The other day I was scrolling through Twatter when I found a thread from a guy named Andrew Wilkinson.
The first line of the tweet grabbed me by the collar and spoke to my soul…
I sat up straight.
And I leaned in…
My inbox is a dumpster fire as well.
Don’t get me wrong…
I’ve done a lot to try and tame mine. But I’ve realized that once your audience gets over a certain size… and when you have a number of products out in the market that need customer support… and when you have an email marketing agency with leads coming in on an almost daily basis… you’re going to get overrun by your inbox.
For me, it was hugely important that I could find something to help me defeat the hydra.
That’s when I first learned about Mailman.
It’s a pretty sweet app (I’ll explain what it does in a sec).
Now, I was thrilled when I saw the app itself and started using it…
BUT…
This morning I got a ‘welcome email’ that was so awesome… I knew I had to break it down.
And, well…
That’s what we’re going to take a look at today.
So…
Let’s take a look at this week’s Email of the Week!
This is the 46th 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!
The Draper Mailbox
What really got me excited about this product was the following piece of Andrew Wilkinson’s tweet thread:
Let me tell you something.
And I want to be VERY FUCKING CLEAR when I say this…
If you frame your product pitch as The Don Draper ‘anything’… I am fucking buying it.
So, that’s first.
Second, what this app does is it acts like a mailman… only delivering your mail at set intervals you can choose.
Instant fucking gamechanger.
Cum explosion everywhere.
(Yeah I know, lots of memes and gifs today. It’s Friday at 9:16am and I gotta haul ass here to get this article out. Sue me.)
Anyway…
Let’s take a look at their incredible welcome email automation (I’m assuming) that goes out after you’ve had a couple days to try out the service.
I think it’s something you might wanna model for your OWN business.
And…
It provides some nice contrast to some of the other “Perfect First Impression-style” emails I’ve covered in past editions of Email of the Week.
Let’s take a look:
You know what I love about this email?
Well, a lot of things.
But most of all, I love that it’s practically indistinguishable from a regular, personal gmail email.
I mean, it passes the sniff test. That’s for damn sure.
I LOVE the full-name liquid field in the fourth sentence, that’s a great personal touch.
And they’re doing the CD baby thing without being hackneyed or going too over-the-top.
It’s subtle.
Very nice.
After this, they have a small paragraph about the ‘getting started’ guide.
That’s super helpful, for any kind of software (or ecomm product that needs some explanation).
Let’s continue…
So they continue the ‘celebration’ theme through the end of the email.
I love that.
They elected to use a Donald Duck and Daisy Duck gif.
Tame.
Family-friendly.
IT’S FOR THE KIDS!
Personally, I would have opted for coked-up blue shirt man to express my elation…
… but different strokes for different folks, I guess!!!
lol
In all seriousness, it is a nice visual touch.
And notice how the image SUPPORTS the copy… and NOT the other way around.
This, in my opinion, is the key to using images right in your emails.
Anyway…
This one’s super short.
It says what it needs to say.
It gives you a little dopamine hit, a little shock and delight.
Overall, this is a super-solid welcome email automation.
I love it.
And I think you should try Mailman.
Orzechowski, OUT!
Big Takeaways from Mailman’s Welcome Email
- Make your images support your copy, not the other way around.
- If your emails look like a standard gmail email… you’re doing something right.
- GIFs are fun, use them.
- Shock and delight your readers with a Perfect-First-Impression email to keep them coming back for more.
- If your product is more complex, make sure you include onboarding guides in your email flow.
- Personalized liquid fields make readers feels special.
- Your email should be from ONE person… to ONE person.
- Keep your language and tone fun and conversational.
- Turn your subscriber into the hero of the story.
- Sign off your emails with your name, not from the __ team (whenever possible).
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.
- Sign up for Mailman. It will literally change your life and might even lower your blood pressure (<I’m not a doctor so don’t take my word on that.)
Short & Sweet! Love it!