In 2024, Sony ran a simple A/B test – and the results said everything about how brands should be writing.
They compared two banner ads: one was clever, generic, and full of polished marketing speak. The other was direct, personalized, and simple. The result? The clear, straightforward ad led to a 6% increase in click conversions and a 21.3% increase in add-to-cart clicks. Same product. Same offer. Just different language.
Clarity outperformed cleverness – because it always does.
I’ve written emails that made zero sales. And they looked beautiful.
Most brands don’t lose customers because of the product. They lose them because of the words they choose.
So why do so many smart DTC brands still write like they’re trying to win awards – instead of trying to win sales?
Here are the 3 psychology traps behind that habit – and how to break free from each one.
1. The Curse of Knowledge
The more you know about your product, the harder it becomes to explain it simply. Founders and marketers live and breathe their products – they know the ingredients, the process, the positioning. But that deep familiarity makes it easy to forget that the customer is starting at zero.
So instead of saying “Helps you fall asleep faster,” they say “Clinically-backed melatonin blend powered by proprietary sleepwave tech.” It sounds impressive – internally. But to a tired customer at 11:47 p.m., it means nothing.
Every unclear sentence in your email is costing you money.
2. The Ego Trap
So many DTC brands write to impress, not to sell. They want to sound premium, high-status, and elite – because that’s what they think brand-building is. But the customer isn’t looking for clever. They’re looking for confidence, relevance, and realness.
An email that says, “Our hand-finished fibers are redefining comfort” feels corporate. An email that says, “These are the softest socks you’ll ever wear” feels honest.
If your ego is writing the email, your customer is already deleting it.
3. The Myth of the “Creative Brief”
A clever idea isn’t a bad place to start – but it’s a terrible place to stop. Agencies and internal teams love to build entire campaigns around slogans, puns, or themes that “feel creative.”
But just because it gets a nod in a marketing meeting doesn’t mean it earns a click in someone’s inbox.
The customer doesn’t care about your pun. They care about how your product solves their actual problem. Your copy isn’t a showcase for how witty your team is – it’s a moment of truth between you and someone with 15 tabs open.
Clarity isn’t just strategy. It’s survival.
(Bonus) 4. The False Confidence of High Vocabulary
Using big words in your emails doesn’t make you sound smart – it makes you sound insecure. The more complicated your copy, the more your customer’s brain has to work to figure it out. And the more they work, the more likely they are to bail – especially in e-commerce, where decision fatigue is real.
Simple language – “fast shipping,” “lasts all day,” “we fixed that for you” – makes people feel understood. Complexity creates friction. Simplicity creates confidence.
The smartest copy reads like a conversation, not a college thesis.
Most DTC brands don’t struggle with strategy – they struggle with language. They fall into the trap of writing what sounds smart instead of what feels clear. They overestimate how much their customers know, and underestimate how fast they’re moving through their inbox.
But the brands that win are the ones that write like real people. They simplify. They speak directly. And they make it easy to say yes.
Because when your copy is clear, your customer doesn’t think – they act.
If this resonated, here’s what to do next:
→ If you’re tired of content that fills space instead of driving sales, let’s talk. Schedule a quick demo.
→ If you’re ready to turn product pages, email flows, landing copy, and more into silent salespeople for your brand, subscribe to either our Unlimited Standard Plan or Unlimited Professional Plan to get started.
Your story deserves better than generic copy.
We make it unforgettable.