Troy Broussard is the Co-founder of BerserkerMail, an email marketing platform designed to provide world-class inbox deliverability and user-friendly campaign building for marketers. A former Navy nuclear engineer, enterprise-class software developer, and API-level marketing automation specialist, he has built multiple multimillion-dollar software, SaaS, SEO, and native app businesses. Troy is also the author of the bestselling book Infusionsoft Mastery and has been a sought-after email automation consultant for over a decade. His expertise has helped clients collectively earn over $150 million in sales.
Ben Settle is the Co-founder of BerserkerMail and a recognized authority in email marketing, renowned for his expertise in crafting persuasive email copy and building strong, lasting relationships with audiences. As the publisher of the Email Players newsletter, he shares valuable insights on email marketing strategies. Ben’s contributions to the field have earned him recognition from industry leaders like Perry Marshall and Tom Woods. His approach focuses on engaging communication and fostering consistent connections with audiences to drive measurable results.
sales.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [9:32] The constant tug-of-war between simplification and complex automation in email marketing platforms
- [13:49] Why building tools for personal use leads to better product outcomes
- [14:41] The truth behind tech companies faking customer support interactions to appear responsive
- [17:02] Understanding “featuritis” and its impact on email marketing platforms
- [19:20] How rejecting unnecessary features keeps BerserkerMail lean, fast, and effective
- [20:58] The impact of image-heavy emails on engagement and sales
- [22:31] Leveraging language that sparks imagination rather than relying on visuals
In this episode…
Most email marketing platforms promise big results — automations, analytics, sleek templates — but often leave marketers frustrated and stuck. Overpriced, overcomplicated, and under delivering, they end up being more of a burden than a benefit. So why do so many platforms fail to meet the real needs of marketers?
According to Troy Broussard, a veteran tech builder, and Ben Settle, a seasoned direct response marketer, most platforms are bloated with unnecessary features that marketers don’t need and rarely use. They highlight the industry’s obsession with “featuritis” — adding more tools instead of focusing on what actually drives deliverability and results. The impact? Poor user experience, rising costs, and disappointing performance. By designing a platform they personally use daily, Troy and Ben built a tool that prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and real-world marketing outcomes. It’s a return to fundamentals — and it’s working.
In this episode of the Timeless Marketing Podcast, host Brian Kurtz is joined by Troy Broussard and Ben Settle, Co-founders of BerserkerMail, to discuss why most email platforms fall short and how they set out to fix it. They cover the dangers of feature overload, the importance of deliverability over design, and what it means to build software by marketers for marketers. Ben also shares tips for writing high-performing emails without relying on images or fluff.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Brian Kurtz
- Brian Kurtz on LinkedIn
- Chris Mason on LinkedIn
- Troy Broussard
- Ben Settle:LinkedIn | Website
- BerserkerMail
- The Brilliance Breakthrough: How to Talk and Write So That People Will Never Forget You by Eugene M. Schwartz
Quotable moments:
- “Many tech platforms reply to tickets for show, pretending to care, but rarely reading or solving issues.”
- “We’re one of the only platforms created by marketers for marketers, used daily by the owners.”
- “Featuritis creeps in as platforms boast endless features, driven by funding pressures, misleading comparisons, and misguided policies.”
- “Our whole thought was, ‘Instead of messing around, give them a good experience in the email.’”
- “In email, the reader’s imagination is far more useful to us than what we’re trying to project.”
Action Steps:
- Focus on simplifying email marketing strategies: Streamline efforts by eliminating unnecessary features, focusing on core functionalities to reduce complexity and enhance efficiency.
- Prioritize high-quality content over visuals in emails: Engage readers with compelling narratives instead of images to foster deeper connections and reduce email neglect.
- Adopt a user-centric approach to platform development: Design tools based on real marketer needs, avoiding feature bloat to keep them user-friendly and effective.
- Invest in reliable customer support: Offer responsive, helpful service to users, tackling the common issue of inadequate support in tech platforms.
- Leverage personalization and targeted messaging: Tailor email content to your audience’s needs and interests to boost engagement and conversion rates.
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by Titans Xcelerator.
Titans Xcelerator is a private mentorship program for direct response marketers.
