Why Plain Text Emails Are Taking Over eCommerce

This weekend I woke up and I'm watching UFC fights.

Normal Saturday stuff, right?

But then I randomly jumped back to UFC 1 from 1993.

Which is crazy when you see it today.

There were no rules and no weight classes.

It was a one-night tournament to see which martial art master would win.

Back then, everyone was a one-trick pony.

The boxer only boxed. The wrestler only wrestled. The karate guy only did karate.

But after the 150-pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Royce Gracie won UFC 1 by choking out all these massive guys that only knew how to punch and kick, reality hit.

You can't just be a striker. You need to know how to grapple.

Thirty-one years after that first event, all MMA guys are incredibly well-rounded.

Which brings me to your inbox.

The Plain Text Email Revolution

"In a world of beauty, ugliness stands out." - Eugene Schwartz

Every day, billions of inboxes around the world get bombarded by beautifully designed emails.

In the eCommerce world, this is just the status quo.

Brands basically demand fully designed emails.

Which is fine. I get it, and I do this for my clients.

BUT...

I'm (finally) starting to see a trend of top eCommerce brands using the humble plain text email as part of their email marketing strategy.

Just like those early UFC fighters, they're realizing you can't just do ONE thing.

People catch on.

For example, check out this brand BREZ that's totally blowing up the food and bev space.

Most of their emails look like this...

Solid design.

But… they also routinely send out emails that look like this:

HIDE YOUR EYES!

Why are these top eCom brands suddenly doing this?

Why Plain Text Emails Work:

1. Pattern Interrupt 

See the above quote. These ugly emails standout in a sea of beautiful emails. Your brain has to stop and actually read it. It can't just scan and dismiss like those pretty emails.

2. Deliverability Gold 

Gmail and inbox providers love plain text. No images to flag. No suspicious HTML. Just looks like your friend texting you.

3. Speed 

They take 10 minutes to write. No designer needed. Just type and send. I guarantee you the ROI will be the same, and probably even better.

I’ve been sending plain text emails like this for my clients for the last five years. And clients are always skeptical of using them.

Most brands argue they aren’t on brand, or people just don’t read.

Which might be true.

But…in almost every single A/B test I’ve ran with a plain text email vs fully designed the plain text wins.

Just like grappling vs striking.

That said, most eCom brands probably don’t need to go full plain text.

But, you absolutely should be using them a few times a month.


The Most Effective Ways to Use Plain Text Emails:

1. For Sales & Promotions When you have a big promotion going on, plain text makes people stop and actually read it instead of mentally skipping over "another sale email." It's especially effective as a last-call email when the sale is about to end.

2. Cart Abandonment Recovery Send it from customer support with a "just checking in" vibe to see if they need help. Way more personal than a fancy automated template.

3. Teasing Big Announcements The day before a new product launch or sale, send a plain text from the founder: "Hey guys, we got something really cool coming up. Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow." Gets people's attention and builds anticipation.

4. Long Testimonials When you have a really good customer story, plain text forces people to stop and read the whole testimonial instead of just skimming. These “Storymonial” style emails are incredibly powerful.

Look, I’m saying you should ditch your beautiful emails. That’s a hill I’ve gotten tired of dying on.

Designed emails work.

But… the big boys of eCom have already realized that plain text emails are effective.

Turns out making money is always on brand.

Here's my challenge for you:

Write one and send one of these plain text emails to your list TODAY.

Doesn’t matter if you use ChatGPT.

Try it out, then reply let me know what happened. 

Ben

Got something you’d like me to talk about? Reply to this email, I do my best to reply to them all.

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