Ever touched a shark?
A LIVE shark?
I have. And I’ve done what some people would think is freaking crazy.
I grabbed one by the tail once and yanked it out of the hole it was resting in.
Now this wasn’t a Great White, Tiger Shark, or Hammerhead. All of which are dangerous creatures.
And it wasn’t a Mako, Bull Shark, or Black Tip Shark. All of which are more common where I was diving (Florida Keys), and all of which are also dangerous.
This was a Nurse Shark. (see photo)
Which has a rather small mouth. At least for a shark.
Nurse sharks are slow-moving bottom-dwellers and are, for the most part, harmless to humans.
However they will bite defensively if stepped on or bothered by divers who assume they’re docile.
So it was a calculated risk. (Though my mom did not agree.)
So, why the hell did I do it???
My friend the shark was in a big hole in the bottom that was filled with Lobster!
It was as we would say… A Lobster Bonanza.
But sticking my hand in front of the shark and wrestling lobsters out of their ledge was a guaranteed way to get a shark bite.
And there was no way I was leaving without my bag full.
So a quick yank of the tail and one surprised shark went zooming off for a safer spot to snooze.
Now what has this got to do with Marketing?
Two valuable lessons here:
1. A good headline/subject line
If you want people to read/watch/listen to your marketing copy, you need good headlines.
And I freely admit I ‘stole’ the headline from an article about another diver who did PUNCH a shark.
I Punched a Shark
A marine biologist recalls a jarring underwater confrontation.
I spotted this headline in the news and had to read the story.
After all, those of us who have had hands-on shark encounters are a very small group.
And it inspired this email as a teaching story.
2. Storytelling
We humans love stories. We are wired for them. It’s how most of human knowledge was passed down before we could “Google” it.
The story is a much better way show you about using storytelling, than trying to logic you about it.
You might even pass this story on. About a guy crazy enough to yank a shark’s tail.
Who knows… you might even use it in your marketing.
