Yeeeesh is one of my favorite words. (It’s a spin I made up for the word sheesh, which is a good word, but not nearly as fun as saying yeeeeesh.)
My girl and I also have another word we say all the time that I coined:
Stupee
It works great if we’re in an argument and I need to make her laugh.
And it’s since morphed into an inside joke of sorts between us that’s taken on a whole life of its own.
The other day, I called my chihuahua “certified stupee” and we both got a big ol’ chuckle outta that.
Are you certified stupee?
You might be.
Quick story before I get to the point:
A while back, I read Excelsior! — Stan Lee’s “bioautography” — after the email goat Ben Settle recommended it. (Psst, since he’s not available for hire, that makes me—in my unabashedly biased opinion—one of the top email copywriters you could hire.)
Back in the comic book “golden days” Marvel and DC were arch nemeses. They both would steal ideas from each other — or “swipe” concept ideas (Batman vs Iron Man, for example, were both billionaires who decided to save the world in their spare time). Sometimes, they’d even steal whole plot lines, including the dialogue. Stan Lee blamed this all on DC, but I think they were both guilty iirc.
Anyway, Marvel was wayyyy more successful back then, largely due to Stan Lee’s ingenuity.
Case in point:
Stan Lee caught on to this “dastardly” low-tier villain behavior DC tried to pull by stealing his ideas. And here’s what Stan did: he created the foolish word “excelsior” to see if DC would copy it. Before Stan wrote this word in a comic, it did not exist.
And guess what happened?
DC fell for his trap, stole the word, and Stan Lee *knew* they were stealing from him. (Even though this frustrated the ish outta him, I think he also took it in the “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” typa way too — again, this story is based on my memory, it’s been a while since I read the book.)
More:
Remember how I calt Stan’s book a “bioautography?” That’s because he had a ghostwriter helping him, and writing some of the book. But Stan wrote most of the book. So, again, Stan created his own word to best describe this weird mix of autobiography and biography.
Let’s take this thang one step further:
Stan Lee ain’t even the dude’s real name. He was born as Stanley Martin Lieber. But he took his first name, “Stanley,” and broke it into two to create “Stan Lee” because it sounded cooler, and he knew it’d help him sell more comics. (And he eventually changed his legal name to “Stan Lee.”)
Okay, end side story.
Here’s the point of this stupee email:
Having a personality goes a looooong way in creating and fostering deeper relationships with your audience.
It makes them feel like they’re part of a group when they “get” your inside jokes.
And it turns one-time customers into raving, lifelong fans. Which is the holy grail of accomplishments in email marketing.
Plus, as the Stan Lee story revealed: it makes it IMPOSSIBLE to steal, swipe, or imitate your brand. And if some lazy mf does try to imitate you, they’ll look more foolish than an overweight kid on a leash wearing a mask.
But here’s the thing…
You gotta develop your own unique personality and voice. (I can help with that if’n you need help.)
As an email ghostwriter, I write “in” a buncha different personalities and voices every day.
If I was writing the same email, promoting the same product, for two different clients, there would be a night and day difference between the emails.
So don’t copy me or your favorite guru. It makes you look like a hack. And if’n anyone catches on, you’re gonna lose alllll credibility. In the world of marketing and sales, there’s this “KLT” idea — meaning folks gotta know, like, and trust you before they whip out their credit card and buy. If someone catches you swiping a personality like this, you’re gonna lose that “KLT” factor forever.
Instead, create your own personality and voice.
It does two thangs:
1. Attracts your target audience, which is fine and dandy, but inconsequential compared to the second thang…
2. Repels away people who will only bring you down and waste your time and energy. The people who would never buy your products no matter how much “sales jiu jitsu,” “PUA persuasion tactics,” “MLM NLP tricks,” or “ninja marketing hacks” you try on them.
Semi-related thought:
This reminds me of when people get flustered about uNsUbScRiBes.
You should celebrate unsubscribes (besides the gut reaction your ego has to em).
Here's why:
People who unsubscribe are doing you a favor.
They weren’t interested in your offer. They never would’ve bought from you. And if they didn’t unsubscribe, they’d tank your deliverability because they never open your emails. Or worse, report you as spam.
Don’t turn it into an ego trip when it doesn’t hafta be.
Celebrate them and wish them good riddance.
Plus, the people who replace these energy vampires will be higher quality leads by default.
More aligned with your mission and message. More likely to buy. And more likely to become a diehard loyal fan.
Sum thought for food.
Anyway…
Do you have a proven offer?
Wanna make 32% more sales for said proven offer (without doing any extra work)?
And wanna create summa these diehard fans in the process?
Then book a call and let’s chat.
Now let me end this ditty with one of the coolest made-up words that exists…
Excelsior! (And RIP to the man, myth, and legend Stan Lee.)