Steal This Email. Make More Money.

Hey it’s Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

Most brands are screaming for attention in the inbox.

Loud colors, image-heavy design, “FINAL CHANCE” sales.

Then, Corbin (a made-up person) from Brez shows up with a plain-text email that feels like a friend messaging you.

Guess who wins the open and click?

Key Takeaways:

• Personal message-based marketing makes your brand feel more human and trustworthy.

• Using a “fake” persona like Corbin adds relatability without compromising authenticity.

• Plain text emails cut through noisy inboxes and boost engagement.

• These emails don’t scream “sell”, they build relationships and drive conversions.

• You can easily replicate this format with the template below

Why Personal, Text-Based Emails Hit Different

This email from “Corbin at Brez” is a perfect example of how to humanize your brand with minimal effort.

Here’s what makes it so effective:

• It’s text-only. No images. No flashy buttons. It feels like a real person mesaging you.

• It’s written like a 1:1 message. Short, direct, and personal.

• It’s “from” a person. Even though Corbin likely isn’t real, he feels real enough to connect with.

• It tells a story. Not a brand story, but a little “here’s what’s going on behind the scenes” moment.

• It soft-sells. Their is barely even a CTA… just links to the product that people will naturally want to click.

This kind of email feels like it was written just for you…

Which makes people actually want to read it.

Human ≠ Salesy

One of the biggest mistakes brands make is thinking every email has to sell something.

That mindset turns emails into ads… and customers become defensive.

But when you approach email like a conversation, not a conversion, you build trust. And trust is what gets people to buy again and again.

This Corbin email didn’t even have a discount. Just a heads-up on their brand story and common misconceptions behind their products.

No pressure. No urgency. Just a light nudge.

And that’s why it works.

These emails also stand out more than designed emails, by doing less.

Because it looks like a personal email, it bypasses mental sales resistance.

It’s not: “Oh great, another offer.”
It’s: “Huh, what’s this person saying?”

Inbox providers also love text-based emails.

They often land better in the primary inbox vs. promotions tab.

Here’s How You Can Replicate This Format

Want to swipe the Corbin email? Here’s a simple plug-and-play framework:

Subject Line: Make it personal or casual (e.g. “just got this in” or “quick update for you”)
Sender Name: Use a name + brand (e.g. “Corbin at Brez”)
Email Body:

Intro
Hey [First Name or general casual greeting],

I've been thinking about how people talk about [brand/product], and I realized… we might not be telling the full story.

When people hear "[common product category term]," they probably expect [insert outdated or incorrect assumption].

But that's never been what we're about. Sure, [acknowledge known attribute or ingredient], but that's just one piece of the puzzle.

From day one, we’ve been building something different. Not [industry stereotype], but [true purpose/feeling].

Whether it’s [benefit 1], [benefit 2], or [benefit 3]—the goal has always been the experience, not the hype.

That’s why we obsess over [ingredient, process, design detail].

It’s why we [something unique you do].

And it’s why [another thing that separates you from the pack].

People don’t say “[old perception].”

They say things like “[real customer quote #1]” or “[quote #2].”

That’s exactly what we’re building here.

So no—we're not just [label]. We're [higher purpose].

nd if you’ve been with us, you get it. If you’re new—welcome. You'll understand after your first [product experience].

Much love,
[Founder’s First Name] from [Brand Name]
[CTA Button – “Try It Now” or “Shop Now”]

P.S. Got thoughts on this? Hit reply, I actually read these.

Use this… it works!

And if you want me to personally audit your email account and give you 3 quick wins that will make you an extra $5k tomorrow… book a call here.

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max

PS - If you run a 7-9 figure ecommerce brand and you want to have a free email strategy consultation, book a call here »

PPS - I have a few different products you can buy. If you purchase any one of these products you get access to my private community of 1500+ members with daily posts from me, access to me for support 24/7, and private calls.

• Ecommerce Email Mastery: A 60 lesson course breaking down everything you need to know about ecommerce email marketing in the most concise and organized manner. learn more »

• Mix and Match Email Design Templates: 134 email section templates that can make 5,000+ unique email designs with, learn more »

• QuickFlow Templates: All core 7 core email marketing flows fully templatized with examples, learn more »