Successful businesses don’t sell products.
They solve problems.
Their product is simply a solution to that problem, delivering the customer to the desired state they want to reach…
Or it’s a better way of getting there than alternatives…
Or it’s a way to make those solutions get them to their desired state faster and better.
Any of these work in email, but that last one is the most common one I see.
For example: “Do XYZ to fall asleep faster. But take our ABC supplement for deeper, more restful sleep.”
Another way to do this:
Solve most of the customer’s problem for free… but then show why they can never get the full results without your product.
Now that’s compelling. How could a customer resist your product if they know they can never get the full results themselves?
Luck for you, I broke down an email following this exact framework.
Read on for the full breakdown and to see how you can implement this type of framework in your own email marketing.
| Table of Contents |
| About Hostage Tape The Email: Solve Their Problem For Free…Offer Your Product For Better Results The Subject Line and Preview Text The Body Copy Takeaways What to Do Next |
About Hostage Tape
Hostage Tape is a sleep-focused eCommerce brand primarily known for its mouth tape (more on that in a second).
It was founded by Alex Neist, who is also the CEO. Alex used to play football in the Arena Football League, which is already a fascinating founder story.
But when he left his football career behind, he set his sights on starting a business or two.
Ya know the best way to start a new business?
Find a problem and solve it.
Alex had struggled with sleeping and snoring for a long time, which created a host of problems in his life (described on the company’s About page).
Fixing his health habits and sleep routine helped a little bit. But after researching, he realized his mouth-breathing during sleep was causing the issues…
And discovered that mouth taping was a thing…
And that it had helped others who dealt with this same issue.
Alex tried this with cheap medical tape, and it worked surprisingly well. However, a more comfortable version solution — and to spread this solution to others.
Thus, the idea for Hostage Tape was born.
It’s called “Hostage Tape,” in a funny play on the concept of hostages having their mouths taped shut. Hey, it’s called dark humor. Fitting for a brand that’s all about sleep (ok, terrible joke, I know).
The Email: Solve Their Problem For Free… Offer Your Product For Better Results
Here’s the email:
The email appears fairly long (not necessarily a bad thing). It’s mostly text, with simple images/gifs to add readability and draw attention.
As you’ll see, this one’s an educational email. The reader will learn something they can apply immediately, yet it still presents a compelling sales message.
But the copy is too small to read here. So keep reading to see what makes this email tick.
The Subject Line and Preview Text:
The subject line targets a topic likely to be relevant to a large swathe of Hostage Tape’s target audience:
Sleep impacts hormones. Hormones impact sleep. Both impact health.
Notice how this is a question in quotes. Hard to tell if a customer actually said this quote, but the quotation marks and quote structure of the subject line will grab attention in a crowded inbox.
Same with the emoji. That adds personality, too.
Small detail, but notice the double question mark. Makes it feel that much more natural. It’s less “clean” than having a single question mark.
Oh, but then the preview text throws authority at you:
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist and an associate professor at Stanford’s Medical School. That’s proof enough…
But he’s perhaps more well-known by the public for his podcasting. He’s been on huge shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferriss Show. Oh, and he has his own podcast — Huberman Lab — that discusses neuroscience at a level suiting the average person.
His YouTube channel (one platform his podcast appears on) has 4.43 million subscribers at the time of writing. That’s BIG.
All that is to say:
The preview text alone is what makes the subject line work. It ties things together well. They’ll learn something about hormones and (presumably) sleep by a leading expert in this area.
The Body Copy
The email opens with a rather eyeball-grabbing hero image and first line of copy:
We’ll call this one the “bold and controversial statement” opener.
Controversy will scare away the “lukewarm” people and push away the haters… but pull in people who agree with you even more.
I mean, this statement isn’t totally off the rails. But it does show that Hostage Tape is “making a stand” on an issue.
The image of the couple doesn’t do the heavy lifting. It’s the context around the image that sets the tone.
The next section “reels things back” strategically with a qualifying statement:
They got it: The balance of “edgy” without going too far.
Yes, your spouse’s happiness is important, but it’s not your sole goal in life or even in your marriage. Something the reader can agree with.
Oh, and all this “busts” a myth as well.
Busting this myth doubles as a way of shifting focus to the reader’s problems — just look at the next section, which also pays off the subject line:
Makes the reader feel that it’s okay to focus on themselves, too. Which, like I said, shifts their thinking to their emotions and physical health.
The “nobody can…” line puts the responsibility on the reader, which usually is not great for sales copy.
But here, it works. It tells the reader that they have control over their situation. They can do something about it — bringing their hormones into balance. That’s empowering.
The problem becomes figuring out how to do that.
