Sometimes, I find a brand who does email so well that I do at least two Email Breakdowns on them.
That means they are:
- Writing great email copy
- Mailing consistently
- Demonstrate an understanding of customer psychology
- Appear to have email flows in place
My mission is to showcase these brands so other brands can learn from them… and that the brands doing things well get the attention they deserve.
Thus, we have a second email from Breathe Naturals Deodorant to dissect…
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 exercising, 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.
There’s a lot more great lessons to learn from Breathe Naturals beyond email… to many to lay out here.
Fortunately, I broke some of those down in the “About” section of my first Breathe Naturals Email Breakdown. Check it out here.
The Email: Solving a Big Dilemma… and Justifying the Premium Price
Like the email in my previous Breakdown, Breathe Naturals surrounds a copy section with some visual elements for an appealing structure.
Lots of color and emojis are noticeable at first glance. Seems nice and scannable to appeal to many kinds of readers.
But you came for the Breakdown, so lets, well, break things down…
The Subject Line: “Ever Read the Ingredient List On Your Deodorant?🧪”
Our subject line poses a question that many in this space can relate to:
Customers in this niche are on high alert for gross chemicals and other substances in their products.
Breathe Naturals’s whole thing is that it uses natural, skin-friendly ingredients in its products.
Thus, this subject line appeals to a common pain point that Breathe Naturals resolves — the terrible ingredients in mass-manufactured deodorants.
Best part?
The subject line doesn’t just say “There are bad things in your deodorant!”
It leverages curiosity and broaches the topic more gently. It feels more like the founder’s talking to you. It gets the customer going “Yeah, wait a second, there are some strange ingredients!”
It’s almost “inviting” you to participate in some activity and learn something.
It makes the reader say “No, you know what, I haven’t. I should probably know exactly what’s going on (and into) my skin.”
The Body Copy
Breathe Naturals opens its emails with an image of the founder tossing a stick of deodorant in the air next to the logo… plus a headline:
The headline reiterates the subject line and adds a “face with monocle” emoji, as is customary for Breathe Naturals.
This brings us straight to the hero image…
And I can tell Breathe Naturals was deliberate in its hero image selection:
The headline brings the problem of bad ingredients to the forefront again… and the hero image shows Breathe Naturals as the solution that fixes this big problem.
The CTA button is there to offer the more purchase-ready customers a chance to buy if they know just how bad the problem is. These customers are prepared to buy, but perhaps just need a reminder.
Customers who aren’t quite ready to buy yet — perhaps they don’t fully understand the severity of the problem — read onto the copy:
Breathe Naturals sets up the dichotomy many in the market are trapped in:
A healthy deodorant… or one that works.
People will choose the latter over the former because, at the end of the day, it at least does the job. That’s why Breathe Naturals went with the “bad ingredient” angle in the subject line and headline.
Yet they still have the pain of the poor ingredients and accompanying issues (skin problems and even worse, possible endocrine/hormone issues).
It’s the perfect setup to introduce Breathe Naturals as the solution:
Breathe Naturals ties the two together into one product and reiterates that you don’t have to give up either benefit…
You can have both by buying Breathe Naturals products.
But there’s more to it. Breathe Naturals gives some product background to “show” rather than “tell” its product’s superiority and gets into the details of its ingredients:
The first line is the “showing”. Easier for the customer to understand Breathe Naturals’s benefits when Breathe Naturals explains who it was designed for, rather than just what it does.
It also calls out the target audience without being too direct of a callout (which would sound corny and fall flat).
The second line gets into the sciency stuff while sneaking in a bit of teaching. Breathe Naturals shows the reader what kinds of ingredients are bad and establishes authority by speaking about them.
Note how the chemicals in the “other” deodorants just sound nasty from a phonetic standpoint. Lots of harsh consonants and confusing words conjure up images of “icky.”
That brings us to the third line, where Breathe Naturals discusses its product’s ingredients and the big benefit.
All the ingredients are natural substances the target reader knows are good for the skin. None of them sound weird or artificial.
I’d say that this is the product’s unique mechanism. It’s the special thing that helps the product deliver the promised results. Revealing it lends credibility.
The plant emoji adds to the mental image the reader gets — it indicates “natural” and “healthy.”
Breathe Naturals has persuaded the reader that its deodorant can solve the “natural or effective” conundrum.
That brings us to the CTA section:
I love the first line here. It summarizes the contents of this email in a clever way and incorporates the voice of the customer in a natural fashion…
All while making the brand feel less “corporate”.
The second line uses that catchy “Reset Your Sweat” line Breathe Naturals uses. I enjoy it. It’s descriptive of what the product does and has a ring to it.
Even the button copy is creative: “Smell Fresh Here” instead of the first button’s “Shop Deodorants.”
It doesn’t stop at creativity. It’s functional. It’s benefit-driven and fits the reader’s headspace right after reading about the ingredients that make them smell fresh.
Finally, we have an HTML/image version of what looks like a “Super Signature”:
Let’s run through each element (same as in my last Email Breakdown):
- 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
Digging Into the Unique Mechanism
Breathe Naturals shows you why its product is different by discussing the unique mechanism — the ingredients that keep you fresh all day while being nice to your skin.
This lends a lot of credibility. The brand goes beyond hitting the customer over the head with “we’re better” and shows why.
Avatar-Focused… But Not Forced
I’m thinking of this line:
“BN was designed for athletes, runners, lifters, and keeps you totally fresh & odor free all day, even in hot weather and intense workouts. ☀️💪🏼”
Breathe Naturals calls out who the product is for. This takes a lot of the “thinking” burden off the reader. If they’re one of the types of people mentioned, they know it’s for them. And if they aren’t, well, this language backs up the claim that Breathe Naturals lasts forever (since it’s for active people in hot, humid climates).
The rest of the copy is tailored to this avatar, though. It’s all about natural ingredients and skin health.
Voice and Format
As I laid out in the previous Breathe Naturals Email Breakdown, the brand has a fun voice and writes to you.
It goes beyond vague, second-person copy. It feels like Nigel’s writing to you rather than the brand. Despite the use of “our” and “we.”
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 is primarily a problem/solution email meant to set up Breathe Naturals as superior.
The email structure is as follows:
- Logo
- Headline
- Hero image
- CTA 1
- Problem
- Knife twisting
- Solution
- Scientific proof/unique mechanism
- CTA 2
- Visual “Super Signature”
- Bundle offers
- Testimonials
- Risk-removal and big benefit
The copy structure (between CTAs 1 and 2) is pretty simple, as you can see. Which brings me to the big structural point:
Learn several copy frameworks, and writing good stuff that sells takes a lot less time.
3. The Overall Strategy
Two big takeaways:
Establishing Competitive Superiority
Breathe Naturals successfully establishes its superiority by showing how it solves a burning problem in the market that no other products can seem to solve.
That problem, of course, is that no deodorant can seem to both last all day and be kind to the skin.
This allows Breathe Naturals to justify their premium prices and be seen as the go-to solution for its target audience — athletes and active individuals.
One Angle Per Email
Breathe Naturals did an excellent job of laser-focusing on one angle — the ingredients and their benefits for the customer.
If this email didn’t sell a particular customer, Breathe Naturals likely has more in the tank covering different objections.
Remember:
Emails are NOT sales pages. You don’t have one chance to sell the reader. You have many. Each email is a pebble that eventually tips the sale scales in your favor.
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!
Your book recommendation was a page-turner! I couldn’t put it down. Your literary taste is impeccable. Can’t wait to explore more titles you suggest.