Every potential customer comes to your brand with a different number and set of objections or, as we can label them, “false beliefs”.
Your goal? Overcome these, and they will buy.
Your weapon? “Belief-shifter” emails.
Nearly every email tactic/strategy, from automated sequences to launches to broadcast campaigns, should include emails that shift these “false beliefs.”
No, this doesn’t mean lying to them. Assuming your product can genuinely help them. We’re overcoming their objections.
Each “belief-shifter email” focuses on shattering one “false belief.” Each belief that comes tumbling down converts some customers who didn’t buy because they had that “false belief.”
And if a particular customer doesn’t convert, well, they’re one step closer to converting. A few more belief-shifter emails could do the trick.
Today’s Email Breakdown is among the best “belief-shifters” I’ve seen. I have a feeling Chris Orzechowski or someone at his agency wrote it because Mr. Orzechowski is their fractional CMO. And he’s the one I learned the “belief-shifting” framework from.
Plus, it’s a company in a niche I’m passionate about.
Let’s get into it…
About Perennial Pastures Ranch
Perennial Pastures Ranch is a regenerative/sustainable meat company that connects regenerative ranches with people who want the delicious and nutritious meat that, well, regenerative farming/ranching offers.
It was founded by Kevin Muno in 2021 — during the sickness that shall not be named — in San Diego, California. That’s where the main ranch is, but they now work with ranches in Montana and West Texas.
This is the type of stuff I’m passionate about.
Meat is good for you, full-stop. Don’t @ me.
American-raised, butchered, and packaged meat is even BETTER. You’re putting your countrymen to work and reaping the fruits (or meats?) of good ol’ beef (or chicken/pork/other meats).
Factory farming ain’t it, though, chief. Regenerative agriculture not only produces better-tasting and healthier meat… but it helps the land and the planet. It’s also kinder to the animals and honors their lives.
So by buying from companies like Perennial Pastures, you’re helping:
- American businesses
- American farmers/ranchers
- American workers
- The planet
- Yourself and your family
- And even the animals involved!
That’s what I’m talking about.
Passionate rant over. Now how about that email…
The Email: An Excellent Belief-Shifter
This email’s focus is addressing an objection, or, in other words, shifting a belief the customer has about Perennial Pastures’ product (or even the type of product the company sells).
A quick glance tells us it’s not the length of a sales letter, but it’s also not the shortest email.
That’s ok. Good objection-busting copy is not about length but about putting the “false belief” to rest — whether that takes 50 or 5,000 words.
Let’s see just how well this copy busts the objection at hand…
The Subject Line: “Shouldn’t I just buy meat from my supermarket?”
The subject line starts the email off just right by addressing the objection head-on:
The technique here: Repeating what your customers say (to you or themselves in their heads). In some cases, that’s half the battle. Especially when addressing objections.
Someone who just hopped on Perennial Pastures’ list likely has this question. Why should they buy this pricier meat they must wait on when their local Walmart or whatever has meat? Objections such as cost, quality, and anxieties around shipping are baked into this question.
This email promises to answer that.
I like the use of quotes. Without the quotation marks, it would sound like the company is asking the reader a question instead of quoting someone else. Big difference.
The Body Copy
The body copy immediately ties back to the subject line. No fancy tricks here, just the use of quotations to indicate that this is a real question:
The reader nods along like, “Yeah, is this cheaper? Is it worth it? I want to buy, but I don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck just for some meat.”
Yet, notice how it starts with “One of the biggest concerns people have…”. This tells the reader that they aren’t alone in thinking this. That they don’t feel silly for being price-conscious.
It’s like when 10 people in class have a question, but only one person is brave enough to risk looking stupid by asking. Everyone else breathes a sigh of relief — they get a burning question answered without having to ask. The same principle applies here.
The email doesn’t answer the question right away but opens a loop:
An open loop is when you pose a problem/question but don’t answer it. It exploits the Ovsiankina Effect. This phenomenon describes our tendency to want to pick up unfinished tasks. Basically, a cliffhanger. I used one here, if you noticed.