But Hostage Tape doesn’t tell you right away. They leave the loop open and “agitate” the pain + educate a little bit:
Once again, you aren’t a helpless victim. The universe isn’t creating these problems for you.
While some copy sells by saying, “This isn’t your fault, and we want to help you,”… Hostage Tape restates the “You can do it yourself with the right solution” approach.
Now for a fitting graphic:
The sentence is an agreeable question. Getting your hormones dialed in IS a big task when you aren’t sure how to do that.
The GIF is Sisyphus pushing the boulder up a hill. Gives the reader a visual depiction of constantly fighting their hormones.
But finally, after building up the pain of unsteady moods and emotions, Hostage Tape offers some relief…
With a healthy helping of authority:
We have returned to Dr. Huberman, paying off the preview text and revealing the solution to the reader’s problem.
But Hostage Tape doesn’t state the solution — a famous neuroscientist does.
So we have proof + education + more pain agitation.
But then an objection arises: What if the reader’s already doing everything involved in getting good sleep?
What if they follow a nighttime routine, avoid screens, lower their bedroom temperature, and use an aromatherapy diffuser…
Yet still feel like garbage?
Hostage Tape supplies an answer (through Huberman), meeting the customer where they are:
I like how Hostage Tape includes a quote from Huberman. Makes it a bit more real.
Plus, a link to the podcast. Little things like this show the reader that Hostage Tape is genuinely interested in the reader’s well-being.
Hostage Tap offers a bit more info that Huberman discusses, including a free tip on improving breathing:
So regardless of whether the reader buys, they come away with valuable and potentially life-changing information. That’s powerful stuff. Hostage Tape might’ve just solved their problem for free…
Well, not entirely.
The reader has control over daytime breathing. They just gotta be a little more conscious.
But most people aim for 7-8 hours of sleep. And you’re not conscious during that time, so you can’t consciously do anything.
However, there is a solution… Hostage Tape:
A great transition from the copy to the CTA. Hostage Tape can present its product as a solution that leads to an even better outcome than the free content in the email.
One small change I’d make: Change the “Ruin Your Hormone Levels” to something more tangible to the customer.
For example, “Don’t Let Mouth Breathing Ruin Your Sleep” or “Ruin Your Mood” or something like that. The reader now knows the importance of hormones, but “hormones” is not as tangible a concept as “feeling tired” or “mood swings”.
Ultimately, however, the setup for the CTA was likely enough to close sales.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
Love the use of line breaks. And to add to that, I appreciate how many sentences start with “But” or “And”.
These factors, plus varying sentence length, cultivate a conversational feel.
Also, notice the second-person language. Hostage Tape rarely says “I” or “We” in here. There’s plenty of “You,” though. Again, it feels like they’re talking to the reader.
Note the use of Huberman, too.
Every market and submarket has its set of public figures they follow.
Hostage Tape is doing a bit of subtle positioning here by revealing what kinds of public figures they listen to… strengthening bonds with the right customers.
And, more explicitly, they’re using things he actually said in the episode referenced. They lean on this to really agitate the problem and provide a logical backing.
2. The Email Structure
The structure here has layers. We open with the contrarian take…
Then get into a surface-level problem (poor mood and emotions)…
Then dig beneath the surface to find what’s causing that problem (hormones)…
Then go even deeper to find what’s causing the proximate cause (poor sleep)…
Then reach the root cause of it all — mouth breathing.
From there, the DIY solution is offered… setting up the CTA portion quite well.
Let’s call this the “layer of problems” approach.
Also: I like how the email body follows a sort of “subject-preview-body parallelism”.
The first half of the body is relevant to the subject line, which mentions hormones. The second half brings in Dr. Huberman (mentioned in the preview text).
See what I mean? The copy’s structure mirrors the subject complex’s structure — subject line first, preview text second.
Might be some psychology to this…
3. The Overall Strategy
Hostage Tape sent this December 1, 2023. So they had just come off BFCM when they sent this.
Thus, I think this is a regular old broadcast email. Nothing wrong with that.
However, the big strategy takeaway here is something I’ve said several times:
Solve a problem for free… while positioning your product as a better/faster/more complete solution.
One other thing I’d like to note:
Hostage Tape focuses on sleep. But I did a bit of research, and it turns out mouth breathing can also dry out your mouth…
Excessive mouth breathing has also been associated with poor facial structure development. A weaker jawline, primarily.
The point: Hostage Tape has a lot of pain points they can leverage to show customers why to buy.
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list using the signup form below for more Email Breakdowns and other helpful marketing content.
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Check out Hostage Tape and win back restful sleep… by taping your mouth shut with their top-tier product.