Valentine’s Day means an inbox full of “SALE SALE SALE SHOW YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE/BF/GF HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM!”
So typical. Nothing wrong with that kind of message, but it’s so generic. At least put a brand-relevant twist on it, right?
Well, Just Meats did such a thing. And they did it well — it grabbed me by the eyeballs and made me open because the subject line had me giggling a bit.
The copy didn’t disappoint either. Let’s take a look.
| Table of Contents |
| About Just Meats The Email: A Short, but Meat- I mean Sweet Valentine’s Day Email The Subject Line and Preview Text The Body Copy Takeaways What to Do Next |
About Just Meats
Just Meats is an online meat retailer that sells a wide range of fully-cooked, “farm-to-table” meats by the pound. They prepare their meats with different flavors, seasonings, and styles so customers always have something new to try.
Per the About Page, “Just Meats was born from a passion to bring no-nonsense, delicious proteins to the masses!” The company sources grass-fed meats locally from Utah-based ranches, supporting local businesses and delivering top-quality stuff to customers.
That page also discusses the pains of cooking meat all the time, and why Just Meats aims to be a more convenient source of healthy animal protein.
Customers can place one-off orders or set up subscriptions for subscribe & save savings. Just Meats is also building a recipe bank on its site to inspire customers to cook with their meats (a clever way to generate more sales, I might add).
The Email: A Short, but Meat- I Mean Sweet Valentine’s Day Email
Lots of companies sent Valentine’s Day emails. This one stuck out to me because it’s refreshingly casual and simple (and funny):
See? Short and to the point. Almost everything is “above-the-fold” and it’s formatted well with visuals and line breaks.
Time to break down each section of copy…
The Subject Line and Preview Text
Our subject line uses some holiday-relevant humor to make customers “laugh their way into opening”:
Not only is it funny, it’s relatable to the target audience.
If my hypothetical girlfriend got me steak for Valentine’s Day every year…
Let’s just say she’d have a ring on her finger the following week.
Oh, this subject line also implies what’s inside without just saying, “Hey, free meat!” So points for cleverness.
Our preview text reinforces that last concept:
Making customers enter a code isn’t bad, but every extra step it takes to buy is a chance customers drop off.
So if you can make discounts/promos code-free and tell customers they don’t need a code, you can nab a few more sales.
The Body Copy
We open with the logo and hero image:
Once again, a bit of humor — the hearts splayed out on the ground, surrounding the meat box.
It’s a well-composed shot, too, in my completely uneducated opinion.
I also like the “Premium 100% Quality Guaranteed” stamp at the top right. It’s a nice little “proof point” that, while not super substantive up close, addresses the “quality” objection on a more primal level.
In short:
Customer sees a “stamp of approval”, customer feels reassured the product is good.
Immediately below the hero image is a headline and the hook:
Headline’s to the point. Not much there. Although I like how the promo is just called “We Love You.” Sometimes, simple works.
Normally, I’d be against lines like this first one here (“I’m so excited…”). But in this case, I care less about adhering to copy dogma and more about an email that feels like a human wrote it.
Someone can legit be really excited and want to share that fact. They don’t need to craft their email like it’s a great work of literature!
Anyways, the next section has the details:
First sentence adds more personality. After that, you learn exactly what you get when you place any order.
One thing I’d add — portions. How much of each is the customer getting? Specificity’s always good. And If it’s a healthy amount (pun partially intended), it could sell more product.
I bet it would be a lucrative addition.
Onto the next section:
More conversational and casual copy, plus a bit of urgency. The customer has some time to look it over and decide, yet there’s still a deadline. Balancing urgency with customer satisfaction.
I like the last line as well. Can’t explain why, it just sounds nice.
Onto the CTA button:
Once again, this made me laugh. It’s not inherently humorous, but “Get the free meat” just has a funny ring to it.
And it’s offer-driven. It’s not “click here to order” or “order now.” The button copy is “get the thing I want.” Little tweaks like that can drive more clicks.
Takeaways
Here are some big takeaways:
1. The Copy Mechanics
The voice here is quite personable and a bit humorous. That’s the big takeaway — write like a person.
You can bend the “copy rules” about conciseness if it’s part of your voice. A few “unnecessary” words, placed well, can make you sound like you.
Also, note the spacing throughout the email. Not only does it enhance readability…
But it makes the email feel a bit more substantial without going on too long.
2. The Email Structure
The email structure is as follows:
- Hero image/logo
- Headline
- Offer introduction
- Offer details
- Urgency
- CTA
- CTA button
Simple, right?
3. The Overall Strategy
This email was Email 2 in a several-email campaign pushing Just Meats’s Valentine’s Day sale.
The most interesting part?
Email 1 was the EXACT SAME COPY with a different subject line… and that’s GOOD.
Let me explain why…
Email 1 probably made good sales, given the offer. But not everyone opened it. I didn’t open it.
So I bet they ran Email 2 — same email, different subject line — to anyone who didn’t open Email 1.
And guess what?
I opened Email 2. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have this post you’re reading.
The big lesson here is to reuse what works.
There are NO rules that say you can’t send an email you’ve already sent before. So use your best email over and over again where viable.
This can manifest in a few different ways…
- Within campaigns: No marketing email ever gets 100% opens. So if an email in your campaign sold well to people that did open, get a list/segment of non-openers and send to them with a new subject line/preview text angle. This is what Just Meats likely did.
Doing this right entails knowing the broad angles that get your audience to open. So have your market research down pat.
- More broadly: Save your best-performing emails somewhere. If they’re holiday promos, trot them out yearly with tweaks to fit circumstances. If they’re regular broadcasts, save and reuse them every few weeks/months. You can even use some of these in flows!
Saves you time and makes you more money.
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 Just Meats for delicious, farm-to-table meats — they add new flavors for different meats regularly!