Back in May, I got a strange reply to an email in which I wrote about a storytelling technique. The reply started:
Pervert.
I see you standing outside. Looking through my window.
**I invite you in**
“Press the doorbell”, I say.
DING, DONG. You press it.
This reply went on, talking about what I supposedly saw when I entered this guy’s house — dildos, a man in a gimp suit, and a sex swing.
I sighed. Sometimes I get people responding to my emails with some unsolicited spec copy, trying to demonstrate they really understood the idea I shared in the email. This spec copy is always a bit bizarre and not quite enjoyable to read. I thought that’s what this reply was also. But I was wrong.
After skimming through this unsolicited story, I got to the end:
You rudely interrupt me…
“I’m sorry, but what the fuck even is this? And who are you?”
Allow me to introduce myself properly, I state in a strong British accent whilst smoking a cigarette, coughing slightly and holding a pint of beer.
My name is Michael Johnson
And I am the greatest V.A that ever lived.
The greatest!
I can help you with many of the tasks you need doing and make your life easier.
Let’s setup a time to talk.
Aha. This actually surprised me, in a positive way. I wrote to the guy to say I don’t need a VA, but that he had some copy chops, and that I wish him luck.
And then, last week, as you might know, I sent out a newsletter email with a job advertisement in it. I was looking for somebody like a VA, but ideally, somebody who would also have some copy chops.
So the question becomes, why didn’t I just contact that guy who replied to my email back in May? He seemed to be perfect — or at least a very good — fit for what I was looking for.
Why ignore him, and why instead go to my list, and to the two dozen applications it produced?
I read a bit of paranoid wisdom once. I can’t remember where, or who wrote it. Maybe you will recognize it and can tell me where it’s from. It goes something like this:
Don’t be part of anybody else’s agenda. If somebody unknown approaches you, you are by default part of their agenda.
That’s not to say you should never start new relationships or do business with strangers.
But it does say that if you see a sexy ad on your Instagram feed… or you get a cold email from somebody with an attractive offer… then there are probably many more people who are willing to make a similar offer. Sometimes, that first ad or cold email will really be the best option for you. But many times it won’t.
In the pickup/seduction/dating advice world, there’s a saying:
if you’re not one of the chosen, become one of the choosers.
What I’m telling you is that, even if you are one of the chosen — or you appear to be — it often makes sense to do a bit of extra work, and to become one of the choosers. At least that’s what I find in my own life.
All right, on to my offer for you for today.
Today, as for the past 10 days, and probably for a few days more, I am promoting my Most Valuable Email course.
That’s my agenda for you. But don’t be part of my agenda.
Take a look around. See if you can find anybody else offering to help you build authority in the direct response industry… grow your email list by word-of-mouth alone… and turn yourself into a more valuable marketer and copywriter — all with a simple email copywriting trick that you can learn in under an hour.
If you do find somebody like that, maybe this person will be a better choice for you than me, and my Most Valuable Email training.
But if your search turns up fruitless, and if you decide you would like those benefits, and you would like them from me, then can get my Most Valuable Email course here: