Before we dive into the racism, I’d like to remind you of my Copy Riddles program.
Somebody once told me that Copy Riddles is expensive, considering it just teaches you one niche copywriting skill.
I have to agree. But I also have more to say about it at the end of this email.
For now, let me tell you about the late great Patrice O’Neal.
As you might know, Patrice was black — a fact that will be relevant in just a moment.
Patrice was also the favorite comedian of a huge number of top comedians of the past few decades. Bill Burr, Norm Macdonald, Andrew Schulz — those are a just a few top comedians I found after a two-minute Google search, who all said there was nobody as funny as Patrice.
I’m using that to set up a contrast to the following. Because racist rants aren’t funny, are they?
Maybe they are. Or maybe they can be.
Take for example, Patrice’s HBO special, One Night Stand. It aired in 2005.
Patrice opens up without any of the usual, “Good to be back, how are you guys doing” fluff. Instead, he launches straight into his material. He says:
“So how many people are getting sick of the Hindu obstacle course at the airport?”
The audience laughs uncomfortably. They’re sensing this might not be stuff they should be laughing at, and they’re wondering where Patrice is leading them.
In fact, the audience is right to be wary.
Patrice is about to launch into a 5-minute racist comedy rant, mocking and imitating Indian people who work at airport security and who run convenience stores.
“I don’t mind foreigners,” says Patrice at one point, “but don’t be FROM your country.” And after he finishes mocking Indian accents, Patrice moves on to Mexicans.
This is the kind of stuff that wouldn’t fly for white comedians since the days of Don Rickles in the late 60s and early 70s.
And in fact, it wouldn’t fly for Patrice either, not in 2005. Except for one thing.
In between saying “How many people are tired of the Hindu obstacle course” and launching into his racist impressions, Patrice delivers one miraculous, life-saving line.
It goes like this:
“So how many people are tired of the Hindu obstacle course at airport? [He pauses while a few nervous laughs acknowledge the inappropriateness of this statement. Then he continues] I mean… I’m a racist, but it’s getting…”
… and here Patrice continues into the rest of his set, with the audience suddenly loose and laughing, and ready to laugh more at the rest of his jokes, racist though they are.
My point is not that you should be racist.
My point is also not that you should laugh along with racists, or condone racist behavior.
My point is simply how much you can get away with, if you correctly anticipate your audience’s objection, and call that objection out ahead of time. Even if you don’t do anything else but call it out.
Now back to my Copy Riddles course.
It’s true that Copy Riddles is expensive. It’s also true it only teaches you one copywriting skill, and a niche one at that.
On the other hand, experts in the field, like Ben Settle, John Carlton, and Gary Halbert, have all said that this one niche skill is what all copywriting comes down to.
All these guys have made millions of dollars from copywriting, and some have specifically credited millions in earnings just to this one skill.
When you look at it that way, maybe Copy Riddles isn’t so expensive after all.
Of course, it’s going to depend on your situation, and what you’re looking to do.
If you’d like to find out more about Copy Riddles, and see if it could be a fit in your quest to write more effectively, and even make good money in the process, then take a look here: