His entire empire is built on a daily emailed newsletter called "The Email Players" — a newsletter so notorious for its "no-holds-barred" style that it feels less like a marketing lesson and more like a caffeinated pirate shouting battle strategies from a burning ship.

For new subscribers, the most tantalizing (and expensive) artifact in Settle’s catalog is the "Email Players 1 - 15" collection. This is not a course. It is not a PDF checklist. It is the raw, unedited foundational archive of Settle’s brain from the first 15 issues of his newsletter.

If you want to understand why Ben Settle has a rabid following of business owners who despise "bro marketing," you must understand what lives inside Issues 1 through 15. Title: The Unvarnished Art of Email Marketing: Lessons

Here is the complete breakdown.

The marketing world loves "product launches" with webinars, countdown timers, and scarcity carts. Settle hates them.

The Lesson: Launches create feast/famine cycles. Instead of a launch, just send a "Now Available" email. If your daily emails have built desire, you don't need a 5-day video series. You send one email saying, "It’s out. Grab it here." And it sells.

He details how he replaced a $25,000 launch with a single email that did $18,000 in 6 hours.

Reading Email Players 1-15 is jarring if you are used to "guru speak" like "leverage synergy" and "actionable insights."

Ben Settle writes the way he talks. The document is filled with:

This style is the product. By reading his emails, you internalize a voice that sounds like a human being, not a corporate chatbot. In an era of AI-generated generic fluff, this human aggression is worth a fortune.