If you’re reading this, a small miracle occurred.

Amid your flooded inbox … an email broke through. You didn’t just see it. You clicked. And now, here we are.

The question is …

🥲 Karly Craig shows you how to make emails unignorable

💸 Michael Ludwig dominates the “scourge” of ecommerce

📊 Cody Plofker shares a star-studded 82-page playbook

Plus, this week’s biggest headlines with links and executive summaries.

Cody Plofker Jones Road Beauty, CEO

Unlock Your Store’s Hidden Revenue: Insights from Top Brands’ Upsells

We all want to get more revenue out of every transaction. And we want to turn more shoppers into customers.

​AfterSell’s new (82-page!) Upsell Playbook is packed with strategies to help.

I contributed insights from what we’re doing at Jones Road Beauty — along with Ronak Shah from Obvi, Nick Shackelford from BRĒZ, and a ton of other experts.

Inside, you’ll discover how brands are …

Boosting conversion rates by 20-30% with personalized offers; increasing AOV by up to 40% within 3 months; and improving LTV by 50% through strategic upselling.

Karly Craig Author, Email Is Not Dead

Why the Best Emails Feel Personal (Even When They’re Mass-Produced)

Most emails get ignored.

Not because email marketing is dead — but because most brands are boring.

They treat email as a transactional tool when it should be a relationship-building opportunity. They focus on conversions over connections. The result? Messages disappear into the inbox — unread, unremembered.

Brands that win augment the usual formula with one of two approaches. Either, they …

• Make their emails so entertaining people want to open them, even if they’re not shopping
• Or they make them so emotionally resonant they feel personal, even when sent to thousands

Two brands mastering these approaches?

Let’s break down how they do it and what you can steal from each one for your own strategy.

 Birddogs  Email Content That Entertains First, Sells Second

Rather than pushing discounts or hyping up product features, Birddogs makes you laugh, then they sell. In doing so, they’ve mastered the psychology of engagement, brand affinity, and purchase behavior in a way most brands never will.

Every great brand has an identity. Most try to tell you what it is.

Birddogs? They show you. Their emails don’t scream, “We’re a funny brand; please laugh!”

Instead, they invite you into their bizarre, inside-joke-filled universe — one where interns are constantly screwing things up, the CEO is a questionable leader, and the company seems to be in a state of perpetual chaos.

The genius of it?

You open because you want to see what happens next. You laugh because you feel like you’re part of the joke.

And even if you don’t buy today, Birddogs has secured mindshare — which means when you do need shorts, you already know where you’re going.

That’s not just humor. That’s flawless brand marketing.

It’s also a mindful and direct application of at least three key psychological principles.

1️⃣ Pattern Disruption: Breaking the Boring Inbox Formula

Most brand emails look the same …

❌ Subject: LAST CHANCE! 20% OFF!
❌ Body: Hurry, this deal won’t last!
❌ Call to Action: Shop Now!

Consumers are trained to ignore these emails. They’ve seen it all before.

Birddogs obliterates this pattern with subject lines like:

✅ Having a Quarter-Life Crisis?
✅ Jordan Befriended a Russian Spy
✅ What’s Got 2 Eyes and a Carrot P***s?
✅ Can’t get it up?… Your zipper
✅ Wanna disappoint your parents?

They force involuntary curiosity. You can’t help but open just to see what the hell is going on.

When you do, it never disappoints.

2️⃣ Commitment & Consistency Bias: Creating a ‘Series’

Birddogs’ emails aren’t random. They’re mini-sitcom episodes.

Characters reappear. Running jokes build over time.

The more emails you read, the more invested you become in the absurd world they’ve created.

This taps into the “commitment and consistency bias” — a principle in psychology that states …

The more someone engages with something, the more likely they are to continue engaging.

In other words, if you’ve read five Birddogs emails and laughed, your brain is conditioned to expect entertainment from them. The sixth email? You’re opening that one, too.

3️⃣ Mere Exposure Effect: Selling Without (Really) Selling

If Birddogs directly pushed their products, they’d be another DTC brand screaming for attention.

Instead, they bury the sale inside the entertainment.

The joke pulls you in. The story makes you stay. The product mention is subtle — but it’s there.

This leans on “mere exposure effect” — a cognitive bias where people develop a preference for things they see frequently, even if they don’t consciously register it.

Most people don’t buy the first time they see a brand. But if they’ve read 12 hilarious Birddogs emails before ever clicking a link? The brand is already in their head.

When they are ready to buy? They don’t need to be convinced. They need only to be reminded.

As Karl Termini, Head of Organic at Birddogs, told me:

Obviously, you can tell I know Karl and have had conversations with him about their strategy — but that’s only because I hunted him down after stumbling across their emails a few years ago.

