“Have you seen U2’s live show? It’s boring as hell. It’s like watching CNN.” ~ Sharon Osbourne
Couldn’t agree more, Mrs. Osbourne.
Ah, I love that ol’ girl.
Yup, U2 has more money than God, and this affords them such luxuries as…well, whatever the hell they want.
When U2 goes on tour, they employ more people than all the McDonald’s franchises combined.
And when they do live shows, no expense is spared.
They use stadium speakers the size of shopping malls, video screens that make IMAX Screens appear like iPod screens and use more lights and fireworks than Singapore’s National Day celebrations.
They turn stadiums all over the world into their very own spacecraft or portable cathedral.
Does all this flash and pizazz make for a better rock concert?
I think not.
To me, all that flash and imagery is just beautiful nonsense.
Sharon and I are not the only ones who think this.
Here’s a quote from a review in The Washington Post: “U2’s performance was more of an orgy of light and sound than a rock concert.”
To me, a U2 concert is a classic case of image over substance.
The music takes second place to all the special effects. It’s like any blockbuster movie getting spewed out of Hollywood nowadays.
What are these Hollywood movie produces thinking?
They aren’t.
If they are, they can only be thinking this: “Hey, who needs a good story or plot when we can use all these amazing special effects?”
But it ain’t just movie producers and music artists who fall prey to the seduction of image.
Email marketers are even more obsessed with image.
That’s right, they want all the bells and whistles. They jam-pack their emails with HTML, images, fancy fonts, beautiful color schemes, fancy logos and on and on it goes. It’s HTML gone wild!
How pitiful.
To think any of that stuff will make your emails or marketing more effective is stupid on a plate.
All that stuff does is distract your subscribers from the one thing that matters – your sales message.
Listen, do you really think people buy based on the salesperson’s appearance?
C’mon.
Get real!
The reality is this: you could be the best-looking and best-dressed salesperson in the world, but if you can’t give a persuasive sales pitch…you’ll be walking away with empty Gucci pockets.
Look, if you want to send your subscribers to a website that has images and a product catalog, or whatever, fine, but don’t cram all that junk into your emails, Bubba.
Harken: There is no more effective email than just a plain text email.
Just words on a screen selling them on whatever action it is you want them to take.
That’s all that’s needed and that’s what works.
I know most marketers disagree with this.
That’s fine.
I love my competition pursuing fruitless endeavors.
I’m out.
Kelvin
Email Marketing Maverick
P.S. Tired of sending “reckless and feckless” emails? Then look ye where the answer doth reside: Email Playbook
P.S.S. Want to know how to turn your subscribers into customers? Then proceed here: The Ultimate Email Cheat-Sheet
