Earlier this year, I decided to finally get back into “fighting shape.”
For the past couple years, I’d fluctuated between 260-270lbs. Fucking gross!
Especially considering that I wrestled 184 in college.
Not very good.
Well, once my son was born and the quarantine happened… I figured that now it was time to stop fucking around. I made a commitment to take my health seriously again.
After all…
I was finally making a lot of money.
But what’s the point if you look and feel like shit all the time, right?
Part of this journey was hiring Jason Helmes to coach me.
He figured out my macros and set me up with a workout plan I can do at home.
One of the things Jason preaches is finding a meal plan that works for YOU – something simple and easy that you can repeat most days… so tracking your macros becomes easier.
For breakfast, I decided I was just going to have two scoops of whey protein.
That way I’d knock out 1/3rd of my daily protein requirement… and save a bunch of carbs and fats for later in the day.
The only problem was…
Most whey protein tastes like SHIT.
Of course, you can mix it with fruit or peanut butter or other high-calorie foods.
But if I was going to be able to stick to this “whey protein and water” breakfast… I had to find a whey protein I actually enjoyed.
Enter Tiger Fitness.
I heard about this site from a few people on Twitter. People were saying that Marc Lobliner’s MTS whey protein was the best stuff out there.
So, I tried it…
And let me tell you…
It is the best god damn whey protein I have EVER had in my entire life.
I didn’t even know whey protein could taste that good.
Usually, you find that the better a whey protein tastes… the higher it is in sugar and empty calories.
That was NOT the case with the MTS line.
They won me over with my very first shipment. (Ice cream sandwich, Birthday Cake, Red Velvet. In case you were wondering, Red Velvet was my favorite of those 3 flavors).
So, naturally…
After my initial order was about to be up… I decided to place a second order through the Tiger Fitness website.
A few days after ordering, I got an absolutely AWESOME “second-time buyer” email.
Now…
If you’ve been reading past editions of Email of the Week, you’ve probably seen me break down a few awesome order confirmation/first-time buyer emails in the past.
However…
This is the first time we’ve had the pleasure of taking a look at a “second-time buyer” email automation.
This one is from Marc Lobliner, their CMO.
And I think you’re going to love it…
So…
Let’s take a look at this week’s Email of the Week!
This is the 45th installment of my Email of the Week series. (Catch up on previous episodes here.)
And in case you’re new around here, here’s how this all works…
The Rules For Email Of The Week
Each week, I go out into the wild to find a super-effective e-commerce marketing email… and I break down what made it work. My goal is for you to tune in each week, so I can teach you strategies and best practices YOU can use to make your own emails better.
I find these emails in my inbox, but I also accept suggestions from readers who have a remarkable email they’d like to share.
If you recently received an email that was so awesome it made your jaw drop, I wanna see it.
Forward it to me (chris at theemailcopywriter dot com) with a brief message about what you liked about it. If I choose to do a breakdown of the email you sent, I’ll give you a shout out and link to your site.
The only rule is… you can’t pick yourself.
Now then, without further ado, let’s check out the Email of the Week!
Swole AF
One of the strategies I’ve always wanted to test out with a client is something I call the Perfect-Post-Purchase-Path.
Well, that’s my working title for it now that I literally just came up with three seconds ago.
Being that retention is the name of the game for most eCommerce brands, the copy you put in your order confirmation emails is SUPER important.
In fact…
These emails get some of the highest readership out of any email you send.
One of the things we do at my agency, Orzy Media, is we craft a fun, “over-the-top” order confirmation email for our clients that goes out to new customers after their very first purchase with the brand.
But…
You probably SHOULD have a unique email for each purchase they make.
It’s perfectly ok to send out a fun order confirmation the first time.
But the second time they make a purchase, you have a whole new opportunity to “wow” your customers.
And guess what?
You could even create a “third-time” buyer email… that continues to further the bond you’re building.
You could feasibly have a different order confirmation for each purchase they make.
And every time these emails are different. They can tell a neat little story each time.
Imagine how exciting that would be.
Imagine how much your customers would look forward to seeing the narrative develop with each purchase they make with your brand.
This is low hanging fruit… and it makes people want to keep ordering from you over and over again.
That’s exactly how I felt after reading Marc Lobliner’s email.
Let’s take a look so I can show you exactly what I mean…
Let’s start with the subject line.
A+
It’s short.
It’s personal.
It does NOT look or feel like a marketing email (it’s not).
It passes the sniff test.
It draws you in and gets you to open.
What’s really cool about the lead in to this email copy is the tone. It’s sincere and personal. And it adds some context right off the bat to WHY you’re receiving this email in the first place.
He’s leading with gratitude.
And it just makes you like the guy.
In the next section, we’ve got a really awesome illustrated picture of Marc.
To be honest… I’m kind of fucking jealous.
I want one of these done.
