Edition #27: A 250-year-old lesson in earning trust through storytelling

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Hello email aficionados, 

As usual, we're sharing the most valuable reads to make email marketing successful:

• A timeless lesson from Wedgwood on building trust and connection through story, not shouting.

• Actionable tips for writing subject lines that actually make people open your emails.

• A breakdown of Greco Gum’s brand email that shows how honesty drives loyalty.

📧 Story of Queens Ware

Back in the 1700s, there was a potter named Josiah Wedgwood.

He made good pottery — nothing revolutionary at first — until Queen Charlotte ordered a set.

That moment could have ended as a simple sale. But Wedgwood saw it differently. He used her name on his work and called it Queen’s Ware.

That connection gave his pottery meaning. It wasn’t just something to eat from anymore — it represented taste, refinement, and belonging.

And because of that story, he sold more. A lot more.

He didn’t have to shout “buy from me” on the streets. He had trust, attention, and a message that resonated.

Fast forward to now, and marketers have every tool imaginable — but many still miss the same principle. They talk louder instead of clearer.

Every email becomes another shout for attention: “Buy this, buy that.”

But people aren’t ignoring your emails because they hate marketing. They’re ignoring them because they don’t feel anything when they read them.

Good email marketing isn’t about constant selling. It’s about creating moments of recognition — where the reader nods, relates, or learns something useful. It’s how you stay present in their mind between purchases.

You can’t build loyalty just by sending offers. You build it by earning trust.
By showing up with something worth opening — not because there’s a discount inside, but because there’s you inside.

Wedgwood didn’t sell clay. He sold connection.

That’s what the best brands still do. Just through a different medium.

🗃️ From the article vault

Great subject lines aren’t luck. They’re built on psychology, timing, and intent.

Our this blog, How To Write Effective Email Subject Lines, we break down the three reasons people actually open emails, and show how to use each one across different types of emails: welcome, transactional, newsletters, and sales.

You’ll learn how to balance clarity with curiosity, when to go simple vs. clever, and why the best subject lines sound like they came from a real human (not a marketer chasing open rates).

If you’ve ever stared at a blank subject line bar wondering what’ll make people click, read this. 

📫️ From the inbox

This is an email from Greco Gum addressing customer complaints about price and lack of discounts. It’s a brand values and positioning email — reaffirming their premium stance, defending pricing, and reinforcing trust and loyalty among quality-conscious buyers.

Here's what we liked in this email:

• Bold brand voice: Direct, confident, and unfiltered — “We get it. Truly.” and “It’s because they know their product sucks…” reinforce authenticity and conviction.

• Storytelling through honesty: Turns a common complaint (high price) into a relatable narrative that builds respect instead of defensiveness.

• Smart structure: Opens with empathy → introduces “Context” → closes with proof and examples — feels like a genuine conversation, not a pitch.

• Trust-building anecdotes: Mentions real customer service gestures (overnight shipping, replacements) to back up claims of quality.

• Minimalist design: Clean layout, no clutter — lets the copy do the heavy lifting while images and CTAs at the end balance it out.

• Strong conversion tie-in: Ends with social proof (“30,000 satisfied customers”) and clear “Shop now” CTAs — capitalizes on the emotional momentum built by the story.

👀 Worth the read & a watch

• I tested 17 email deliverability tools. Here’s what you should use

• 6 lifecycle emails that'll elevate your engagement game

Best,
Alec

P.S. Have a topic you’d like us to cover in the next edition? Reply to this email and let us know! We're always eager to address.