At the time of publishing this Email Breakdown, it’s been just over one month since Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in the Southeast US.
No state in the region made it out unscathed…
But North Carolina — being less prepared for hurricanes (given their location) was absolutely devastated.
It’s sad because even now the news doesn’t seem to talk about one of the worst natural disasters in American history.
However, there’s beauty to be found even in tragedy:
Americans from around the country dropped jobs, college classes, and other responsibilities to travel to Western North Carolina/Eastern Tennessee and assist the relief efforts.
Others started fundraisers or donated to organizations on the ground helping.
(I’ve donated to one of these fundraisers and sent aid to a local church handing out food because I can’t travel there, unfortunately. Gotta help wherever you can.)
The American spirit isn’t dead. It’s bursting with vitality.
One brand that caught my attention among all this is Equip Foods.
This supplement company decided to help the efforts in the way only they can:
For every bag of their flagship Prime Protein beef isolate protein powder, customers ordered on October 8-9, 2024…
Equip would donate 1 lb of grass-fed beef to local restaurants and similar organizations feeding those in need.
They aimed a MINIMUM of 3,000 lbs (aka 3,000 purchases) and a MAXIMUM of 10,000 pounds…
And shoutout to Equip’s customer base:
Customers bought enough Prime Protein beef to allow Equip Foods to donate 6,000 lbs of beef, and possibly more, in those TWO DAYS.
We are so back.
Today, we’ll look at the “announcement email” in this campaign to teach you some tips for running your own “good cause” email.
If you run one, I’m sure Western North Carolina needs it. Some of those places will take YEARS to rebuild, if at all.
Your countrymen need your help!
In the meantime, read on…
| Table of Contents |
| About Equip Foods The Email: Supporting a Good Cause and Earning Goodwill The Subject Line and Send Name The Body Copy Takeaways What to Do Next |
About Equip Foods
Equip Foods is a supplement company focused on clean, simple, whole-food supplements. Its flagship product is Prime Protein, a grass-fed beef isolate protein powder (yes, beef protein powder). Surprisingly, this product comes in many flavors.
(I might buy some. It sounds good and it’s Carnivore-friendly.)
However, Equip sells a range of other products like preworkouts, collagen supplements, organ supplements, and even coffee.
Equip was founded in 2015 by Dr. Anthony Gustin, a board-certified sports physician who is also the CEO/co-founder of Perfect Keto.
His name is on other animal-based/sustainable nutrition companies, such as Lineage Provisions and Zero Acre Farms.
Dr. Gustin founded Equip after realizing there were no good, clean supplements he trusted and could recommend to improve the health AND performance of his athletes.
He started with his all-natural preworkout, then the beef isolate protein came along and things grew from there.
Now, the company’s mission is to create new, higher standards in a supplement industry full of dirty tricks, toxic chemicals, and nutrient-lacking products.
That’s a mission I can get behind!
The Email: Supporting a Good Cause and Earning Goodwill
Today’s email is Email 1 in a 3-part campaign to donate food to Western North Carolina and Tennessee communities devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Equip sent this email about 2 weeks after Helene struck North Carolina and Tennessee…
Long enough to realize that private individuals and organizations would have to take the response into their OWN hands.
Here’s the email:
100% plain-text, as you can see. A bit hard to read, I know, but you can see several links and bolding to break things up.
By the way, each section will also be kinda small and scrunched given the email’s formatting.
Feel free to zoom in on your browser to read each section if needed.
The Subject Line and Send Name
The subject line tells you broadly what the email’s about:
Since this is right in the heart of the Helene coverage, people know what they’re getting inside.
They can probably guess already that Equip’s launching some sort of campaign to help the communities impacted.
It also sticks out because many of Equip’s subject lines are either more marketing-focused or more fun and lighthearted.
This one sounds more solemn.
The send name differs from the usual, too:
Equip often uses “Team Equip,” which is just fine. But a campaign like this hits so much more when it comes from the founder…
Especially when you see the body copy.
The Body Copy
The email opens much more personal than Equip’s other emails (a good thing to see, especially given the topic):
If you can’t read that, it says:
“Hey friend,
We’re heartbroken with the devastation that Hurricane Helene has had throughout it’s entire path, but even more so for our friends in the Asheville and surrounding communities who are still dealing with downed power and lack of food and water.”
