Last week, we talked about ugly email campaigns.
A few people asked me for more examples, so I made it my mission this week to spend a few hours on Mailboard and put together a guide.
The final result?
75+ ugly e-com email campaign examples that convert
That’s the TL;DR of this newsletter.
If you want to see me break down some examples, I suggest you keep reading.
Before we jump in, one subscriber asked the great question of “what defines an ugly email?”
Are they plain-text emails?
Or just emails that look ugly?
I hope this clears some of the confusion:
What are ugly emails?
An ugly email is a campaign that isn’t too polished. The design might not be on brand. The product image might not have the best angle. The tone can be a little informal.
Sounds a lot like regular content, right?
Well, that’s the whole point.
The goal is to meet consumers in the content style they’ve become accustomed to seeing every day.
You can share stories, memes, personal updates, tweets, reviews, or whatever you feel like.
And the reason why these emails get engagement is because they look and feel authentic.
The campaigns I’m about to share with you are all great examples of this.
Let’s jump right into it!
Graza
I absolutely love Graza’s marketing, and their emails are no different. In case you didn’t know, they make $50M/yr selling olive oil.
This email is so conversational that it almost feels like it’s a message from a friend. They give a monthly update, subtly throw in a few links, and mention a recipe, but there’s nothing overly salesy.
It entertains first, gives value, and there’s zero pressure to buy.
And that’s exactly what makes a lot of people WANT to buy!!!
2. The Sill
What stands out about this email is the word-painting. Notice how they describe the product: “plump,” “cascading lobes,” “perky,” “succulent.”
That is sensory writing at its finest.
AI could nev…
Another thing that I like is the objection handling:
“Low maintenance,” “perfect for beginners,” “non-toxic if you have pets.”
That’s like all my questions answered in one sentence.
Mentioning low stock also adds urgency.
3. BRĒZ
Customer stories are some of my favorite marketing messages to send.
The less you talk about how good your products are, and the more you show why your customers love them, the more persuasive your marketing becomes.
This campaign by Brez encapsulates that.
4. Velasca
A fashion brand sending text-heavy emails?!
What’s going on here?
The thing with fashion/luxury brands is that most of them fall into the trap of thinking every campaign they send has to be “on-brand.”
So all their emails sound super boring and look the same.
To sell clothes using email, you only have three options:
- Tell the painstaking story
- Talk about the craftsmanship
- Show the type of people who wear it (social status).
The brands that do this don’t have to rely as much on promotions.
In this email, Velasca focuses on the craftsmanship.
5. Blume
One thing I love seeing brands do is send inventory/warehouse updates.
These emails can make for such engaging storylines.
I bet it took Blume a solid ten minutes to put this campaign together.
And the screenshot makes it look like UGC content, too.
Aaand that’s it! If you want to see more examples of ugly emails, then check out this Figma board.
Thanks for reading,
P.S. You should follow me on X/Twitter. I’m slowly moving away from LinkedIn and focusing on platforms that I actually enjoy being on.