I don’t usually buy things online. I definitely don’t shop for men’s clothing. But somehow, a brand that sells exclusively to men not only got me to read every email, they got me to buy.

I started ordering Birddogs as gifts for friends and family, not because I needed men’s shorts, but because I felt connected to the brand. Their emails weren’t just selling products — they were selling an experience.

And I wanted to be part of it.

That’s the power of great marketing. It doesn’t just convert customers — it creates fans in places you’d never expect.

 We’re Not Really Strangers  Emails That Hit You in the Feels

We’re Not Really Strangers (WNRS) takes a different but equally effective route, crafting emotionally intelligent + interactive emails that feel more like personal connections than marketing.

There’s something magical about an email that makes you pause. Not because it’s flashy or full of salesy gimmicks but because it speaks directly to you.

That’s what WNRS has mastered — a blend of emotion, intention, and strategy that turns emails into experiences.

This isn’t just about what they do; it’s about how they do it and why their approach is worth learning from.

Each email below explores one of their standout strategies. Whether it’s a gamified interaction or a subtle list-building campaign, every example is proof that email marketing, when done right, can be a powerful tool for connection and growth.

1️⃣ Self-Guidance Through Smart Hyperlinks

The subject line alone — “Which base are you on?” — pulls you in. You open the email, curious to see what it’s about. Inside, there’s a simple yet playful breakdown of different “bases” in relationships, each linked to a product.

First base leads to their Friendship Edition. Second base clicks through to the Honest Dating Expansion Pack. Third is the Couples Edition. And a home run? That’s for their XXX Edition, a version of the product that delves deeper into intimacy.

More than an email; it’s a guided, interactive experience.

Rather than get pushed toward a decision, you’re encouraged to self-reflect and self-select based on where you see yourself in your relationships.

This email taps into the reader’s curiosity and sense of agency. By aligning products with emotional milestones, it feels more like an intimate conversation than a sales pitch.

The clickable links make it interactive, and the format ensures the reader feels understood — like the brand gets them on a genuinely personal level.

2️⃣ Interactive Gamification

Similar to the bases, this next email feels like a game from the moment you see it. Only more so.

The subject line, “Pick a card,” is as simple as it is intriguing. Inside, there’s nothing but three red cards, backs facing up, with no text except for the subject line’s invitation to choose one.

Each card is clickable. When you do, you’re taken to a unique saying on their website.

The beauty lies in its simplicity. There’s no clutter, no over-explaining — just the irresistible pull of curiosity. You want to know what’s behind the card you chose. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll go back to see what’s behind the other two.

Humans are naturally curious, and this email plays on that perfectly. It adds an element of fun and mystery to what could otherwise be a transactional message.

By creating a playful experience, it doesn’t just sell — it engages. Even if the reader doesn’t buy something immediately, the interaction leaves a lasting positive impression.

3️⃣ Emotion as a Driver of Connection

Let me tell you about the email that made tears well up in my eyes: “Take the compliment.”

Simple, intriguing, and impossible to resist. Inside, there was no sales pitch, no clutter — just a big red arrow pointing to what appeared to be a ticket sticking out of the screen with the words: “Please take one.”

When I clicked, it took me to a webpage with a single, powerful message: “The chance of meeting someone like you is why I talk to strangers.”

I stared at those words. And honestly, felt them. Even more shocking, when I forwarded it to my friend, Sean Frank …

It wasn’t trying to sell anything. It wasn’t pushing a product or screaming about a sale. It was just there. A compliment we didn’t know we needed. That’s exactly why it worked.

4️⃣ Clever List-Building with Consent

A couple of years ago, for Valentine’s Day, they ran a campaign titled “We sent you a rose.” The email featured a single red rose image + a call to action: “Pass it on.”

What’s more, it overlapped perfectly with similar IRL campaigns WNRS had run before.

Clicking the link took you to a page where you could forward the rose to a friend by entering their email address.

But there was a twist …

For the chain to continue, your friend had to click through and sign up themselves. Each person who received the rose had to give consent before sharing it further, creating a ripple effect of connection — and new subscribers.

This email helped them grow their list by incorporating an element of gamification. Each recipient became part of a larger “game” where the goal was to keep passing the rose along.

The strategy hits the sweet spot between list-building + emotional engagement.

The act of sharing feels like a gift, deepening the connection between the sender, the recipient, and the brand.

5️⃣ Minimalism That Speaks Volumes

What’s remarkable about WNRS’s emails is how little they actually say — but how much they make you feel.

