If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know I’m a big fan of text-based emails.
After all…
People don’t look at an email and say “Wow… would ya look at how well designed this email is? The design of this email makes wanna buy this thing they’re selling me!”
Nobody makes buying decisions like that.
Even the most well-designed emails succeed because they have SOME copy.
It’s the words – the email copy itself – which draws people in, demonstrates the product’s benefits and ultimately wins the sale.
That’s why I love breaking down emails from e-commerce companies who make it a point to put their time, energy, and bandwidth toward writing emails with great copy.
One brand that does that very well is Gold Medal Wine Club.
Now, full disclosure:
Gold Medal Wine Club is a client of mine.
However…
I did not write this email that I’m breaking down right now. So I’m not breaking the sacred rule of Email of the Wee that says: you can’t pick yourself.
If you’re on Gold Medal Wine Club’s email list… you’re in for a real treat.
And if you’re NOT on their list yet, you better be by the time you’re done reading this article.
Not only do they have great emails… they have some great wine clubs you can join. One thing that makes them unique is they source a lot of unique wines from actual vineyards.
Some wine clubs get their wine from “factories” that sell the same wine to different companies and slap a different label on the bottle.
NOT Gold Medal Wine Club, though.
They are the best in the business. You’re going to learn a lot from this email breakdown.
I really think you’re gonna love this one…
So…
Without further ado…
Let’s dive into this week’s Email of the Week!
This is the 33rd 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!
It’s Wine O’Clock Somewhere
One of the great things about using consistent, frequent email broadcasts in your business is that you can be flexible and dynamic with your marketing.
Case in point:
Today is Earth Day.
Some companies made the decision to allude to this current event in their emails, which is a strategy I wholeheartedly support.
It’s always a good idea to tie in recent events to your emails… no matter what is happening.
At a bare minimum, it’s an effective form of pacing and leading.
You meet your prospects at the conversation going on in their mind… and then you lead them to make a buying decision that’ll help them reach their goals.
Well…
Not EVERY company can do this for every single current event.
But if you own a wine company, a holiday like Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to tie in current events to demonstrate the benefits of some of your products.
After all, wine comes from the grapevines that grow deep into the Earth. A wine’s flavor is derived from a number of factors, depending on where and how it’s grown.
So this is a hand and glove fit for a promotion, in my opinion.
Let’s take a look at how Gold Medal Wine Club did such a great job of pacing and leading with their copy:
The subject line is perfect for everything that’s going on right now.
Obviously, there’s pacing and leading.
There’s a question in the subject line… which always catches attention.
And, it hints at a rationalization you can use for drinking some awesome wines.
I personally love wine. And the one thing I love even more than wine is finding exciting, new excuses for me to drink more wine.
GMWC scratches this itch.
Let’s dive into the body copy…
One thing I love about Kelsey’s email writing style is that she’s always very personal and friendly in her copy. Her tone is welcoming… like a friend who’s checking in.
Very few companies ever achieve this tone with their copy.
You see this inviting tone on display here.
Notice how the copy does NOT launch right into a sales pitch. Instead, it reads exactly like an email from a friend would read.
This is great form.
In the second half of this copy block, you see how Kelsey begins to tease some specials they have coming up, opening that loop that’ll be closed in a future email.
At the very least, it plants the idea seed into your brain that you might wanna buy from GMWC when you see that offer they’re talking about. This little bit of copy is like a “save the date” for this future promotion.
It makes your brain start allocating funds toward this purchase weeks before an offer is presented.
Always a good idea to tease and pre-sell.
Nicely done.
Let’s keep going…
Notice the use of “I” and “you” copy.
This email reads like a one-to-one conversation.
If ALL you ever did in your emails was write with this same kind of tone… you’d be lightyears ahead of all your competitors in terms of building a relationship with your customers.
Great stuff.
In the second paragraph, Kelsey provides a much-needed mental reframe to help people wrap their head around how to think about everything going on in the world right now.
It exudes positivity.
And…
It sets up an opportunity for the reader to lift their spirits even further.
In the last part of this copy block, Kelsey introduces the meat of the promotion: there’s a BIG discount on a very select group of wines from their inventory.
Let’s read on…
Notice how the hook of this promotion is NOT: we have wine bottles on sale.
Instead… it’s: we have a very specific set of bottles that are super healthy and are influenced by their terroir in a unique way.
It gives you a unique reason to buy THESE particular wines NOW instead of at any other time.
The specificity of the collection, when tied into the current event, will drive a lot of sales.
The language unpacking the offer is simple and straightforward.
Not a word wasted.
Again, more “I” and “you” type language.
That tone never fades.
You can feel the difference as you read this copy, compared to some other brands who “broadcast” their message as if they’re speaking to a crowded room.
The rest of this email unpacks the details of the offer nicely and even invites some engagement. And they do it in a way that’s inviting and friendly.
That last line is a nice touch: “if you need anything let us know, we read every email!”
Gold Medal Wine Club is one company that does e-com email marketing the RIGHT way.
They invite you into the conversation.
They don’t “talk at” you.
A relationship is built.
Loyalty is forged.
And retention becomes less and less of an issue, when you market this way.
All in all, this is a super solid email… just one of the MANY super-solid emails they send out.
So, great job Gold Medal Wine Club.
Keep up the great work.
Big Takeaways from Gold Medal Wine Club
- Write like a real person.
- Write TO one person, not a group.
- Pace, then lead.
- Relate current events to your offers, if appropriate.
- Always tease the next offer, plant that idea seed in people’s minds so they mentally commit ahead of time.
- Use “I” and “you” in your copy.
- Invite people to reply back.
- Use your copy to help people reframe their situation.
- Put people in a good mood with your words.
- Unpack all the details of your offer in your email’s call-to-action. Clicks don’t matter unless they’re pre-sold.
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.
- Send this breakdown to someone you know who has a physical product business. You might help them write emails that increase loyalty and customer retention… while making a whole lot of sales.
- Order some wine from Gold Medal Wine Club. And get on their list… their wines are even better than their marketing!
