On October 5, 1969, exactly 50 years ago, stuffy middle-class families across the UK saw a strange sight on TV:
A man, choking and gurgling in the sea, was struggling to swim to shore. Once he made it to the beach, he stumbled a few steps, fell on his face, and said,
“It’s?”
The shot immediately cut away to the now-famous cartoon intro:
MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS
That was the first scene of the very first episode of Monty Python, which ran from 1969 to 1974.
The immensely influential show contained lots of random comedic ideas, splotched together. First minute of the first episode: Mozart announcing a Top 10 countdown of famous deaths, which are voted on by a jury.
Each of the disjointed sketches was mildly funny.
Over time, they got better.
Still, for me at least, Monty Python was never hilarious.
But it was a potent training grounds.
One of my favorite comedies of all time is A Fish Called Wanda, written by and starring John Cleese and Michael Palin, two of the big stars to emerge from Monty Python.
This film is funny from beginning to end, with every joke a perfect 10. I don’t think this would have been possible had it not been for the extensive practice on the Monty Python show.
And the same thing happens when you write daily emails to your prospects or customers.
Each email is low commitment.
It needs to be done quickly.
You can test out ideas and see what people respond to.
It’s a training ground and a sandbox, with lots of collateral benefits.
One being that, when it’s time to produce a more involved, serious promotion, such as a sales letter or a new offer you want to create…
All that email practice allows you to hit a home run.
So if you haven’t started yet, consider launching your own Monty Python’s Emailing Circus. However, if the thought intimidates you, or you want some help getting started, then you can find some ideas here: