The number of brands doing email well are few in number.
The number of brands I am a happy, regular customer with are even fewer.
(I can count them on one hand.)
So the intersection of the first two sentences is quite rare.
It’s always a good day when I find one of these brands…
That’s why I was delighted to discover Breathe Naturals Deodorant, a deodorant brand focusing on natural, organic, skin-friendly ingredients for those with active lifestyles.
I’m not a customer yet, but they’re high up on my “businesses to support” list. They do email well, too.
I won’t lie. This brand’s deodorants are expensive. But, as you’ll see, they can afford to and, dare I say…
Deserve to charge those prices.
In this post, you’ll learn things like:
- How to use open loops to “smuggle in” benefits and other selling points
- Why product bundles are GREAT for brand new customers
- A tactic for establishing (or bolstering) your position against competitors
- How to layer on social proof in a way that sounds natural (and not so braggy)
- Factors that let you charge premium prices… and make customers ecstatic to pay them
| Table of Contents |
| About Breathe Naturals Deodorant The Email: Open Loops and Positioning in One Bundle The Subject Line and Preview Text: The Body Copy Takeaways What to Do Next |
About Breathe Naturals Deodorant
Breathe Naturals Deodorant is an online deodorant brand serving athletes, runners, bodybuilders, and really anyone who works out hard and sweats a lot.
This brand was founded by Nigel Sadek.
Nigel had been a health and fitness nut (same here) for most of his life. He struggled in not exercise, healthy eating, or other matters…
But in finding a deodorant that didn’t create terrible rashes — particularly during vigorous exercise.
He tried natural deodorants (to remove those annoying chemicals), and yet the odor-blocking power faded before he could get through a workout.
Frustrated, he decided to make his own.
In 2018, he began pouring his life into researching and developing the “best deodorant on earth,” according to the About Page.
15 months, 90 different formulas, and hundreds of hours of research, and three cosmetic formulation chemists later…
And he finally crafted the perfect deodorant.
Thus, Breathe Naturals was born.
Non-Email Lesson 1: Offer Structure and Naming
At the time of writing, Breathe Naturals has expanded to offer eight luscious scents.
Something I LOVE about the products:
Breathe Naturals grouped several scents together into “packs” suiting different target customers:
- The Dude Pit Pack: For dudes, of course.
- The Chick Pit Pack: Ladies, this one’s for you.
- The Florida Pit Pack: Tropical scents that remind you of sunshine, sand, and waves. And if it works in swampy Florida, it works anywhere.
- The Family Pit Pack: All eight scents, perfect for families (or people who want to stock up).
You can also build your own bundle or buy individual scents if you so desire.
Lesson here that I always harp on:
Customers buy solutions to problems. Not products.
A male shopper can skip the product comparisons and try to find the masculine scents. They can just buy The Dude Pit Pack. Breathe Naturals did the hard thinking for them. Men know which product to buy to smell good to the ladies.
And vice-versa, of course, for the Chick Pit Pack.
Less thinking = less friction = easier sales (and higher AOV, thanks to the bundle).
Non-Email Lesson 2: Positioning
I already mentioned that Breathe Naturals is for people who work out hard. “X product for Y audience.”
Good positioning for a sophisticated market (in Gene Schwartz’s terms).
But it also trickles down to those outside the market:
If their deodorant holds up for athletes in the humid Florida sun… it holds up for ANYONE.
People with more money to spend will happily pay a fat premium for such benefits, athlete or not.
It’s almost like “residual” positioning/proof, for lack of a better word.
The Email: Open Loops and Positioning in One Bundle
Today’s email is the first email I received after the official welcome email. So it is most likely part of the Welcome Sequence.
It’s a nice mix of copy and visuals with plenty of brand voice throughout:
Pardon the inability to read the text — we’ll get into that in the post.
However, you can see the structure. The colors and blocks are pleasing enough to the eye. Yet there is a section of plain text to communicate with the customer.
Let’s see how good the copy is…
The Subject Line and Preview Text:
Our subject line has several elements packed into five words:
Most obvious is the curiosity. Breathe Naturals is promising to tell you some juicy information about their products… something that you’d think they wouldn’t reveal to free email list members.
Taps into exclusivity, too. Makes you feel like you get something special by being on the list.
Notice the emojis, too. They catch the eye and add some fun to the subject line.
Finally, people are usually against exclamations. But it fits the brand’s enthusiastic voice (I saw some of the brand’s other emails and website copy).
We move on to the preview text:
Breathe Naturals wastes no space, reminding customers of their welcome discount with a dash of curiosity (Exclusive Discount Code Inside).
Once again, emojis help grab attention and add to the brand personality. The brackets also catch the eye and make the communication appear more “secret” or “exclusive”.
The Body Copy
This email starts with a logo and a headline:
Nice visual touch — the company name and the founder tossing the product in the air. Makes things feel more personal because you can see the founder.
The headline reiterates the curiosity and builds on the anticipation started in the subject line. And then another relevant emoji.
Next, the hero section:
I like how the shot features a rustic wooden countertop. It fits the brand’s “all-natural” angle. Images used wisely can help!
Then, we have a big CTA button for people ready to shop now.
One minor fix: Put the discount code up here (perhaps as a parenthetical below the button or as part of the button copy) so the reader doesn’t have to scroll. Reduces a bit of friction.
Moving onto the copy:
Breathe Naturals lays on the proof in several ways. The first sentence toes the line between a factual statement and bragging pretty well. They slide in that they get tons of great reviews but don’t make it the main point.
It draws attention to the next line, which has some voice of the customer and subtle future pacing…
Bringing the reader to line three, where the reader not only gets more proof…
But plants the seed of sharing this product with others and getting status/social approval as a result of “discovering” this awesome deodorant.
That’s a lot in three lines!
Those lines bring us to the bridge between the hook and the subject line payoff:
They don’t do it right away, though. They instead dive into some product’s benefits and dimensionalization before one more line of curiosity-inducing copy.
Notice how Breathe Naturals has been building anticipation this whole time. From the social proof to the product benefits…
Breathe Naturals structured the first few paragraphs to smuggle in a ton of selling points that the reader HAS to read to pay off the subject line.
This, my dear reader, is how you use an open loop.
But we must now close that loop — it’s time to pay off the subject line:
Well that’s a twist. There’s not even a real ingredient!
But it’s a bit humorous. Maybe it’s a gamble, but Breathe Naturals sold its product well enough while the loop was open.
The copy after the big reveal helps, too, through analogy. Mom’s home-cooked meals with garden-grown ingredients beat factory-line sludge…
Not just in terms of ingredients, but also, the care that goes into it.
Same thing with Breathe Naturals’ deodorant. So now the “made with love” angle is not just some corny line. Breathe Naturals is using the “small, down-home vs. big and bureaucratic” angle here.
Also, the red white and blue hearts. Patriotic readers can appreciate that.
We move to the final section of the body:
One final line of outcome-focused language, infused with some positioning (“with the best”), then the email urges the reader to buy.
Multiple CTAs, but the linked ones are more implicit CTAs. So it offers the reader plenty of opportunities to click without feeling like they crammed CTAs in there.
Oh, and the code. Readers can use that to get their welcome discount.
I like the button copy. It, too, is outcome-focused. Rather than “order deodorant,” it’s “get X result.”
Finally, we have an HTML/image version of what looks like a “Super Signature”:
Let’s run through each element:
- Presenting the bundle offers is an excellent choice. Bundles make for good front-end offers by removing friction for the customer who might need help figuring out what to start with. The first purchase is the hardest — repeat sales are easier and lend themselves well to individual scents. The images label the deodorant scents, too, which educates the reader (somewhat) into what scents work for which people.
- A review block for social proof. Notice the use of colors alongside the customer’s gender for the first two. Also, note how the testimonials aren’t just “great product!” but address pain points, objections, and goals.
- Several more tactics to remove friction. Free shipping and Buy Now, Pay Later makes the first purchase even more accessible, especially if it’s a bundle. The 30-day free trial and free returns remove risk from the customer, making it an easy decision. Finally, Breathe Naturals reiterates a big selling point.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
Open Loop
I love how the first half of the email is an open loop. It’s a great technique for ” smuggling in” lots of sales points and other data while holding your reader’s attention.
Of course, you have to do it right. The copy still has to be something the reader wants to read. It can’t drone on.
I think Breathe Naturals did it well. They worked in plenty of selling points.
Voice and Format
Notice how fun of a voice they write in. You can feel the enthusiasm through the descriptive language and strategic use of caps lock.
And then there’s little things like “Well, we could go on…”. That’s one of my favorites because it’s how I (and many) talk.
Also, the emojis. There’s plenty without it feeling like too much.
Analogy
Notice the “mom’s home-cooked meals” analogy? Excellent positioning copy — it helps establish a mental picture of where Breathe Naturals sits in the deodorant market.
Customers know what kind of brand they are and, by extension, if Breathe Naturals is their deodorant company.
Visual “Super Signature”
Finally, I like how they added a visual-based section at the bottom resembling a Super Signature. Great way to convey more information and make more sales.
2. The Email Structure
This email structure is as follows:
- Logo
- Headline
- Hero image
- CTA 1
- Social proof + future pacing
- Open loop
- Features, benefits, and dimensionalization
- Close the loop
- Analogy
- Benefits reiteration
- CTA 2
- Visual “Super Signature”
- Bundle offers
- Testimonials
- Risk-removal and big benefit
A lot of elements, to be sure. But focus on everything after number 5. You can mimic this structure with tweaks to fit other niches and products.
3. The Overall Strategy
This is part of a Welcome Sequence — a big strategy takeaway (besides trying to secure the first sale) is establishing or bolstering your product’s positioning vs. competitors.
Breathe Naturals positions itself as the down-home, hand-crafted product that’s healthier and more wholesome than giant globocorp competitors.
Classic type of positioning (and accompanying rhetoric).
It also complements the brand’s overall positioning well. They appeal to athletes and generally health-conscious people who hate when mass-market deodorants cause rashes during exercise.
The mass production of those deodorants, in theory, leads to rashes because the company prioritizes price over ingredients. The “globocorp deodorant” goes hand-in-hand with low quality.
Meanwhile, Breathe Natural’s more “down-home” process implies healthiness, natural ingredients, more personal attention to creating the product, etc. All of that implies a better product scentwise and skinwise.
This is what allows Breathe Naturals to charge premium prices and have customers pay those day in and day out. I’d rather pay more to support a good product from a small business run by a “real person” who shares my values. Wouldn’t you?
Perhaps the biggest strategy takeaway, though…
If you have a market with a problem, you’re part of that market, and you develop and an offer that solves the big problem…
“Copywriting” is no longer some science to study.
Just look at Breathe Naturals. Nigel, the founder, developed this product to solve the problem he was having. Then turned it into a business, helping others solve the same problem.
Many founders can get pretty far writing to their list (without hiring a strategist) if they carve out time and are even somewhat passionate about their product and market.
Lesson in there…
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list using the signup form below for more Email Breakdowns and other helpful marketing content.
- Share this with someone who might find it helpful (or entertaining).
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Check out Breathe Naturals for long-lasting, delicious-smelling deodorant. Great for whether you’re an athlete or just a regular person who likes to smell good!
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