A third way to use metaphor in your emails

"The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances." — Aristotle

Metaphor, done well, means the difference between writing that exists and writing that helps people make noticeable change in their lives.

But most of the metaphors we encounter, and gravitate towards, in our writing are what Aristotle would call "dead metaphors."

We've seen them so many times they no longer paint a picture. We don't imagine anything when we hear them. In fact, we actively tune them out. The metaphor, or the analogy, has effectively become meaningless.

And in Aristotle’s quote he claims you cannot impart the "genius eye" for finding the structural identity between two unrelated things.

Some scientists agree. But only partly…

Here's where he got it wrong. Or at least, incomplete.

The conditions for developing that perception can absolutely be cultivated. And honestly, this might be exactly what Aristotle was doing with much of what he taught. But one of the best ways to do it is to read, and explore, across a wide variety of domains.

Think of it like this. You're an ant. A little brown ant. And you only spend your time with other little brown ants inside your colony.

You march around and do what all the other little brown ants do. Find food scraps. Carry them back. Place them in the pile with all the others.

And for the most part? You fit in, find your place, and have a purpose in life.

But what if there were a time of little food?

And everything the little brown ants normally do to find food simply wasn't working anymore. All your little brown ant friends are going around doing what they've always done. Coming back empty handed, and going hungry.

Well. What if there was a colony of little black ants nearby?

And those little black ants had developed a method for farming food during times of scarcity. And because you were a little bit of an adventurous type, you'd spent some of your free time with a few little black ant friends from that neighboring colony.

Even though your little brown ant friends solely relied on hunting and gathering. You were aware that these "farming" techniques existed.

And maybe you were able to work out a bit of a trade. You told them: if they were willing to share their farmed food with you and your friends now, you would start employing those same farming methods in return. And anytime your black ant friends needed some extra resources down the road, you'd be able to return the favor.

Because you were willing to go outside your domain, you learned a completely different skill. One that under normal circumstances would have required more effort and less return than your normal methods of hunting and gathering.

But in the moments when it actually became beneficial?

You were able to apply it. And essentially change the landscape of what was possible for you and your own little brown ant colony.

Anyway…

All to say: the more time you spend outside your domain, the more you train yourself to see the structural similarities between two unrelated things.

And you'll be able to apply them to your own industry.

Speaking of sharing surplus…

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the technology people use to run their email-based businesses. The email providers, the cart software, the lead magnet delivery tools, the place where you actually write your content.

And the more people I talk to, the more I keep hearing the same thing:

These tools don't talk to each other. They don't think together. You're jumping from tab to tab just to get a clear picture of what's happening in your own business. And I'm not making any promises. But I am thinking about a solution to all this. And before I do anything, I want to know what's actually broken for the people I'm talking to.

So if you're someone who takes email seriously…

Like, seriously seriously, like email is the centerpiece of how you communicate with your audience, not an afterthought, then I'd love to hear from you.

Just reply back and tell me: what tools are you using, and what are you fighting with?

Talk soon,

Kevin Hood