Ever hear of Milli Vanilli?
They were a sort of pop & dance based group back in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s. They were pretty popular for a while (never did understand what the big deal was, but then again I’m a classic rock kinda guy) until one day they were caught… lip syncing on stage.
In other words…
They weren’t actually singing live.
They were just *pretending* to sing.
Ouch.
It pretty much done the band in.
This happens in BUSINESS, too.
And, it happens far more often than people realize.
Here’s a real life story:
Last Friday, I received a few forwards of someone else’s email (who SHALT remain nameless) that had my exact headline “We have a HULK” and even the exact body copy word-for-word.
Not good.
I mean, it doesn’t do me much harm.
But it DID hurt the guy who sent it.
You see, there were obviously people on his list that are on mine, and when they saw his email, they instantly lost respect for him. Any credibility that was built up was gone in an eye blink. And if they told others then, well…
Now, this guy apologized.
Said he felt humiliated and embarrassed.
And even said he was going to “come clean” to his list about it.
A VERY good idea IMH (but accurate) O.
Because like Ken McCarthy told me…
Credibility is like a light switch. It takes a while to turn the light on, but once it’s turned off, it’s virtually impossible to turn it back on again.
Anyway, no biggie.
After all…
Creative theft is the sincerest form of flattery, yeah?
It’s just not profitable in emails.
So if you want to learn my system (and not copy me or anyone else) then check out the “Email Players” newsletter.
It’s not cheap.
And it’s not for toe-dippers.
(Those who just want to test the waters.)
If you’re in, then commit to it.
Become GREAT at it.
And leave your competition in the dust:
Ben Settle
