Author: Chris Pearson, Partner & Email Marketing Specialist at 3BM
In 2022, I went through a phase where I signed up for dozens of brands email lists.
To this day, I get at least 30 – 40 emails in my promo tab with offers, designs, and a slew of attempts to get my money.
Most of the emails, well, feel the same.
When you take a step back and look at something as a whole, you can start to see patterns that brands and business owners don’t see. Why? Because they’re so close to the action. They don’t have the time or space to step back and study email like I can. It’s not their fault. They’re building and growing a brand.
However, this is why having someone like myself in your corner is so advantageous.
You get all the upside of a dedicated email strategist.
Which is why I wanted to break down this email today, for you.
It’s simple, direct, clear, and concise. It doesn’t try to win any design awards, but…
It does give the list a reason to pay attention and get a BIG benefit out of participating.
Introducing:
Lomi is a brand and team designing waste out of the human experience.
A pretty bold and influential mission, right?
The BIG reason I like Lomi is this:
“We’re on a mission to leave the planet better than how we found it…”
For the longest time, I’ve believed in leaving things better than I found them. Sure, it’s a big responsibility to shoulder, but it’s one that makes a huge impact over time.
This is why Lomi caught my attention.
You can learn more about Lomi, here.
Rules: The Email Muse
Each week, I venture through the marketing wilderness to find highly-effective ecommerce sales emails… and I shine a light on what made them work.
My goal with this weekly tangle with the email muse is to teach you strategies and tactics you can use with your emails.
Where do I find these magical electronic pieces of mail? My inbox, mostly, since I’m signed up to lists that I want to be on. I also take suggestions from readers who have a stellar email they’d like to share.
Did you get an email recently that made you smile, your eyes tear up, or flat out gut punched you? I want to see it.
Forward the email to me at (chris at threebeaconmarketing dot com) with a brief note about what you liked about it. If I choose to break it down, I’ll give you a shoutout and link back to your site.
And no forwarding me your own emails. That’s the only rule.
Capeesh?
Let’s get started.
Subject Line: Clear and Concise
This subject line is clear and concise:
At first glance, there’s nothing special about this subject line. It’s clear, concise, and simple.
However, when you consider all the cleverness being attempted in inboxes these days, this subject line stands out.
What’s more, including the CEO in the subject line gives this clout.
Most CEOs don’t have time for something like a live Q&A with the customers. Heck, it’s like pulling teeth to get “busy people” to do AMAs on Reddit, let alone spend time with their community like Lomi’s founder is doing here.
This subject line pulls its weight when it comes to getting the click, for sure.
Opening Line: The Image and Benefit Recap
This email opens with recapping the benefit for the reader in image format:
While I do lean more toward the direct response style, plain-text email approach, this image is great.
It recaps the subject line. It introduces the CEO. And, it shows the product, all in one asset.
There’s an implied benefit, here, for the reader, too. They get their questions answered AND they get access to the CEO of the product / brand.
This may seem “overblown” these days, but the “exclusive access” is coming back around these days.
Lomi’s team nails this on the head.
More of the Same + A Little Extra
Recap the benefit to the reader, again, but with some added info:
One thing this email is NOT short of? Making sure you know that there is a live demo + Q&A with CEO Matt Bertulli at 12:00pm PST.
Spoiler alert: there are three (3) CTAs in this short and sweet email reminding the reader WHY they’re reading.
To some, this may seem annoying or over the top, but…
When you’re speaking to your primary, ideal audience, it’s a benefit to make sure they get the information.
There’s also the “repetition principle” at play, here, too.
The more you say something and in a new, novel way each time, the more likely someone is to recall it when asked.
Lomi’s team is doing this with various parts of this email.
Call-To-Action: Early and Often
Early on in this email, we see this CTA:
Here’s the first official CTA.
This CTA introduces new information, though, too, so it’s not a direct recap of what came before it.
The new information makes this CTA feel familiar but not a direct repetition of what came before it, which makes it more likely to be consumed and considered than ignored and scanned over.
