You cannot just read these issues. You must become the email player. Here is a 3-step action plan based on the first 15 issues:
Step 1: The "Purge" (Issue #2 & #5) Go to your email list. Write an email titled: "You probably want to unsubscribe." In the email, insult a common belief your competitors hold. Be specific. Watch your unsubscribes spike. Watch your sales follow.
Step 2: Kill the Autoresponder (Issue #1 & #10) Stop relying on automated "Welcome sequences." Turn them off. Instead, commit to 30 days of daily manual emails. Use current events, grudges, and customer wins as your content. Ben Settle - Email Players 1 - 15
Step 3: The "No" List (Issue #5) Write down 10 things you will no longer do for clients/customers. Post it publicly. Then, double your prices.
Issue #5 is less about writing and more about business structure. You cannot just read these issues
The Lesson: What you refuse to do defines your brand. Settle lists his "Nos": No phone calls, no meetings, no refunds (on digital products), no speaking gigs, no coaching.
He argues that every "No" frees up energy for the "Yes." For the email player, the only "Yes" is writing the daily email and shipping the product. This issue alone has freed thousands of marketers from the trap of "busy work." Issue #5 is less about writing and more
The real value of Email Players #1–15 isn’t the snark—it’s the mechanics. Each issue includes:
By issue #12, Settle introduces his "Retro-Funnel" concept—using old-school direct mail postcards to drive people to an email list. The twist: the emails themselves are plain-text, personal, and often sent from a phone.