Email copy and the rock & roll 45

Remember the rock & roll 45?

Singles used to be a big deal back in the day. Unfortunately it’s a format that seems to have been abandoned by a lot of rock & roll artists.

According to Bono of U2, the rock & roll 45 “is the evolutionary peak of the species…it is by far the most difficult thing to pull off and it is the very life force of rock & roll: vitality, succinctness and catchiness.”

Vitality. Succinctness. Catchiness.

These are attributes email copy should have as well. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that email is the life force of marketing.

Bono again:

When rock music forgets about the 45, it tends toward progressive rock, which is like a mold that grows on old, burned out artists who’ve run out of ideas…it’s an infuriating thing for me to see indie rock & roll give up the single to R&B and hip-hop.

We see the progressive rock effect in marketing too, where marketers forget about email and their relationship with their list and have run out of ideas.

What Bono says about writing singles for other musicians reminds me of what it’s like writing copy for clients:

Writing songs for other people can be so easy. You’re out of your own head and into someone else’s. It comes quickly and you write it down.

If the mold has started to grow on your own marketing…if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for… maybe it’s time to let someone else come into your head and write some email for you.

Here’s what a recent client said about what I wrote for her:

“Anita, you’re not gifted, you’re a genius! People will really feel like it is me speaking to them personally, even fans who know me well. From a psychological perspective you hit all the right buttons. I could never have written those emails – I am just too close to the trees.”

Tagged with: U2

Filed under: Email Copywriting

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