“…showcasing the magic of Lomi” is what keeps people reading.
Expectation Setting
Now that the reader is hooked into reading more with “…showcasing the magic of Lomi,” it’s time to expand on what that even means.
In this next sentence, we see “what to expect” information plus a huge benefit to the reader for showing up:
“…show you just how easy it is to turn your food waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer…”
With everything you share about your brand, make sure you pair it with what’s in it for the customer.
If you don’t, you sound like most brands who brag without benefit to the customer and fade into the market noise–where yelling louder is the only tactic that works…
Make it about your customer and how it benefits their lives, and you can whisper to be heard.
What Else to Expect + Mission Statement
Expanding on the last sentence, Lomi’s team shares even more benefits to the customer.
The customer will get all their questions about Lomi answered, a huge benefit to those considering buying or are newer customers.
Another great piece about this sentence?
Lomi is able to slip their goal as a brand into this benefit statement:
“… it’s helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.”
Whoever wrote this email is a master at work, oscillating between brand and customer, back and forth. Sharing the customer benefits while also speaking about the mission and brand.
Deploy Fear of Missing Out (AKA) + CTA to Join the Movement
One of my favorite psychological triggers is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).
I tend to buy on FOMO quite a lot, so I know what it feels like when someone pulls that string.
Here, in this paragraph, Lomi leverages FOMO with a few words:
“Don’t miss out on this opportunity…”
These few words grab the mind and pulls it in.
How?
If you’ve read the email this far, you’re considering attending this live event with the CEO. You’re curious to learn more about how Lomi can benefit your life. And, you can get behind the “emissions mission” Lomi’s already presented.
It’s a win for the customer on all accounts.
Then you get the FOMO phrase that lets the brain know this isn’t a forever thing. It’s limited and time sensitive. Pay attention.
The downside to FOMO is that so many brands use it on their customers, even though the FOMO is not real, so…
The customer becomes desensitized to it and it stops working.
However, if you use FOMO sparingly and ONLY when it’s real, it’s a powerful psychological trigger to get people to pay attention and take action.
Call-to-Action #2
Frequency is an indicator of retention, if it’s more novel than repetitive:
As you can see, Lomi uses repetition and frequency to get the point across that this event is happening with the CEO at 12:00pm PST.
Call-to-Action #3 – The Button
Another version of the CTA form the subject line:
Finally, there is one last CTA to close out the email about this event.
If I’ve counted correctly, there are at least 7 mentions of the event in this email, all in slightly different formats plus added information.
This is how you can ask people repetitively for something without annoying or frustrating them.
How?
By giving them new pieces of information with each ask. This keeps the CTA “new enough” to not trigger their “WTF brain.”
The Opt-Out of Live Events
Here’s a curious addition to the email:
The one piece of this email that concerns me is the opt-out CTA to these types of emails.
While I understand the intent, this opt-out CTA shows the readers who are “on the fence” that the brand doesn’t believe this event is valuable.
If it were valuable, all people interested in Lomi, whether a customer or not, should attend.
This CTA undermines the entire email’s effort to get people to attend the live Facebook event.
Non-fans will be the ones to unsubscribe, which is great!
Here’s the truth:
If you want a responsive, revenue-generating list, then setting and holding to clear expectations is paramount.
Giving your list room to flake out on you is not how you build a list of raving fans.
Expectation setting and accountability is how you build a loyal list and keep them around for the long haul.
What You Learned
Here’s the tl;dr of what you learned today:
- A clear, concise subject line is the new “clever.”
- Images can work in you favor, if you know how to use them (and use them sparingly).
- Repetition works if each time the information is slightly different or novel in some way.
- Setting and holding expectations of your list is the quickest way to build a loyal list of customers.
- If you talk about your brand, make sure and pair it with what’s in it for the customer or risk getting ignored.
- FOMO is powerful, if you use it sparingly and in REAL FOMO situations.
- Giving your list room to flake out on you is not how you build a list of raving fans.
Now what?
- Book a call with 3BM to see if it makes sense to work together.
- Check out Lomi and their product here.