“What if dating was as simple as getting to know another human being?” Within the email is a single, affirming line: “It can be.”

At the bottom, the footer quietly lists links to their products (games and clothing), but they don’t demand attention.

They simply exist, unintrusive and understated.

The focus is on the message, creating space for reflection — like a thought whispered into your ear.

It’s genius because it flips the script. It makes you stop scrolling, take a breath, and think. It doesn’t push; it pulls.

 Not ‘Either, Or’  It Can Be Both

Of course, none of this means Birddogs and WNRS don’t also send automations + campaigns meant to generate sales.

Birddogs’ entry point is your typical 20% off pop-up. However, they deliver the discount via SMS only — leaving the first email to begin cultivating their uniquely fun content.

Likewise, WNRS sends new subscribers a 10% code in their welcome email as well as automates the usual fare — like cart abandonment. But they do it with the same intimacy and authenticity that marks everything else they send.

There’s one takeaway I hope resonates with you …

From frat-bro humor to heartstring-pulling moments, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for running successful campaigns.

The most important thing is finding what works for your brand — what feels authentic, exciting, and aligned with your audience.

Karly Craig is an email marketing strategist with 7+ years of experience in the DTC space, including running her own agency and leading multiple brands.

She literally wrote the book on retention, Email Is Not Dead. Be sure to connect with Karly on X (Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Michael Ludwig Head of Customer Service

HexClad Stopped Handling Chargebacks, So Can You

Around this time last year, we were dealing with a surge in chargeback disputes following the holiday season. After looking into different solutions, we decided to implement Chargeflow’s automated chargeback recovery tool because we heard good things from colleagues.

The results speak for themselves.

We’ve seen a 59% improvement in win rate, six figures in revenue recovered, and full automation. My team no longer spends time manually fighting disputes and can instead focus on retention and increasing LTV.

For any Shopify brand handling chargebacks, Chargeflow is a no-brainer. It takes two minutes to install, and pricing is fully success-based — you only pay when they win disputes for you.

THE FEED

The LTV Trap: Escape Your Broken Business Model

• ​YouTube​
• ​Apple​
• ​Spotify​

Scaling Affiliate Marketing: What’s Working for Leading DTC Brands with Aaron Paul

• ​YouTube​
• ​Apple​
• ​Spotify​

The Trends

Curated by the editor of CPG Wire, this week’s five biggest consumer-news headlines.

1. Kettle & Fire Partners With Colter Ventures: Twitter​

Kettle & Fire, the nation’s leading bone broth brand, secured a $43M secondary buyout led by Colter Ventures. The deal provides liquidity to early investors and establishes a new structure that aligns investors, founders, and operators. Colter Ventures was founded by Sam McBride — former COO of RXBAR and an investor in Mush, Olipop, and Open Water.

2. Spindrift Expands Into Soda: Food Dive​

Spindrift, the popular sparkling water brand that Gryphon Investors acquired earlier this year, just launched a better-for-you soda range with five nostalgic flavors. Spindrift has the requisite brand equity to pull off this category expansion, but it will still be an uphill battle, given how crowded the category has become. Talking Rain, the owner of the $1B Sparkling Ice brand, also just launched a healthy soda called Popwell.

3. Actual Veggies Raises $7M: AgFunderNews​

New York-based Actual Veggies secured $7M in Series A funding from Relentless Consumer Partners, New Fare Partners, and a handful of strategic angel investors. Actual Veggies was founded in 2020 by Hailey Swartz and Jason Rosenbaum. The company produces chef-crafted veggie burgers and fries that are sold in over 6,500 stores and restaurants across the U.S.

4. Hims & Hers Delivers Monster Q4: CNBC​

Telehealth company Hims & Hers reported impressive Q4 results. Revenue jumped 95% YoY to over $481M while adjusted EBITDA surged 451% YoY to $54.1M. Despite the strong quarterly results, share price retreated due to missing analyst expectations on gross margin. SPOILER: Drew Fallon broke it all down here.

5. Protein Pints Grabs Nearly $2M: SEC​

Protein Pints, a Michigan-based purveyor of high-protein ice cream, raised just under $2M in funding from ACG Venture Capital, Red Cedar Ventures, and other undisclosed investors. The company also added some key execs to its leadership team. Protein Pints launched in 2022 and retails at Meijer, Sprouts, and select Albertsons stores. The protein ice cream category is getting a little bloated now.

Interested in Karly making a podcast appearance? Write back to let us know.

Next week, Matthew Bertulli (Lomi x Pela Case) is coming in hot with an incredibly timely piece …

🔥 “Run Into the Fire”

With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor

PS: Special thanks to AfterSell​ & Chargeflow for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

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