There is this meme on the internet called the Midwit bell curve.
Here’s an example:
Essentially, the dumb guy and the Jedi both hold similar beliefs… oftentimes an idea rooted in beautiful simplicity.
The guy in the middle?
He ruins everything by overcomplicating stuff.
In life, this happens almost everywhere.
E-commerce email marketing is no different.
I’ve seen brands that make $50k/mo scratch their eyes out over optimizing email flows.
Then some companies make $10M/mo, and all they do is master the basics.
A perfect example of this is the wallet brand Ridge.
Ya think they grew to $300m in annual revenue because they had a killer cross-sell sequence?
Nope.
They mastered customer acquisition first.
When you look at their Meta Ads library, they have hundreds of ad variations running.
That’s their highest ROI activity.
They know that finding a new winning Meta Ad could literally bring them millions of dollars.
When it comes to email, they’ve taken an 80/20 approach.
20% of the actions account for 80% of the results.
They don’t care about the rest, literally.
Let’s look at how they do it…
How to do email marketing like Ridge (and not be a midwit)
1. Email your list 3x a week
Ridge sends 12 emails every month.
53.6% of those emails have an offer.
The remaining 46.4% focuses on product highlights and telling stories.
It’s enough to stay on top of mind.
If you don’t know what content to send, I always refer back to the Rule of One.
List out:
- One benefit
- One material/ingredient
- One industry myth
You get the gist…
And send email campaigns around those subjects.
My 43 no-discount email campaign ideas might be useful here as well.
2. Build your welcome sequence around a hero product
Ridge sells dozens of products.
Rings, phone cases, wedding bands, among others.
But their welcome sequence focuses on selling one product:
The wallets.
It’s what’s most likely to land them a customer.
It’s also what they’re known for.
Once you’ve bought one of their wallets, they will start cross-selling to increase CLV.
But until you’re a non-buyer?
They won’t push anything else.
3. Re-frame your 10% discount offer
“Here’s 10% off” is boring.
Instead, Ridge asks a simple pop-up question:
“Do you want a free gift from us?”
Most people will look at that and say “Yes!”
It also creates intrigue because you don’t know what it is.
Once you subscribe, you receive 10% off.
One more thing:
Notice how simple this pop-up is.
It consists of 15 words.
There’s no fancy visuals or extra stuff.
They ask you a simple question and promise an incentive.
Skip the corporate “Once you subscribe, you’ll get access to…”
They already know.
4. Throw in founder-led emails
Every 10th email campaign Ridge sends is a founder-led, plain-text email.
These emails involve stories around product launches and the brand itself.
It’s conversational. It’s human. It’s community-led.
These emails print $$$ because they’re pattern breakers.
5. Have some fun
Every now and then, Ridge throws in a giveaway quiz like:
“Who will win the Super Bowl?”
Or
“Guess our new wallet color!”
This is a great way to get email subscribers, especially cold ones, to re-engage.
Beware, if you’re going to do this, you need to know your audience really well.
6. Use urgency
About half of Ridge’s emails have some kind of offer or sale.
But every sale they run also has a follow-up campaign with a deadline.
They give you a reason to buy now.
Again, simple sales 101.
Conclusion
The biggest takeaway from Ridge’s email marketing strategy is:
Don’t be a midwit.
Instead, master the basics first: acquisition offer, weekly campaigns, basic flows.
And before you start doing stuff like A/B testing flow time delays, ask yourself: “Is this really worth my time?”
Most often, the answer is no.