It is one of the most giving communities and serves as the de facto board of advisors and marketing insurance policy for over 250 of the best and brightest direct response marketers, copywriters, media buyers, marketing agencies, senior executives, anyone in direct response marketing, who is committed to growing and scaling their business.
And you don’t need to spend 10s of 1000s of dollars either.
Titans Xcelerator is 1/10 of the price of most groups of its kind.
And with a private membership, you’ll receive access to the full presentation from today’s episode, along with the Q&A and discussion that followed.
As an added bonus, you’ll receive access to a vault filled with many more private calls just like this one.
The bottom line: you don’t have to grow your business alone.
If you want to see how Titans Xcelerator can help you grow and scale your specific business, go to BrianKurtz.net/help
Episode Transcript
Intro: 00:02
Welcome to the Timeless Marketing Podcast with Brian Kurtz. Your connection to insights from some of the top direct response marketing minds on the planet.
Brian Kurtz: 00:16
Hey, it’s Brian Kurtz here host of the Timeless Marketing Podcast. Today’s episode is a clip from one of the two-hour calls inside Titans Xcelerator, my private mentorship program for direct response marketers. Before we get to that, I have one question for you. Do you have a marketing insurance policy? If you don’t, you need one. And that’s why I created Titans Xcelerator, which is one of the most giving communities and serves as the de facto board of advisors and marketing insurance policy for over 250 of the best and brightest direct response marketers, copywriters, media buyers, marketing agencies, senior executives, anyone in direct response marketing, who is committed to growing and scaling their business. The bottom line, you don’t have to grow your business alone. And you don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars either. Titans Xcelerator is 1/10 of the price of most groups of its kind. I know because I hosted a group that was over $20,000 a year. If you want to see how Titans Xcelerator can help you grow and scale your specific business, go to BrianKurtz.net/help. That’s B-R-I-A-N-K-U-R-T-Z.net/help. And with a private membership, you’ll receive access to the full presentation from today’s episode, along with the Q&A and discussion that followed. As an added bonus, you’ll receive access to a vault filled with many more private calls just like this one. Again, if you want to see if Titans Xcelerator is a fit for you with no obligation, go to BrianKurtz.net/help. That’s B-R-I-A-N-K-U-R-T-Z.net/help. And feel free to email me directly. I respond to every email with questions about this episode or just to say hi, at Brian@BrianKurtz.net. Now onto today’s episode. I think Ben is on and I think Troy is on. Yes.
Troy Broussard: 02:30
Indeed indeed. How are you?
Brian Kurtz: 02:33
Hey, Troy, how are you doing? Long time.
Troy Broussard: 02:35
Yeah, it’s been a long time. You got some more hair going on.
Brian Kurtz: 02:39
I wanted to be like you. You didn’t know that?
Troy Broussard: 02:39
I know, but, see, I got more gray. So you got to work on it.
Brian Kurtz: 02:42
Yeah. And I had mine longer, and my wife and daughter said, get that. You got to shorten it. So.
Troy Broussard: 02:46
Well, I just about fell out of my chair because I saw that Ben was actually on the call visually, he was on video. I mean, you guys don’t understand. Like I go months and I still wonder if Ben is just a voice in my head because I rarely see him on video.
Brian Kurtz: 03:06
I assumed he was just a hologram.
Troy Broussard: 03:07
Yeah, yeah, you just never know.
Ben Settle: 03:10
How do you know this isn’t a hologram?
Brian Kurtz: 03:12
Oh, there he is. Look at that. And clean shaven too.
Ben Settle: 03:17
Yeah. I don’t know what these, you guys act like you’re seeing Bigfoot here or something.
Brian Kurtz: 03:24
So those of you who don’t know Ben and Troy, they are, well, I mean, I’ve known Troy less time than I’ve known Ben, but I feel like I know him well just because of who he is and what he’s done in the industry. And Ben and I are, you know, sometimes I think we’re two peas from different pods or something, but definitely brothers from another mother. But I’ve always just admired everything that Ben does. We’ve done some fun stuff. We did a video on Quentin Tarantino and Frank Capra on movies, and we’ve done all sorts of stuff just because we wanted to do it. And then also, he has been someone who actually I, as I recall, you did travel to my mastermind, right?