One of the most common questions I get these days is “Do you use AI to write emails for clients?”
Yes and no.
I knock out about 100-200 eCommerce emails every month.
Truth is, if I began every email from scratch, I’d probably go insane.
So far, I’ve used AI (specifically Claude) for ideation and market research.
However, when Fable 5 came out, I was eager to give this “borderline dangerous” model a go.
Did it live up to the hype? Or did it produce “slop”?
Before I get into it, I want to share with you a framework for writing designed emails.
Every Designed eCommerce Email Consists Of 4 Copy Elements
Subject line, hook, bridge, and call to action.
Let’s break them down, one-by-one…
1) Subject line
This is the most important part of the email.
In advertising, Mr. Ogilvy said the headline is 80 cents of the dollar.
In email marketing, your 80 cents is your subject line.
You either spark curiosity or communicate a benefit. Short subject lines work best.
When I’m out of ideas, I use the 4U’s formula (urgent, unique, useful, ultra-specific) for SLs.
2) Hook/Angle/Story
Once you get past the first engagement test (opening the email), you’re hit with another test (reading the email).
This time, it’s the hook.
When someone clicks on the email, the hook is the first thing they’ll see.
This single line of text determines whether someone will read further and click through, or lose interest and bounce.
3) Bridge
This is the body text under the hook. While important for context and building your sales argument, people will only read it if the hook pulls them in first.
Focus 95% of your time writing the SL + hook, and 5% writing the rest.
4) Call To Action
Some brands like to get really creative with CTAs. I like to keep it simple and action-oriented.
“Shop Now” works well in most cases. If it’s a cart abandonment email, you can say “Finish Your Purchase.”
If there’s an offer, I like to include it in the CTA e.g. “Shop 20% OFF”
Don’t overcomplicate it.
How To Generate eCommerce Email Hooks With Claude Fable
Now that we know the 4 copy elements, let’s have a look at how you can write better hooks for your designed email campaigns.
I created a Claude skill based on one of my favorite copywriting books Great Leads.
With this skill, you could take any generic-sounding email campaign, and have offer-based hooks, storytelling hooks, problem-solution hooks… all generated by Claude, ready within seconds.
Here it is in action:
This is Manukora, a NZ-based brand that sells honey.
Here’s one of their AI-heavy email heros:
The hook “Clean Energy for Longer Days” is a prime example of bad agency copywriting.
It’s a vague benefit claimed by millions of supplement brands.
There’s zero mechanism behind why the product actually works.
A skeptical supplement audience will look at this campaign and it will breeze right past them.
If I’m a prospect signing up to Manukora’s email list, I want to know:
- Why is this product any different from what I’ve tried?
- Are the results real?
- Can I trust this brand?
If your welcome sequence doesn’t tackle these objections, you’re going to have a hard time converting people.
I copy-pasted this email into Claude, and used my Great Leads skill to generate hooks:
Problem-solution:
“Tired by 10am? Manuka’s slow-burn honey can help…”
Big secret:
“Glycemic index 54. That’s the secret.”
Promise:
“Why Mānuka energy doesn’t crash”
Proclamation:
“Sweeteners spike energy. Mānuka sustains it.”
Are these perfect hooks? No…
But they’re far more likely to get you past the “engagement test” and get your emails read.
Where Fable 5 Still Falls Short
I still believe writing body paragraphs with AI will lead to you sounding like every other brand out there.
The “it’s not this, it’s that” language hasn’t left. The “no X, no Y, just Z” is still there. It also fails to capture any resemblance of brand voice (despite feeding it tons of research and information).
Plain text emails also fall into this bucket. If you send me a “personal” email and I can tell that it was written by a robot, you’ve lost all integrity in my eyes.
AI loves to force short sentences, and when you read it out loud, it sounds very clunky.
What’s Next
While I think AI is useful for generating hooks and campaign angles, highly converting email copy with a distinct brand voice can only be written by a human.
If you want the Claude Hooks skill to write better email headlines for your brand, you can access it here for free.
And if you’re tired of your email agency producing generic off-brand copy, click here to work with me.