It communicates the facts and illustrates how dire the situation is.
I like how it says “our friends” and uses the city of Asheville since that’s the most well-known city in the area. Easier than saying “Western North Carolina.”
Not a whole lot of fancy “copy hacks” here. And that’s fine. People will feel for those in need reading this email.
This is the perfect place to introduce the charitable initiative Equip is running for the Asheville area and surrounding areas:
Specificity is good to include. Not so much for the email itself — think more broadly. The “offer” here is to raise 3,000 to 10,000 lbs.
Gives customers a minimum to overcome (or they’d feel bad) and a maximum to strive for so they feel like they’re working toward something concrete.
Sure, it “limits” things. But you can offset that by just setting a lofty goal (10,000 lbs is pretty lofty in this case).
Speaking of “THEY feel like”… I like the “And you can help us achieve this!” because it involves the customer in the process. Makes them feel like a part of something bigger.
Equip sets a short deadline with specific dates and days to encourage purchases immediately. I appreciate how the brand put the days AND dates — clarity sells.
Lastly, I like how they bolded this line and added an implicit CTA on the product name.
Onto the last section of the “meat” (no pun intended) of the email:
Here, Equip details how they’re making this work from a logistical standpoint.
They include the name of their partner organization, Hickory Farms, and its partner farms PLUS a link so readers can learn more about Hickory Farms.
Such details are crucial — anyone who contributes to a good cause wants to know about their impact.
Including them will increase sales since people know what their dollars actually do “on the ground.”
(It also helps Hickory Farms make some sales, strengthening Equip’s relationship with them.)
I also like how Equip promises to help Hickory Farms assist people in getting back on their feet later.
Shows Equip’s dedication to doing good work beyond just donating food based on sales.
Our email closes with a nice and simple CTA:
Not much in the way of tactics, here. Another thank-you to cap the email, a link to buy, and a signoff with the founder’s signature.
Makes it feel MUCH more authentic (probably because it is).
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
Here are a few mechanical takeaways:
Plain Text
This email is 100% plain text. It doesn’t even have the formatting that brings the margins in closer.
This makes the email feel much more personal. Such a personal feel stands out from Equip’s usual emails AND fits the tone of the situation.
Mix of CTAs
Equip had an implicit and explicit CTA for its products, encouraging various types of readers to click through.
The implicit CTA to its partner in the charitable cause also sent some curiosity clicks to that company’s site.
First and Second Person
Equip writes directly from the founder and CEO, Anthony.
It uses the plural first person (we), indeed, but this works fine when its a founder/CEO discussing what his company’s doing.
Formatting
This email uses line breaks to enhance readability. The promo details are bolded to draw attention to the important stuff.
“Part of a Movement” Language
Humans are not isolated, atomized individuals by nature. They LOVE being a part of things.
Some of Equip’s copy makes the reader feel like a crucial part of a larger effort. Even one purchase helps potentially feed multiple people (for example, two people get a half pound of beef).
2. The Email Structure
This email’s structure is as follows:
- Intro
- Initiative announcement
- Initiative details
- Initiative explanation
- CTA
Pretty simple stuff. You could put something like this together without studying other emails all that hard, I bet.
After all, it’s basically the same as explaining to a friend about some charitable initiative you or someone you know is running.
3. The Overall Strategy
The main takeaway here is that when launching a charitable initiative, you don’t need to complicate things.
You just need to announce the thing and set concrete goals so your customer feels like they contribute towards said goal.
Which cause you pick is important, too.
Most people would feel for those hit by hurricanes. So this could work for most brands.
But an audience in the “organic/clean supplements/animal-based” space may be more connected to this since Western North Carolina is rural and “salt of the earth,” so to speak.
They’re also more conscious of what and who they support with their dollars. They’re more averse to mainstream media, which may have stopped covering the aftermath.
Thus, the reader feels more of an urge to play their part in the recovery efforts!
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 Equip Foods to get some grass-fed beef protein powder and explore the brand’s other animal-based supplements!
- Find a place to donate to Hurricane Helene recovery. I’ve heard they’ll need warm clothes and propane for the winter, but I’m sure any donations are appreciated.