True story:
In 1935, somewhere off the coast of Sydney, Australia, a fisherman netted a 14-foot tiger shark that, unknown to the fisherman, was hiding a nasty secret in its belly.
The fisherman brought the shark to the local aquarium. The local aquarians put the shark into a tank. Then they all stood around, watching with satisfaction as the shark swam around its new home.
But soon, the shark began acting strange.
It started ramming its head against the sides of the tank, clutching its belly, and saying, “Uff… I don’t feel so good.”
The shark ended up vomiting. Within a few minutes, the foul-smelling contents of its stomach floated to the surface.
Visitors to the aquarium took turns identifying what they could see.
Some brown goo… a bird… a rat… and yep, there it was:
A tattooed human arm, with a rope tied around it. But…
Closer inspection of the arm showed no bite marks. The arm was cleanly severed. In other words, someone had cut it off and tried to get rid of it.
So whose arm was it? What was it doing at the bottom of the ocean? And what was the tattoo on it?
If you are curious about the rest of this severed arm mystery or the copywriting moral it contained, I’m afraid that particular fishing boat has sailed. Because the above true story was the intro to an email that email copywritress Liza Schermann sent out — a few days ago.
That email was part of a challenge Liza set to herself – to write 29 days of sexy emails about unsexy topics. So far, she has written about:
* Her failed apple crumble at Christmas
* Cushions
* Her water heater
* The mating habits of lobsters (pretty sexy, but we will let it slide)
* The above shark story (again, pretty sexy, at least copywriting-wise, but ok)
* Her attitude towards clothes ironing
* Toilet paper and the way you hang it (rolling over or under)
* Multiplication (the mathematical kind)
* Household finances
I’m telling you this to point out a curious fact about the mathematics of email copywriting:
Liza has been true to her challenge. She has managed to take the above mundane and unpromising topics and write interesting, funny, and — I’m afraid to say this — even sexy emails.
And here’s the curious thing:
I’ve been on Liza’s email list for a while. She previously only sent an email a week. I liked reading those emails.
But her daily, “unsexy” emails are much better.
That’s something I’ve noticed with my own writing as well.
It’s easier to prepare and write 10 good emails (or in Liza’s case, 29) than to write just one good email. It’s not just a matter of practice. It’s also a matter of research… idea generation… and less fiddling and self-censoring.
So that’s my takeaway for you:
If you’re having trouble writing a good email, try writing 10 instead. Paradoxically, you might find it easier going.
But getting back to the shark. Like I said, that particular fishing expedition has sailed. But a new one is waiting in harbor right now, because Liza is writing these emails day-for-day.
So if you want to follow Liza on her quest to write about tablecloths… the mechanics of garbage trucks… and the history of chamomile tea (I’m just guessing at possible future topics)… then you can do that at the link below. But a warning to ye first:
I’ve known Liza personally for a long while, long before either she or I got into copywriting. I also feel a bit responsible for and invested in her copywriting career. I’ve even hired her to write some stuff for me before. Plus, if you were on my Influential Emails training, you know she was there to help me run the thing and make it a success.
So if none of that turns you off, and you still want some sexy stuff in your life, here’s where you can follow as Liza turns lead into goldfish: