Passion is a feeling we all experience.
For me, it arrived early, carried in on the sound waves.

Like most people, my first introduction to song and rhythm came from a family home filled with sound...

Mum and Dad dancing around the living room, vinyl spinning, and that joy only music can bring.

But it wasn’t until years later I realised something.
It wasn’t just the tunes that stuck with me…
It was the words.
The lyrics.
The way a single line could stir something I didn’t yet have the language for.

Johnny Cash taught me stories about fear and courage, painting pictures so vivid they played like movies in my head.

Buddy Holly sang about love in a way that felt simple and honest.

And in the background, my parents jived to Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock”, completely lost in their own rhythm.

Sitting at my laptop south of Bangkok this week, working through another copywriting lesson, when something clicked.

Everyone tells us to study the greats – Hopkins, Ogilvy, Sugarman, the classic sales letters.

And they're right. That stuff is invaluable.

But I realised there's a whole category of persuasive writers nobody tells us to study.

Lyricists.

The people who have to hook you in a single line, make you feel something instantly, and stay with you long after the song ends.

They're doing the exact same job as a copywriter, just with fewer words, tighter constraints, and higher emotional stakes.

And almost nobody in the copywriting world is paying attention to them.

The first writers who moved me weren't the ones I discovered in marketing books.

They were the lyricists who understood rhythm, emotion, struggle, and desire.

The very foundations persuasion is built on.

Now, as I study copywriting and persuasion with the same obsession I once reserved for music…

I'm writing this newsletter for a simple reason: to explore where great songwriting meets great sales copy.

And how lyrics can help us write words that land.

Before we go any further, let me make one thing clear:
I’m not pretending to be a copywriting guru.

I’m a student, someone who simply enjoys putting his thoughts on paper and sharing what he’s discovering about persuasive writing.

For nearly forty years, I didn’t have the space for pursuits like this.
I was too busy crawling around the UK, fitting carpets and flooring, until my body finally said, “Enough.”

Life is quieter now.
Calmer.

I spend most of my time in Thailand, travelling when I can, learning every day, and writing as much as possible.

Some days, hand-copying an iconic sales letter.
Other days, writing a message to my grandson. He’s only two months old, so he’ll have to wait a while before he reads them.

But I write them anyway.

And most of the time, whether I’m studying, travelling, or writing, there’s music playing in the background.
Long before I studied copy, music was teaching me how words make people feel.

And that’s what finally led me to start this newsletter.

Now you know where this all comes from; here’s what this newsletter actually is.

The Rhythm of Persuasion is a weekly exploration of what great songwriters can teach us about great copy.

Because think about it:

Songwriters only get a handful of minutes, often a single line, to make a listener feel something.
To hook them, move them, and stay with them long after the music stops.

They’ve mastered:

These are not just musical skills.
They are persuasion skills.

And if we’re honest, most copywriters don’t study them, even though lyricists are some of the most efficient communicators alive.

So here’s the promise:

Every week, I’ll take one lyric, one moment, or one turn of phrase from a great song,
break down how it works, and show how you can apply its emotional power to your own persuasive writing.

Nothing too technical or academic.
Natural and real.

Because the best copy doesn’t just sell.
It resonates, moves and connects.
Just like the songs we carry with us through life.

This newsletter will connect the dots.

Has a lyric ever stopped you in your tracks?
One song that said something to you but you couldn’t explain?

Hit reply and tell me the song.
I look forward to seeing it.

Steve Richards
The Rhythm of Persuasion

P.S. Next Tuesday, we’ll break down the lyrics of a classic released on October 21st, 1980, and look at what it can teach us about writing more persuasive copy.