Today I watched a clip of Jerry Seinfeld on the Johnny Carson Show. Jerry smiles his precocious-boy smile and says:
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To me the most amazing thing about the news is that whatever goes on in the world, it exactly fits the number of pages that they’re using in the paper that day. [Johnny Carson chuckles off screen. Jerry continues:]
They must stand around after each edition going, “I don’t believe we just made it again! If one more thing happens, we’re screwed. There’s no more room in this paper!”
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This is a joke if you hear Jerry Seinfeld tell it, or imagine him with his mannerisms, or if you include that exaggeration at the end.
It’s not a joke if you just read the first sentence of that quote. It really is amazing that the day’s news always just fit the newspaper.
Of course, who reads newspapers any more — but the underlying point still stands:
The news was and is just a constant drip of telling you what to think, how to feel, how to react.
The news is not what’s worth knowing. At least that’s the way I look at it.
If you’re still reading, you might wonder what I think is worth knowing. I call it anti-news.
I’ve written before of my policy of not reading books that were published in just the last year.
I’ve been informed this has a clever name, “the Lindy effect,” after some long-surviving deli in New York.
The idea is, if something is worthwhile, it will still be worthwhile in a year from now. More generally, the longer something has been around, the more likely it is to keep being around.
This simple but powerful idea impacts everything I do, from the books I read to the emails I write to the offers I create. And since it’s time to start promoting:
It also lies behind my Copy Riddles program.
Copy Riddles is built on examples of winning copywriting that have been around for three, four, five, six decades or more.
But I’d take it still further back:
I believe Copy Riddles is really about the principles of effective communication, going back thousands of years. That might sound high-heeled, but it’s really what direct response marketing is — a merciless distillation that purifies and concentrates the evergreen principles of effective communication.
These principles were relevant yesterday, last year, a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago.
And if you are looking to influence or manipulate people, these principles are your best bet for what will continue to be relevant tomorrow.
As marketing consultant Khaled Maziad wrote me to say after going through Copy Riddles:
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Man, this’s the best course on bullets I have ever seen. And believe me, I have seen a lot. I loved that you didn’t include bullet templates but went deep into the psychology behind each bullet. This course is not just about the “how-to” of writing bullets but understanding the artistry and the deep psychology behind them… Plus, when and where to use them.
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As you might know already:
This is the last week I am giving away two free bonuses with Copy Riddles. The first bonus is Storytelling For Sales. The second bonus is Copywriting Portfolio Secrets.
Don’t buy Copy Riddles just for the free bonuses.
But if you decide you want to get Copy Riddles, you have until tomorrow, Saturday Jan 21, at 12 midnight PST to get Storytelling for Sales and Copywriting Portfolio Secrets as free bonuses.
After then, Copy Riddles will remain available, but the free bonuses will disappear.
To get the whole package: