I used to write the kind of emails I now delete without reading.
They were clean. Polished. Professionally forgettable. Every subject line tried to be clever, but sounded like a brand talking to a “target persona.” Every paragraph tried to sell – but not connect. And every CTA was just a louder version of “Buy now.”
It wasn’t until I studied brands like Feastables, Graza, and Jolie that I realized: the best DTC emails sound like someone you actually want to text back.
Because the brands we trust the most… talk to us like humans, not marketers.
So why does this work so well – and what can your brand learn from it?
Formality signals distance. Conversation signals closeness.
We’ve been conditioned to think that sounding “professional” builds credibility. But in the DTC world, professionalism often translates to lifeless. Cold. Robotic.
When I first wrote welcome emails for a wellness brand, they read like this: “Start your journey with 10% off your first order.” We rewrote them to say: “This might sound weird, but our magnesium spray actually helped me sleep for the first time in weeks.” Same product. Different tone. Their open rate jumped from 12% to 34%.
People don’t connect with brands that lecture. They connect with brands that speak their language. And conversation is the shortest path to trust.
The brain filters out what it doesn’t emotionally recognize.
We are biologically designed to ignore what feels irrelevant. Generic copy like “Act now to save 20%” is the visual equivalent of elevator music. It blends into the noise.
But when an email starts with “We almost didn’t send this,” or “Here’s what we screwed up last week,” our brain perks up. We recognize risk. Vulnerability. Humor. Humanity. That emotional pattern interrupts our filter – and we start paying attention.
If your copy reads like it could’ve been written by AI in five seconds, it’s already in the trash. We don’t remember what sounds perfect. We remember what feels real.
Marketing isn’t about convincing. It’s about resonating.
Most brands are still playing the old game: push harder, yell louder, offer more. But modern customers are immune to pressure. They don’t want to be persuaded – they want to be understood.
When your copy reflects their voice, values, or frustrations, it creates alignment. Feastables doesn’t sell candy. It sells fun. One of their emails literally opened with: “We broke the world record for most people unboxing a chocolate bar at once. What did you do this week?” It doesn’t try to sell. It tries to connect – and that’s what makes people buy.
People don’t convert when they’re convinced. They convert when they feel seen.
The best-performing DTC emails aren’t “high-converting.” They’re high-relating. They sound like someone you’d text back, not someone trying to close a sale. They make you smile, feel something, maybe even hit reply. Because they’re not trying to be perfect – they’re trying to be human.
People don’t remember your brand. They remember how your copy made them feel.
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.