💰 The Million Dollar Email Strategy

All-In on Email Marketing

After a decade of working with countless ecommerce brands, I’ve found there is no better business driver than the humble email.

Done right, your email strategy can be an engine for building life-long customers and continuous revenue.

Yet, there’s a problem you’ve likely encountered time and time again.

Your inbox is flooded with flashy, over-designed emails that scream “buy now!"

Even worse, many brands only reach out when they’ve got something to sell.

Are you guilty of sending these emails yourself? 🧐

At best, these emails get noticed – and usually ignored, damaging your brand value in the process. At worst, they’re auto-flagged as spam and never opened.

What if I told you there’s a better way to turn email into a gold mine, with less work and no need for expensive designers or copywriters?

A way to become more real, authentic, and personal with your audience.

Say hello to the Email Sales Letter.

Engage Your Community with the Email Sales Letter

Consumers only spend about 10 seconds reading the typical email before closing them. How do you stand out and keep their attention?

Is it great design? No.

Flashy coupon codes? Nah.

Expensive celebrity spokespeople? Nope.

How about just sending a thoughtful message that reads like a conversation?

The sales letter isn’t flashy. It’s more like a letter to your friend.

We’ve talked about the importance of being friends with your customers, showcasing Huckberry, Tracksmith & Bandit.

Regular, authentic outreach is a critical part of developing a long-term relationship with your customer.

Just because it’s authentic doesn’t mean you can’t sell, though.

Instead of cramming coupon codes and FOMO into your customers’ inboxes, instead guide your user through something personal:

1. Highlight a problem they face

2. Stirring up their pain

3. Give them some help

4. Present your product as the solution

It’s a flexible format! You can create a long editorial in a single email or break it into smaller sections over several weeks, keeping the reader engaged in the ongoing story.

Examples from My Inbox

I’m not the only expert who uses this simple hack. I get these messages from all the best brands I follow, and I almost always open them.

Here are a few examples in action:

Why This Works (And Keeps Working):

Ever wonder why TV ads became little one-act plays that often spend most their time focused on anything other than the product?

It’s simple: people love stories.

If you hook with something people love, then you can sell them what they need.

Without the hook, there’s no sale.

The sales letter is the equivalent of the modern Super Bowl ad. You’re guiding your reader through a story or an experience that engages them.

Much like reading a novel, the reader intuitively sees themselves as the main character.

Whether it’s a journey of overcoming a challenge or simply making life easier, you’re doing more than just selling a product – you’re forging a 1:1 emotional connection.

This has three critical effects:

1. The customer feels better about your brand because of a personal connection with you

2. The customer is more likely to read your comms because they enjoy reading them

3. The customer converts because they have more opportunities to imagine your solution in their life

How to Create a Sales Letter

Write an email sales letter from your own perspective: as founder or creator.

Even though you write from your perspective, the story should really be about the reader. Remember to use ‘you’ statements throughout to put the reader into the narrative.

1. Start by highlighting their problem
   
   This is the hook, the reason they’ll keep reading. By capturing the essence of their problem, you’re proving you understand it and implicitly promising you can solve it.
   

   Paint a picture that resonates with their daily friction.
   

2. Next, stir up that pain.
   
   Don’t just mention the problem – dig into it.
   

   Why shouldn’t the reader keep ignoring this problem? Help them think through the pain points that they would rather ignore.
   
   This step is crucial because it deepens the emotional trigger with your reader. They need to feel the urgency of the problem, and they can’t want to keep putting it off to solve later.
   

3. Offer them something immediate and free
   
   Here’s where you show that you’re not just pointing out the issues – you’ve got real solutions.
   

   Share insights, tips, or even personal experiences that demonstrate how the problem can be overcome.

   
   You’re building trust here. Show that you’re genuinely an expert with good advice, and that you’re invested in helping them succeed.
   

   Even if they don’t buy your product, they’ll open your future emails just because you aren’t a brand: you’re a resource for them.
   

4. Now work in your product.
   
   You can close out the letter by positioning your product as a solution.
   

   At this stage, you’re not just selling – you’re positioning your product as the answer they discovered on their own. It’s not pushy or sleazy, it’s helpful!
   
   Of course, not every email even needs to include a direct pitch for your product.
   
   It’s okay to just build rapport and trust that being friends with your customer will bring them back down the line.

Putting it All Together

Here’s an example: you sell supplements that help with alertness. Here’s all four steps to an impactful outreach.

PART ONE: HIGHLIGHT THEIR PROBLEM

“Like a lot of parents, my kids create a lot of joy in my life, but they can also make things complicated. I know you know the feeling: your full-time job is a part-time focus behind your kids.

I think that’s how it should be, but why should it be this hard to have a family and a career? I started a company just months after my son was born because I felt the pain of trying to split my attention.

Even after my kids got older, it was trying to focus on work by day, getting the kids to soccer at night, worrying about meals and getting up extra early to get them to school.”

PART TWO: STIR UP THAT PAIN

“I bet you know what happened to me. It’s the same thing that happens to you!

Hello coffee, hello naps, goodbye productivity. Caffeine helps you focus a little, but then you can’t sleep at night.

You’re drained and not present for your kids or your job. For a while, nobody got what they needed out of me because I just didn’t have the energy.

When that happens, it hurts your kids, your career and your soul. Sound familiar?

How long can you keep this up before the lack of sleep starts affecting not just your energy, but your mood, your focus, even your health?”

PART THREE: OFFER SOMETHING OF VALUE

"Now, here’s the good news: I found out you don’t have to live like this.

There are simple steps you can take to improve your sleep quality.

Start by creating a bedtime routine that helps your body wind down, like dimming the lights and avoiding screens for an hour before bed. It sounds too simple, but reducing screen time before bed has been proven to improve your rest.

Instead of Caffeine, consider trying non-chemical remedies like breathing exercises or meditation. These small changes can make a big difference.”

PART FOUR: PROMOTE

“Even the best routine could use a little help, and you’ll want one that doesn’t throw your new cycle out of whack.

Our all-natural sleep supplement fits into your life, helping you keep to a routine and get the rest you need to focus all day, whether you’re at work or little league.

Our recipe was designed to work with your body’s natural sleep cycles to help you fall asleep faster and wake up feeling refreshed."

It’s your story, own the narrative.

Even better for developing a relationship: sometimes drop the cross-sell and just give something useful away, like how David broke social algorithms with their protein bar freebies.

The more rewarded the reader is for opening your email, the more likely they are to open again. More opens means more brand awareness and more chances to sell.

Sales letters are a middle ground between community and commercial. They give the reader time to develop a connection with you, developing trust and good will.

The sales letter comes in all shapes and sizes.

Adapt it to fit your brand voice and sales cycle. Just make sure you’re taking a regular interest in reaching your customers, even when you aren’t making a hard sell!

So what’s your next story?

Until next time, keep selling out (in the best way possible). If you found this interesting, please share it with a friend and hit reply.

Luke

P.S. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get these insights directly in your inbox every Monday.