In this email, our brain wants the answer to the question at the start, so we keep reading.
It’s like magic — we have the reader “under our spell,” so they keep reading… increasing the chance they see all our copy… and increasing the chance we shift their belief so they buy.
That objection-busting starts in this section. Perennial Pastures concedes that, sure, you might save a dollar or two in the grocery store. However, Perennial Pastures “makes the skeleton dance”, as Ben Settle calls it. By that, I mean Perennial Pastures spins this “drawback” into a benefit:
Grocery stores mark up their meat a LOT. Thus, it’s not really a deal when you consider all these drawbacks.
You pay slightly more for Perennial Pastures… but get WAY better meat. None of that crap in the list the email provides.
As you can see: This “making the skeleton dance” builds trust and transparency by conceding that alternatives to your product have benefits…
But, at the same time, it helps you differentiate your product and justify charging a LOT more.
I like the use of red X emojis. Adds some readability. Also, it associates each list item with a negative emotion.
After showing why grocery store meat ain’t worth the $ savings, Perennial Pastures positions its products as the best alternative:
The first sentence is a bold statement. It’s not “We believe our meat is some of the best…” it’s “Our meat IS some of the best…”
Be proud of your offer. Say it with your chest. Customers respect that.
But then, as Perennial Pastures does, explain why.
I appreciate the imagery used in the paragraph here. I can picture the animals grazing in my head as I read it. It helps to associate this brand mentally with the real-world things that make them different.
Love the strategic use of bolding and all-caps to emphasize a selling point, too.
Time to truly close the loop opened earlier:
Once again, Perennial Pastures loudly and proudly proclaims that their stuff is (or at least seems) expensive.
But they reiterate the quality difference…
AND introduce a new benefit: Buying directly from them. Not going through a middleman (the grocery store) that marks up the price for poor quality.
I really enjoy how they close the email:
Perennial Pastures ties buying from them back to the larger thing they and their customers are passionate about:
Supporting regenerative agriculture.
You get to feel like part of a movement. You’re advancing a great cause (and helping people who share your values) when you buy their product.
One last section, the recommended product blocks:
These are always great to include in emails. Pretty easy to add them, and they offer readers faster ways to add products to their carts.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
When it comes to addressing objections, you can often just plug the objection into the subject line with some quotation marks.
That’ll tell anyone with that question/objection that this email answers that question/objection. Simple way to get opens, but don’t use it for every objection-buster/belief-shifter.
As for the body copy: Other brands in this space may take a more image-heavy, corporate-sounding approach.
On the other hand, this email is very conversational and friendly without being too casual.
The copy is also great at “making the skeleton dance.” No one trusts a brand that acts like it has zero flaws. But you must address those flaws correctly — be honest about them, but spin them into benefits. If your product costs more, maybe it’s higher quality and made by a company that aligns with the customer’s values.
Finally: The email uses lists and spacing well to enhance readability. Emojis are also in here for readability and personality.
2. The Email Structure
The email is built primarily around an open loop. It brings up the objection immediately but does not answer right away — giving the reader a sort of “anxiety” that gets them to keep reading.
This open loop, therefore, gives Perennial Pastures more of a chance to build up their argument while keeping the reader interested.
It also allows Perennial Pastures to elaborate on other benefits, such as supporting a good cause and good people.
3. The Overall Strategy
As I said at the beginning: This email shifts one “false belief” about the brand/product/niche.
I believe this was just a regular, one-off broadcast email. However, it could work well in a welcome sequence or even an abandoned cart.
Also worth noting: People are always joining your list. Sending emails that address common objections every so often is totally fine.
People on your list won’t mind seeing the same email more than once, as long as it’s not too often. It might even remind them why they buy from you, reducing the chance of unsubscribing from their recurring purchase/delivery.
Perennial Pastures here now has an asset they can reuse again and again to generate revenue.
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list using the signup form below.
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Share this post with someone who would find it helpful or insightful.
- Check out Perennial Pastures Ranch for absolutely mouthwatering grass-fed meats. You can even purchase whole or fractions of cows. Support regenerative agriculture!