Selling supplements these days is much tougher than you think, for three reasons:
1) The market is very competitive
No matter what supplement you sell, customers have dozens of different brands to choose from.
2) There are (usually) multiple solutions to one problem
Say I’m feeling low on energy… what could I do to fix that?
I could follow a consistent sleep schedule.
I could fix my diet.
I could try supplementing vitamin D.
I could increase my caffeine intake.
I could hop on an AG1 subscription.
And the list goes on…
In other words, for one problem, there are dozens of potential solutions.
3) It’s not always as simple as “agitate the problem”
There are brands out there that have a problem-solution product, but aren’t doing any direct response marketing at all.
Instead, they’re relying on influencer marketing and banking on the product being trendy.
Why is that?
I think problem-agitation-solution marketing is more effective when the customer is dealing with a really embarrassing problem.
For example, hair loss is a big deal for both genders. No one wants to show up at a social gathering and get an occasional comment.
But if you’re selling creatine gummies and your whole marketing strategy is about agitating the problem, I think you’re playing a losing game.
When you think about the supplement brands that have succeeded over the past few years, almost all of them are using Us vs Them marketing.
Take Grüns and their health gummies, for example …
A lot of their email marketing is about positioning their category as the better choice e.g., “we’re more convenient than AG1 or any other greens powder.”
Another brand that nails this is Heart & Soil. They sell beef organ supplements.
Just like Grüns, they’ve done a great job using Us vs Them marketing, and this email campaign is a prime example of that.
Let’s get into it!
What is Emails That Sell?
Each week, I break down an email from a DTC e-commerce brand. Some of these brands are absolutely killing it when it comes to email marketing.
My goal with this series is to challenge conventional email marketing. Expect to learn different copywriting techniques, sales psychology, and consumer behavior — everything that moves you away from hard-selling discount campaigns and other mass-market tactics.
If you have an email you want me to break down, send it over to me on LinkedIn or at marketing@siimpettai.com.
Let’s get into it now:
Check out this subject line:
“my doctor laughed at me”
This is a 10/10 subject line, for a couple of reasons:
- It promises a story
Your first instinct reading something like that would be: “Why would a doctor laugh at you? What happened? What did you say?”
All signs point to you getting an amazing story. It’s curiosity-driven. It makes you want to read more.
- It’s lowercase
You know I’m a fan of lowercase subject lines. They’re the first sign that you’re receiving an email from an actual human, not a brand sending a pretty poster again.
- It uses quotation marks
Ogilvy said your headlines have a higher chance of being read if you use quotation marks. I like what Heart & Soil did here, especially since it’s a direct quote from a customer.
Onwards…
This hook kinda reminds me of the legendary headline: “They all laughed when I sat down at the piano, but when I started playing…”
Not only is it a start of a story, it’s a situation most of us have been in at least once in our lives.
We have some sort of health issue, we visit the doctor, and next thing you know, your hands are full of different pills and medications.
On a side note, I love the use of gifs as it adds personality to the email.
Let’s have a look at the testimonial:
This is a classic case of direct response, problem-solution marketing.
Joshua begins by talking about his long-term struggle with a skin condition.
To fix it, he did something any of us would do and visit the doctor.
Yet, here’s where it gets interesting…
Instead of going with what the doctor told him and taking sedatives, he did something completely different to cure his skin condition:
He ate beef organ supplements from Heart & Soil.
Turns out, he fixed his skin issues by fixing his diet first, which left his dermatologist in awe.
The testimonial is not only social proof, but it also effectively positions the category (beef organ supplements) against traditional medication.
This is smart marketing.
I also love that they’ve linked to the product already, as it increases click rates.
And the before and after picture just increases proof and credibility:
If you’re writing stories in your emails, remember this:
Every great story has a transformation, or at least, a change in the protagonist’s way of thinking.
In this story, the lesson is simple:
What you put in your body has a massive impact on your health.
That’s exactly what Joshua learned when he ignored what the doctors were telling him, and decided to do what he felt was best for him.
If your story doesn’t have a key lesson, it’s more of an anecdote than it is a story. That’s something I learned from Matthew Dicks.
Let’s see how they wrap it up:
This is smart, again.
They know that not everyone reading this email is dealing with skin issues.
So they’re overcoming the objection of “Will this work even if I don’t have any skin issues?” by listing all the different everyday problems, including brain fog, energy crashes, etc.
In other words, if you’re dealing with any of those issues, or you just want to feel your best, giving beef organ supplements a try is worth it.
Why?
Because those organs contain more vitamins and minerals than just about any other food on the planet.
I think they nailed the transition to the sale by tying in different problems to one solution.
Overall, this is a great direct response email by Heart & Soil.
To recap:
TL;DR
Key takeaway #1: Make your subject lines lowercase and curiosity-driven
Key takeaway #2: Lead with a story
Key takeaway #3: Use GIFs and memes when possible
Key takeaway #4: Zoom in on one customer story
Key takeaway #5: Sometimes, agitating the problem isn’t enough
Key takeaway #6: To sell problem-solution products, use Us vs Them marketing
Key takeaway #7: Every great story includes change
Key takeaway #8: Overcome objections before you ask for the sale
What’s next
Send a storytelling email from your brand. Even better, make it about a customer testimonial.
I also recommend you sign up to Heart & Soil’s email list, especially if you’re selling supplements.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to my email list and get notified of every Emails That Sell analysis + my weekly newsletter.
