Know how easy it is to write on a topic you’re passionate about?
That’s me whenever I do these Email Breakdowns. It’s how I’ve done 69 (lol) Email Breakdowns without throwing in the towel.
I’m always careful to choose good brands that do email well so I can show you only the best stuff.
The only thing, however…
Is that few of these emails are in “personal interest” niches for me.
So, although I can study other emails from a third-person view and understand what makes them tick…
My brain has to use some extra horsepower to put myself in the brand’s customer’s shoes.
NOT SO WITH TODAY’S EMAIL BREAKDOWN!
We’re looking at an animal-based nutrition brand (I’m Carnivore and passionate about healthy, sustainable meat/animal agriculture).
Beyond the cold, hard, rational analysis of the email’s persuasion elements and strategy:
I know that this one works because it worked on me.
I’m strongly considering purchasing at some point.
Without further ado, though, let’s read about email.
| Table of Contents |
| About Noble Origins The Email: Mission + Identity = Profit (and Helping the World) The Subject Line: “Welcome to Noble (Free Organs Inside)” The Body Copy Takeaways What to Do Next |
About Noble Origins
Noble Origins is a supplement company that supplies top-quality, responsibly sourced, animal-based, nose-to-tail nutrition to the masses.
They primarily to so via their grass-fed bovine protein powder supplement containing a powerful mix of:
- Collagen
- Colostrum
- Beef organs
(Oh, they have merch as well.)
Noble was founded by Brett Ender, Colin Stuckert, and Harrison Gray. Their goal is as I stated — to bring the best in animal-based nutrition to the public.
I LOVE this company’s mission, identity, everything. They’re not shy about their stance on the nutritional value and importance of meat/organs in the diet. Nor do they hold back on the Standard American Diet.
And they talk about the importance of permaculture and regenerative agriculture.
I haven’t bought from them yet, but I might.
As for that email…
The Email: Mission + Identity = Profit (and Helping the World)
We have a nice, long, mostly plain-text email.
Well, that’s the email body.
There’s another section that we’ll break down separately at the end of this post:
This is an HTML’d version of a “Super Signature”.
A Super Signature — invented by Dean Jackson — lists “all the ways the brand can help you when you’re ready.” Usually, that means CTAs to the brand’s products and services.
If you’re on my list, you see my Super Signature at the bottom of most emails.
Out the gate, we see it has just enough design elements to look neat.
But again, we’ll get to it toward the end.
As always, let’s start with the subject line…
The Subject Line: “Welcome to Noble (Free Organs inside)”
Certain words hit harder in specific contexts and thus get more opens.
In welcome sequences, the word “welcome” (wow, obvious), is one of those:
The reader immediately knows that this email is related to Noble’s list — the list they just hopped on.
But they’re also primed to look for the offer Noble presented. That offer was a free bag of organ supplements if they spent a certain amount.
So Noble included “(Free Organs inside)” just to layer on the persuasion power.
Oh, and parentheses tend to catch the eye.
The Body Copy
The body starts with a neat little hero image, company name, slogan, and some welcome copy:
There it is. Right out the gate. The mission.
Noble immediately hooks the reader in. People coming to Noble are likely interested in this kind of thing and feel the same way. They immediately identify with Noble.
(Literally me!)
It also plays on the “us vs. them” and “underdog” angles. Noble’s the small, scrappy company supporting the Little Guy against the agricultural Establishment. That’s a key element of the brand’s identity.
Everyone loves an underdog. And “us vs. them” pulls in the right people and shoves the rest away.
Now, we get more of Noble’s beliefs.
They believe in the power of the market and “voting with your dollars.” Such a thing resonates with this audience. I’d know it.
The government implicitly will inevitably align with the big interests if you try to involve it more.
Government’s a hammer, and most problems aren’t nails.
Instead, people can shift over slowly for a more organic and sustainable way to defeat the agricultural Establishment.
Of course, being the underdog is a grind. A fight. It’s easier to get demoralized when you’re up against the Establishment with its zillions of dollars of propaganda and lies…
So here, Noble shows how their success is inevitable if the customers just stick to the plan and vote with their dollars. The truth wins in the end, essentially.
Notice how they never say “purchasing from us gets XYZ”. They just say “One better purchase at a time.”
One purchase from Noble… or a similar company… or a local farmer/butcher. It’s a team effort.
This shows it’s about the mission. Not Noble. Noble’s there to achieve this mission.
Yes, they’ll make money in the process (and any biz wants to make money). But the mission is most important. The money follows.
Inspiring, isn’t it?
And I love how Noble shows specifics regarding how buying from the right people makes a positive impact:
- Soil health
- Animal health
- Human health
- Helping farmers
So much good stuff here.
The reader is all in at this point. Perfect place for Noble to set email list expectations:
I like how some of the bullets have benefit and dimensionalization copy.
That third bullet hits the right beats. The idea itself — the recipes — is genius. It helps move Noble from “brand” to “lifestyle provider.”
Only in the 4th bullet is there anything about products. Good copy there, and I like how Noble creates anticipation by saying “new products in the pipeline”.
Overall…
It’s not about the sale… It’s about a lifestyle and a mission.
(Sorry, that line sounded like ChatGPT wrote it. I swear I wrote it myself!)
The final piece of body copy brings us the CTA:
A few good elements here:
- Urging replies: Humanizes the brand, helps Noble gather market research (customer questions/objections), and boosts deliverability.
- Signoff phrase: “Stay Noble” is a nice dash of brand personality. Always good to sign off with something like this.
- Button copy: Noble put the code right in the button where it is most prominent. The copy is straightforward — use your code to get your free product.
We close out with a signature complex:
Image of the founders (in branded shirts) + names and titles. More of the human element here.
Plus, they put links to their social media and podcast for people who aren’t ready to buy (or those who are and return to this email.
And that PS offers another free way to keep Noble in your inbox — a newsletter.
In short, this section allows the customer to dive into each part of the brand. That way, they’ll start seeing Noble in their social feeds, inboxes, and so on. Keeps the brand at top of mind.
But now, we come to a slightly HTML’d take on the Super Signature.
Light design elements for organization and to grab the eyeballs.
The Super Signature starts by reiterating Noble’s mission, then dives into other elements of the Noble experience:
- Noble Buyer’s Club: Creates exclusivity and community, offers savings/elite benefits, and plants a seed in the reader’s head of being a long-term customer. It’s aspirational. If you’re a fan of Noble’s mission, you want to be in the Buyer’s Club. The Club itself is also a recurring revenue source.
- Noble Rewards Program: Nudges readers towards a purchase since they can earn rewards.
- Noble Affiliate Program: Readers with an audience (bloggers, influencers, etc.) can promote Noble to that audience. Nice way to grab some good affiliates and spread the world.
- Noble Feedback: A link to their feedback form. That’s a plus to the reader because it shows that Noble wants feedback.
- Noble Subscription: Offers potential customers a way to save time and money on the supplements they want. Defuses an objection around whether such a program is available, too.
And finally, the Noble VIP SMS List. One more channel to get the reader on for some full-spectrum marketing dominance.
Also, advertising the SMS as a VIP list with first access to cool stuff is an easy way to score more signups. SMS has insane “opens” and CTRs (there’s no spam folder or promo tab, and it’s literally a text convo)… so you should get on that SMS grind.
Anyway…
This Super Signature gives readers more options if they’re not ready to buy. May as well throw it in the welcome email. It once again pulls the reader into the brand by getting them into more channels.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
Notice the first-person and second-person (albeit plural) language. Noble’s making a personal connection with the reader.
Which hits harder since they’re focusing on identity and mission here. People want to feel like they’re fighting alongside you for the same thing.
I like the hero image, emojis, and button. Light visual elements work well in eCom. No need to go full plain-text.
Similarly, Noble uses bullets and bold to denote a list and enhance readability.
This email has tons of links throughout, which isn’t bad, given Noble’s goals. They’re looking for long-term, hardcore fans. Many people might poke around the brand’s online presence before eventually buying. And some will buy right away anyway.
The font and spacing is pretty good. It’s not that exhausting “single-word-per-line copy guru” BS, but it’s not Ph.D. dissertation paragraphs, either.
It strikes a balance that feels truly authentic (not fake authentic).
Overall, the whole thing feels less like Noble went in with all the persuasion tactics…
And more like they’re sharing their enthusiasm. Much easier to persuade when you’re passionate.
2. The Email Structure
The email structure is as follows:
- Welcome + thank-you
- Mission
- Beliefs
- Setting expectations
- Purchase CTA
- Signoff
- Super signature
Having the mission early on grabs the right people immediately and sets the frame.
Fleshing out that mission + adding beliefs solidifies the identity and gets the reader nodding.
Here’s why they need all this BEFORE the “setting expectations”:
Noble presells the reader on more emails. If they had just promised more emails and other stuff first (or not included mission + beliefs at all), the “setting expectations” section would’ve been weaker.
It would have lacked necessary context. Sure, readers can always expect to receive emails on an email list…
But Noble readers now know WHY they’re getting emails and what purpose they serve:
To help the reader incorporate nose-to-tail nutrition in their life and vote with their dollars.
3. The Overall Strategy
Welcome emails aim to get the first purchase and bring customers into the brand.
Usually, the latter falls by the wayside in favor of the former.
Not so with Noble Origins.
They go in guns blazing with identity and mission. Customers know what they’re getting. The right ones are eager to buy to support the mission… and they’ll stick around.
Not to mention, more broadly, the emails Noble promises to send are around their mission and identity. Yes, they’ll sell products…
But they’ll also share articles, recipes, and other things that help you play your part in their mission.
They sell a lifestyle and a belief system, not a product.
Overall:
Noble is one of the uncommon brands with a welcome sequence that boosts retention… despite most thinking it’s an acquisition flow.
This is one of the best welcome emails I’ve ever seen. Truly.
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 Noble Origins for responsibly sourced, nose-to-tail, animal-based nutrition… and your part to support small farmers and bring down factory farming/monocropping!