Any marketer or entrepreneur worth their salt knows that business is about solving problems.
You find a market with a pain, then provide a solution. NOT the other way around.
However, that changes slightly once your offer is out there.
You might uncover that your offer solves other problems.
Pedialyte is a great example.
This product was designed to help parents keep their babies hydrated.
However, the company discovered college students buying that stuff by the boatload for, you guessed it…
Hangover recovery.
Granted, that’s a different market.
But the logic still applies.
The problem is hangovers, not baby hydration.
The product still works the same way (you drink pedialyte) but fixes a different issue.
Similarly, Greco Gum’s offer mainly solves the issue of weak jawlines.
But they discovered their gum helps with many other issues…
Such as dental health.
And so they wrote an email addressing this problem and pitching their product as a solution.
Question is: Was this email effective?
Let’s take a look and see…
About Greco Gum
Greco Gum is an online company that sells mastic gum — gum designed to help you strengthen your jaw muscles and, in theory, build a more defined jawline.
Greco was founded by Logan Wright. He had used other mastic gum for years but got fed up with how difficult it was to get good mastic gum in the US. Shipping fees were high, and delivery took forever. Not to mention a lack of consistent quality.
Greco says the gum is slightly bitter, followed by pine and cedar-like flavors. Not bad. Not super artificial and sugary-tasting.
But taste isn’t the point. The health and jaw strength benefits are the point. Chewing it strengthens the following muscles, per the site:
- Masseter
- Temporalis
- Lateral pterygoid
- Medial pterygoid
Greco Gum also claims mastic gum can:
- Improve breathing — Chewing helps release certain types of stem cells that respond to stress. These stem cells promote maxilla growth, widening the palate and airways.
- Enhance overall feeling/well-being — Greco says mastic gum has antioxidants clinically shown to ease digestive/GI issues, among other things.
As the name implies, Greco Gum sources its products from Greece. Specifically, the island of Chios, where this stuff had been made for millennia. Per Greco, Chios is the only place where the ingredients can be produced (resinous sap from the Pistacia lentiscus tree).
That description is mostly copy + pasted from my first Greco Gum breakdown.
Let’s look at this one…
The Email: Tackling Niche-Relevant Subjects (and Desires)
Today’s email offers us a nice example of covering tangential topics in your niche that tie back to your product.
In this case, it’s flossing your teeth — which is relevant because, well, you chew gum with your teeth.
First glance shows us some light visual elements to break up the text and add some visual attractiveness.
We can also see that it’s a fairly short email.
But it’s got plenty packed into it…
The Subject Line and Preview Text
Want to grab your customer’s attention?
Scare them a little bit:
Some people will skip right over this subject line. They probably have great dental health or are not self-conscious about it.
Others, however, stop dead when they see those seven words.
Great example of “meeting the customer where they are” meets “pain point”.
I like the use of all lower-case. It’s unusual to the eye, strengthening the subject line’s punch.
The preview text follows the classic formula of “continue the subject line”:
So our subject-preview complex promises to enlighten the reader about some solution to their deep, dark pain point.
That’s compelling enough to get plenty of opens.
Onto the body…
The Body Copy
Greco gets straight to the point:
That catches people off guard because I know for a fact a lot of people don’t floss and pretend they do. And they’re ashamed of it — they know they have to, but it hurts and is annoying.
One thing I’d add (perhaps a personal touch of mind} is some “action copy” indicating that I, the writer, am doing some action in response to them.
For example: *Strokes chin* “…that’s what we thought.”
It makes the reader feel like you, the writer, are right in front of them. And it’s funny.
Greco continues riffing on this angle:
Everything from the silly and down-to-earth… to the “conspiratorial” (OMG they sh!t-talked the healthcare establishment how dare they) is covered.
Although the “healthcare establishment” bit is a subtle bit of humor because they’re implying that some people may avoid flossing because it’s a lie promoted by dentists, who are part of the “healthcare establishment.” Call it the Dental-Industrial Complex.
(Hey, a dentist once told me my teeth were extra rough, so they needed more frequent cleanings. Sounds like a money grab to me.)
But I digress.
After Greco gets a laugh out of the reader, that reader continues to the meat of the email — some good ol’ science-backed benefits of Greco’s offer.
This section links back to the general worry of poor dental health… and the failure to floss regularly leading to such poor dental health. Oh, and it ups the ante by including claims regarding use for more serious conditions like oral cancer.
Each of those links points to a study backing up Greco’s claim.
I’m sure the studies are legit… but that’s the point. The point is that the reader simply sees that Greco’s claims are backed by “science.” It’s belief. It’s emotion. They’re putting faith in Greco Gum and in the researchers who conducted the studies.
Buy on emotion. Justify with logic.
(Lesson in there.)
Greco then sums up the science section in one sentence, just to make sure they hammer it home:
Add another pebble to the sales scale — not only is mastic good for getting a s3xy jawline and breathing better…
But it can make your next dental trip less tortuous. Count me in!
This single-sentence section also sets up a nice pivot to the pitch:
Notice how in the copy, Greco pushes the relevant benefit of their product. Not the product itself. Only then are things set up to say “SECURE YOUR GUM TODAY” on the button.
Also, Greco’s careful to say “can be a potent tool in your arsenal.” Compelling enough to make you want to buy… but not ridiculous. They aren’t claiming it’ll cure advanced gum disease. Just that it, alongside healthy dental hygiene habits (implied), can help keep your mouth healthy.
Speaking of the button, I like using these in some emails. They draw the eyes. They add some visuals without making the email too “image-heavy.”
I love this bottom part:
That’s from Glengarry Glen Ross, the movie that popularized the phrase “Always Be Closing” or “ABC.”
However, as you can see, Greco did a little photoshopping here… and changed the “C” to “chewing.”
Clever. Funny. That’s what I like to see in a brand.
Below the image of 1990s Alec Baldwin is a slogan Greco includes in their emails (and on their home page). Nice bit of branding.
And below that is their boilerplate copy encouraging replies. Never hurts to do that — improves customer trust and email deliverability.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
Like my other Greco Gum breakdown, we see concise copy and plenty of line breaks to make the email read like someone speaking.
Dropping studies rarely hurts. Not so much for the hard science… but more for bringing down a reader’s defenses. “Oh, science backs this up. Cool. I’ll trust them on that.”
I also like the visual elements and the humor. Always add humor (unless the topic is grim and serious, of course) where possible.
2. The Email Structure
The structure’s basically Problem-Agitate-Solution:
- Bring up the pain point
- Acknowledge that pain is real and legitimate
- Propose your offer as the solution
That third part is a bit longer since this particular pain point is not the main pain mastic addresses. Gotta have some room for the science.
3. The Overall Strategy
Not much strategy here beyond “identify a pain point and attack it”.
This works great as a standalone broadcast email. The more related topics you can link to your offer, the more broadcast email ideas you’ll have… and the more sales you can make. Even then, Greco could reuse this one every so often.
Could also slide into a post-purchase flow quite well. It reinforces the buyer’s decision by showing how the product solves another problem… increasing the perceived value and reducing potential buyer’s remorse.
Oh, and it creates an incentive for repeat purchase.
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 Greco Gum if you want to sculpt that sharp, angular jawline… or, at the very least, get better at eating chewy foods!