Email Players #1–15 isn’t a course. It’s a mindset manifesto disguised as a newsletter. Readers who implement even one tactic—like rewriting a subject line as a “personal note from a friend” or adding a single “enemy” sentence to every broadcast—often report doubling engagement within weeks.
For modern marketers burned out by AI-generated fluff and metric obsession, these early issues offer a breath of stale coffee and napalm. Just don’t expect to feel warm and fuzzy. As Settle writes on page one of issue #1: “I don’t want to be your friend. I want to make you money. Now shut up and read.”
Availability: Print back issues are occasionally sold as a bundle on Settle’s site. Digital PDFs are not available—by design.
The Email Players newsletter, created by copywriter Ben Settle, is a premium, offline monthly publication (print-only) that focuses on high-level email marketing, business strategy, and "infotainment" storytelling. The early issues (1–15) established the foundational principles that Ben Settle is now famous for, moving away from traditional "value-heavy" teaching to a personality-driven, daily mailing approach. The Story of Email Players 1–15
Ben Settle’s journey to creating the newsletter began 20 years ago when he was a broke, nearly bankrupt copywriter struggling with "analysis paralysis". He initially worked for clients but hated authority, leading him to seek a business model where he could be his own client.
Inspired by Matt Furey’s 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.
The first 15 issues of Email Players (launched around 2011) codified these "dark arts" of email, focusing on:
The "Red Pill" Moment: Settle's shift from struggling in MLM and traditional advertising to discovering direct response marketing through the works of legends like Dan Kennedy and Gary Halbert.
Breaking Guru Rules: The issues challenged the idea of providing constant "value" in exchange for sales, instead teaching how to bond with subscribers through personal narratives that make them look forward to every email.
The "Copy Slacker" Philosophy: Issues 1–15 laid out how to build a business that earns high revenue from a small, highly engaged list rather than chasing mass-market numbers. Key Themes & Features Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15
Offline Exclusive: The newsletter is $97 per month and delivered only as a physical paper publication, making the early issues rare and highly sought after by collectors of marketing "swipes".
Permanent Blacklisting: A unique part of the Email Players "story" is the strict policy: if a subscriber cancels, they are permanently blacklisted from ever subscribing again.
Actionable Tactics: Early issues cover specific techniques like how to plug products in every email without being annoying (Issue 1, page 58) and exactly what to write in a first auto-responder message to build immediate trust.
For more details or to see Ben's current daily tips, you can visit the official Email Players website or Ben Settle's blog.
Ben Settle’s Email Players newsletter, launched in late 2011, focuses on "Seinfeld" style, story-driven daily emails designed to build rapport rather than relying on aggressive sales tactics. Issues 1–15 introduced foundational direct-response techniques, including the use of micro-riddles, leveraging Gary Halbert-style psychology, and strategies for turning unsubscriptions into sales. For more details, visit Ben Settle. The One Email Training To Rule Them All - Ben Settle
Ben Settle’s Email Players newsletter is an offline, paper-and-ink publication that teaches business owners how to double their sales through a mixture of direct response copywriting, psychological analysis, and aggressive daily emailing.
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
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:
The Power of Infotainment: Settle teaches how to connect personal stories, pop culture, and philosophical observations to a product offer. This keeps readers engaged even when they are being pitched daily. Email Players #1–15 isn’t a course
Daily Emailing Rituals: 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.
Curating the List: Instead of trying to please everyone, these issues emphasize "repelling" the wrong people. By being polarizing and genuine, you build a loyal "cult-like" following of buyers while filtering out "freebie seekers".
Focusing on Pain Symptoms: Rather than hammering readers with generic product benefits, Settle advocates for highlighting the "painful symptoms" they feel—or will feel—if they don't find a solution. Highlights of Early Techniques
The first 15 issues provide a "bootcamp" in the mechanics of high-conversion emails:
Understanding and optimising the 5 important parts of an email
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.
If you are used to $997 courses with beautiful slide decks, private Slack channels, and workbooks, Email Players 1-15 will feel like a slap in the face. And that is the point.
The final issue in this collection is a blueprint for quitting social media forever. The Email Players newsletter, created by copywriter Ben
The Lesson: Social media platforms are rented land. You are a serf. Issue #15 provides a 30-day plan to migrate your audience from Twitter (X), Facebook, and LinkedIn to your email list.
He calls this "Exiling yourself to your own country." He argues that once you rely only on email, you never wake up to an algorithm change destroying your income again.
Most marketing gurus tell you to be friendly, humble, and helpful. Settle tells you to be a respectful pest. In Issues 1-15, he deconstructs the "attraction marketing" myth. He argues that polite, persistent follow-up (what he calls "the squeaky wheel") is the difference between a launch that flops and a launch that funds your retirement.
Settle spends much of #1–15 debunking marketing myths:
Within the first fifteen issues, Settle deepens Matt Furey’s "Soap Opera" concept. While Furey popularized the open loop (the cliffhanger), Settle focuses on the character development within the email sequence.
He treats the inbox like a Netflix series.
In these issues, Settle demonstrates that the "sell" is not an interruption; it is the resolution to the drama created in the email. The product becomes the tool the reader needs to achieve the same results or avoid the same pitfalls the writer described.
In today’s world of 90-day drip campaigns, Issue #3 is heretical. Settle suggests that long, pre-written sequences smell like automation. Instead, he advocates for "live-ish" emails—batches written daily that reference current events. He reveals how he writes 30 emails in one sitting and then sprinkles "freshness" into each one (date stamps, news references) to fool the brain into thinking a human typed it just for you.
Settle addresses the elephant in the room: Do you talk about politics in business email?
The Lesson: 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.