Pretty fucking cool.
Anyway…
What I love about this copy block is this part: “loyal, repeat customers are the lifeblood of every business and we truly appreciate you.”
This is somewhat reminiscent of the strategy we saw in the [Email of the Week #18]: Supply vs lululemon article I published some months back.
He’s not just ‘saying’ that he appreciates you… he’s adding in the reason WHY.
If you’ve read your Cialdini, you know that people are more receptive to your messages if you always include the WHY behind what you’re saying.
This is solid persuasion technique.
I like it.
There’s something else he’s doing in this copy block that I want you to pay attention to…
Notice how he’s segueing right into a soft-pitch for other products.
If you’ve been to the Tiger Fitness website… they have a LOT of products.
Probably thousands.
Of course, these recommendations are specific to the MTS brand (which I like a lot and regularly purchase from).
So there’s some relevance there.
AND…
Most importantly…
It gets me browsing, picking out what I’m going to buy next.
Even if I don’t pull the trigger and purchase right then and there… he’s at least seeded the idea of making another purchase by introducing some other products that might be a good fit for me to try.
I use this strategy a lot with my clients at my agency (Orzy Media).
Now…
I’m not sure if they’re currently utilizing a browse abandonment email sequence but if they ARE… then this email is going to “feed” people into that sequence quite nicely.
It’s such a powerful 1-2 punch that turns browsers into buyers.
(If you’re subscribed to my Make It Rain Monthly newsletter and got the June 2020 issue… then you know all about how this works.)
Ok, one last thing before we move on…
I love how he gives his email and encourages you to reach out.
My mentor, Kevin Rogers, always says: the most important thing you can have your audience is a dialogue.
All of the questions and feedback you get from customers help you hone your messaging and even create new products and offers.
Super important.
Let’s keep going…
So, here you see the actual product recommendations.
Now, check out that copy block below the recommendations…
Do you see how they’re inviting you to reply back asking ANY questions about training, diet, or supplementation?
When I talk about making your emails about OUTCOMES instead of PRODUCTS… this is what I mean.
If you understand the results your customers/clients are trying to achieve… THAT is what you talk about in your emails. Products come and go. Products are just the vehicles people use to accomplish their desired outcomes.
This is a great way to figure out exactly what outcomes are important to your customers.
Very well done.
Let’s continue…
The next couple of copy blocks continue this theme of “helping your customers achieve specific outcomes” in their lives.
Diet and supplementation go hand in hand.
In my opinion, including links to this content does NOT cannibalize sales of their products… in fact, it probably helps sales.
And it’s super-valuable info, as well.
This last copy block wraps things up nicely.
Keep in mind, I got this email as I was still waiting for my shipment to come in (I think this email went out about 24 hours after my purchase if my memory serves correct).
So now, I have some content to engage with while I’m waiting.
Overall, I think this strategy is awesome.
This email had everything.
It started off with a super personal tone. It drew me in with curiosity. It got me to learn more about the brand.
AND…
Most importantly…
It made me feel like Marc has my back.
It made me FEEL like the people behind this brand actually give a fuck about me.
I can’t be the only one of their customers who feels this way.
This is what differentiates good brands from great brands.
The brands that SHOW that they care about their customers and invite them to engage will be the ones who find long term success.
Overall, I’d grade this email an A+.
Awesome job Marc and the entire Tiger Fitness team.
Keep kicking ass.
Big Takeaways from Tiger Fitness
- Make your subject lines look and feel personal.
- Illustrations are sometimes more eye-catching that pictures.
- Make your customers feel good about buying from your brand.
- Lead with gratitude in your order confirmation emails… this will make people want to keep buying from your brand.
- Encourage your customers to reach out.
- Offer help – the more you can learn about the outcomes your customers are trying to achieve… the more you’ll help them and the more often they’ll buy from you.
- If you were voted a ‘best place to work’, include that proof element! I didn’t mention it in the body of the article (I probably should have)… but that made me like these guys even more than I already do. I feel better about buying from a company that treats their people well.
- It’s a good idea to NOT waste real estate – there’s always an opportunity to get people browsing your other products.
- Share good content while your customers are waiting for their orders to arrive.
- Your second-time buyer email can and SHOULD be different than your first-time buyer email.
What You Should Do Next
- Subscribe to my email list so you can get ALL of the Emails of the Week delivered straight to your inbox, automatically.
- Leave a comment for me below and let me know what you liked about this email.
- Buy some whey protein from MTS & Tiger Fitness. I’m dead ass serious… this is the best whey protein I have ever had in my entire life. And I can’t imagine ever buying from any other brand ever again. I’m being serious, it’s lifechanging. Try it, you can thank me later.
This great and awesome read. i have been on your email list for a couple of weeks and am enjoying and learning the rudiment of email writing from you.
You are awesome and doing great
glad you enjoyed it!