I’ve been seeing a lot of stories lately about how most popular food delivery apps are actually screwing restaurant owners with every single order.

I’ve seen breakdowns where restaurant owners actually LOSE money with every order that gets placed.

That’s kind of fucking gross.

And I’m not too happy about it.

So, a few weeks ago, when I was looking for a local pizza place’s website… I was a little annoyed when the URL kept redirecting me to this “Slice” app that I’d never heard of.

I thought to myself, “Oh great… another one of these sleazy companies like Grubhub and Uber Eats. These guys are probably raking these poor small business owners over the coals.”

Let me tell you…

I couldn’t have been more wrong about Slice.

Slice are the GOOD guys.

And they’re helping mom and pop pizza shops around the country compete with tech giants like Dominos. (Yes, I called Dominos a tech giant. They are no longer a pizza place, they’re a sophisticated technology company at their core now.)

I was so impressed with Slice, the problem they solve, and how they do business… that I had to order through their app.

And once I did, I was delighted to find out that they also have an incredible email marketing game.

Today, I wanted to break down the one email that ‘won’ me forever and turned me into a lifetime user/customer.

It was so damn good.

It came straight from the heart.

And it really eliminated the possibility you’ll do business with any of their competitors.

So…

Without further ado…

Let’s dive into this week’s Email of the Week!

This is the 40th 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!

New Jersey Has The Best Pizza. Don’t @ Me.

Alright, so let’s dive into Slice’s fantastic email game.

The email I’m going to be break down was sent to me after placing my first order through the app.

Actually, I’m probably going to show you the first and second email I got… because it was such a powerful one-two punch… you gotta see it for yourself.

So, let’s take a look at the order confirmation email first, it was DAMN good:

 

Ok, the subject line: phenomenal.

It makes YOU the hero of the story. And, it’s a simple form of positive reinforcement: you get a little dopamine hit for executing a specific behavior (ordering using Slice).

It’s ALL about you and the awesome action you just took – very cool.

Now, the body:

Look at that tone. From one person… to YOU. Not to ‘everyone’… it’s written to YOU.

This is KEY.

The copy reinforces the USP. And they even have a liquid field that pulls in the name of the pizzeria you just ordered from.

(BTW – shout out to Sal’s Pizza… the GOAT pizza in North Brunswick. Their Penne Vodka is also LITTY AF. Highly recommend.)

The tone of this really is perfect, it’s just so personal.

This next block is great, too:

 

Holy shit bro – what a powerful block of copy.

First, let’s address the family picture to the right. Totally humanizes the brand and makes you feel like you ‘know’ the Founder. This effect is SO powerful.

They’re not just some nameless, face-less venture-backed startup lead by a bunch of douchebags.

This guy is a REAL person with a story.

And a dream.

It’s inspirational… and you can FEEL his passion.

Side note: I too feel passion for pizza. It’s culture. It’s ritual. We all have good memories around pizza, whether it was from your 7th birthday party, your Friday Night dinners with your family as you were growing up, or… when you went with your wife to Tuscany and learned how to make pizza “the right way” in a wood-burning oven.

When you read that paragraph of copy, you instinctively think of the guy or girl who runs the local pizza shop you love ordering from.

This is such a brilliant bit of copy.

I also love how he injects his ‘mission’ into the copy and also how he describes pizza making as a craft.

It really is art.

At least in my opinion.

 

 

I almost don’t even wanna comment on this copy, because it’s so perfect.

It’s one thing to tell someone they’ve made a difference. It’s another thing to actually SHOW it.

These 3 bullets pack such a punch. Especially the last one: because you’re using slice and supporting local businesses, you’re helping the small business owners themselves.

After COVID, I feel like this desire has been strengthened. We all want to support local business.

That’s right FUCK YOU WALMART. FUCK YOU DOMINOS.

Buy local.

These are great ‘reason why’ bullets… and they reaffirm that you made a good decision to use Slice.

 

This is the final paragraph in the email.

I love this copy as well (shocker). The best part of this is clearly where he encourages you to write to him. Ilir reads every comment, question, and piece of feedback.

THIS IS HOW YOU FUCKING DO IT, PEOPLE!

THIS IS HOW YOU SHOW YOU CARE.

I like this guy, and I don’t even know him.

I dig the mission.

I dig the copy.

I dig the strategy.

I dig the product.

All around, just an amazing email.

I was pretty ‘sold’ on using Slice again, the next time I wanted to order pizza.

But the second post-purchase follow up email clinched it.

It just won me over, I can’t lie.

I’m a customer for life.

Look at this:

 

You see this picture of Nick? That’s actually a revolving GIF that shows a few different local pizza owners.

This builds SUCH a strong connection and not only humanizes the Slice brand even more… it also humanizes the local pizza shops. You see the people behind these businesses.

You feel that connection forming.

This is just so smart.

So well done.

 

Ok, so this part right here.

God damn, this was the part that clinched it for me.

Seeing this visual representation – even tho it doesn’t show specific numbers (it doesn’t have to for it to be effective, btw) – this part just won me over.

I don’t wanna be the customer who causes my favorite pizza place to lose money on my order. Fuck that.

This is just effective.

How could you ever order pizza from a competing app ever again?

Seriously… you’ll be thinking of this image every time.

This one image forever shifts your buying behavior.

At least it did for me.

Alright, one last piece…

 

They reinforce their benefits and DIMENSIONALIZE them in that bullet block.

They’re short and quick… so you’ll remember them. And possibly even tell your friends.

And the last part brings it back to their overall ‘mission.’

Oh yeah – and another picture of a REAL pizza maker.

Kudos Slice.

You guys fucking rock, keep fighting the good fight.

Keep crafting awesome emails.

Just keep doing you… I support you fully.

Bravo.

Big Takeaways from Slice

1. Make your reader the hero of their own story.
2. Always relate your benefits back to the reader (and any other parties who benefit).
3. Use visuals to burn important concepts into your reader’s brains.
4. Always dimensionalize your benefits.
5. Pictures of you, your team, or the people you’re supporting will ALWAYS humanize your brand and increase response.
6. Keep your benefits simple enough that people can easily recall and repeat and spread the word.
7. Keep the tone As Personal As Possible. (APAP – can we make it a thing?)
8. Encourage people to write back, they will. And they’ll love your brand even more.
9. If you’re sticking up for the underdog, let people know that!
10. Don’t just sell a product. Turn your marketing into a mission.

What You Should Do Next

1. Subscribe to my email list so you can get ALL of the Emails of the Week delivered straight to your inbox, automatically.
2. Leave a comment for me below and let me know what you liked about this email.
3. Download the Slice app.I use it and I LOVE it. It’s really easy to use, really well done, and best of all… you’re helping your community every time you order pizza. That’s a win-win-win.