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You ain’t got no alibi, you UGLY

Writer's picture: John BrandtJohn Brandt

I’m writing this after week 2 of the 2024 NFL season. And my Pittsburgh Steelers have looked ugly, yet they’re 2-0. 


What do I mean by ugly? 


Well, we have more wins than touchdowns. Our passing game against the Broncos only mustered a measly 16 yards in the second half on Sunday. But our defense has dominated the two games we’ve played—which is not only ugly because the NFL prefers touchdowns over sacks, but also because the defense is brutal and takes pride in their brutality.  


And it got me thinking about a famous line legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz once said: 


“The ugly thing in a world full of beauty stands out.” 


Back to football… 


The Steelers aren’t trying to be pretty. We have two new quarterbacks on our team that we didn’t have last year in the aging Russell Wilson and the prone-to-mistakes Justin Fields. Since Wilson has had a calf injury, Fields has been the starter. When he played for Chicago, he led the league in turnovers. But on the Steelers? He hasn’t had a single turnover through two games—a feat in and of itself. 


And yet… 


The world of online business and marketing does not apply Schwartz’s lesson like the Pittsburgh Steelers do. 


It might not be pretty, but they don’t let their ego get in the way of winning games. And that’s what they’re in the business to do. If Fields, who is a generational talent especially with his legs, let his ego get in the way like online business owners do, for example, I guarantee he would have at least one turnover—and probably multiple turnovers—and the Steelers would have fewer wins.


For example: 


Beautiful websites full of moving graphics which look great but persuade nobody. 


HTML email templates that don’t even load on mobile devices without clicking a “load images” button. Let alone the fact that graphical elements and pretty colors aren’t persuasive. 


Ads and videos which are ultra produced corporate copy cats because they think that’s what sells. 


Direct mail flyers loaded with pretty colors and pictures. 


It’s a classic example of your ego getting in the way of your business growth. 

Ugly things stand out in a world of beauty. 


And there is no place this is more true than online business. Especially because it costs nothing to “pretty up” your website at the expense of sales. 


By simply uglifying your marketing, you’ll stand out automatically, come across as human (instead of a corporation), and naturally become more persuasive… 


…even if your copy isn’t the most persuasive or your product isn’t the best!


But this is one of the things that’s simple to do, yet hard to implement. 


Why?


Because your ego gets in the way. 


Anyway, if you want to “uglify” your emails while ratcheting up the persuasion of them (which inevitably leads to a stronger relationship with your list and more sales to boot), hit reply, and let’s chat. 


John 

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