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Words That Sell: Five eCommerce Copywriting Styles That Drive Action
Your retention spell book is here š® Become a certified email & SMS marketer for $350 off w/ code: HOCUSPOCUS (This deal vanishes at midnightā¦)
Good morning, Chase and Jimmy here.
And a happy Halloween to you.
Here's a scary truth: most brand copy is what haunts conversions. š»
If your emails lack personality, you're already selling your brand short.
The good news? The right words can bring your emails (and your sales) back to life.
This morning, weāre sharing five copywriting styles that actually sell; from real urgency and crave-worthy storytelling to social proof that builds trust.
Because spooky season or not, boring copy is the real fright.
Also inside:
āļø Stop begging for emails. Start collecting them.
āļø Knowledge Drop: Hacking Costco's Psychology
āļø Up Next on Send It: The 80/20 of Email Revenue (Do Less, Make More)
āļø DTC Wins: AG1 Launches NIL Deals (for Scientists)
Letās jump inš.
š§ Stop begging for emails. Start collecting them.
Getting people to hand over their email shouldnāt feel like pulling teeth.
Omnisend makes it simple with built-in forms, gamified popups, and automations that turn visitors into subscribers (and subscribers into customers).
Hereās what youāll learn in this guide:
8 proven ways to grow your list (from giveaways to loyalty programs)
How to design popups that convert without annoying shoppers
Smart compliance tips to keep your list clean and deliverable
If youāre tired of ānobodyās signing up,ā this is your playbook.
Words That Sell: Five eCommerce Copywriting Styles That Drive Action
If you're selling online, your copy is doing the talking.
And depending on how you write it, it's either pulling people in⦠or pushing them away.
So what does good email and SMS copy look like? And how do you write it in a way that makes people trust your brand and hit purchase?
Here are five copywriting styles that actually work.
1. Create urgency and scarcity
People are inherently motivated by deadlines and limits.
Itās human psychology: when something feels scarce, we value it more.
When you weave urgency into your copy, it forces a decision. Shoppers canāt just think āIāll buy later.ā They either act now or risk missing out.
š How to put this into action:
Add countdown timers in promo emails: āSale ends in 02:47:36.ā
Use SMS for same-day urgency: ā24 hours left to grab 20% off your cart.ā
Send āalmost goneā restock alerts: āOnly a few left in your size. Act fast!ā
Remind before expiration: āYour reward points vanish in 48 hours. Donāt lose them!ā

So how do you make sure your urgency doesnāt come across as spam?
Easy: just be honest.
Nothing kills trust faster than fake countdowns or false āsold outā claims. If your copy says a sale ends in 24 hours, make sure it really does.
2. Back it up with social proof
Buying online is risky for customers.
They canāt touch, smell, or try the product first. Social proof fills that gap by saying, āDonāt worry, others tried this and loved it.ā
š How to put this into action:
Include customer reviews as quotes in your emails.
Use before/after images with customer stories.
Highlight product ratings: āāļøāļøāļøāļøāļø Rated 4.9 by 2,300 happy customers.ā

Why does it work? Because people trust people more than they trust brands. Reading about their experiences makes your product feel safer.
Pro tip: With AI-generated reviews everywhere, shoppers are harder to win over. So keep your testimonials specific, and with real names or photos.
3. Engage with storytelling and narrative copy
Unlike facts, stories paint a picture and connect emotionally with buyers. Customers donāt just see your product, they see themselves using it.
Thatās why stories are harder to forget than feature dumps.
š How to put this into action:
Share quick customer journeys: āMark ran his first marathon in our shoes (after swearing he wasnāt a runner.)ā
Build campaigns around product origin stories (great for welcome series).
Use narrative-style subject lines: āFrom garage idea to bestseller: our journey.ā
Send texts that continue a story over a sequence (Day 1: problem, Day 2: solution, Day 3: success).

Give your story a simple structure: beginning (the problem), middle (the journey), and end (the resolution). And always tie it back to how your product made the difference.
4. Focus on problem-solving and benefits
At the end of the day, customers care less about your product than what it does for them.
Letās say you sell a desk chair. Listing the features alone sounds dry:
āAdjustable height, lumbar support, breathable mesh.ā Blah.
š Now flip it into a problem-solution:
āBack pain from long workdays? Our chair supports your posture so you can work eight hours without the aches.ā
See how that works?
Focusing on the benefits gives meaning to your productās features. Plus, when people recognize themselves in the problem, they see your solution as the way out.

Pro tip: Use customer-centered language (āyouā and āyourā) so readers feel youāre speaking directly to them.
5. Write with personality
Nobody wants to be talked down to by a brand. Conversational copy makes customers feel like theyāre chatting with a friendly human, not reading a corporate manual.
š How to put this into action:
Instead of writing, āWe offer free returns within 30 days,ā you could say, āChanged your mind? No stress. Weāll take it back, no questions asked.ā
Add playful PS lines: āP.S. Yes, free returns really mean FREE.ā
Keep SMS short and witty: āWe canāt keep secretsā¦your 20% off ends tonight š.ā
Why does it work? Because personality builds loyalty.
Customers donāt just buy products, they buy into brands they like. And people naturally like brands that sound approachable, funny, or caring.

Pro tip: Define your voice. Are you playful? Bold? Gentle? Stick to it everywhere so your emails, product pages, and ads all feel like theyāre coming from the same personality.
Bonus: Test it, donāt guess it
Before you settle on a copy style, give it a test run. What sounds great in your head might land differently in someoneās inbox or text thread.
Start by picking one style that fits your campaign goal ā maybe urgency for a flash sale or storytelling in a welcome email ā and try it out on different segments.
Keep an eye on how it performs and tweak from there. A few things to track:
Open rates (did your subject line style grab attention?)
Click-throughs (did your copy spark interest?)
Conversions (did it actually lead to sales?)
Let the data guide your decisions, and over time, your copy will just keep getting better.
Wrapping it up
Great copy doesnāt shout. It connects, reassures, and nudges in the right direction.
When you mix these five styles intentionally, your emails and texts stop feeling like marketing and start feeling like conversations.
Hereās a quick recap to keep in your back pocket:
ā
Create urgency that feels real (not spammy) to drive faster decisions
ā
Use social proof thatās specific, human, and impossible to fake
ā
Tell stories that help customers picture themselves using your product
ā
Highlight benefits, not just features, by solving real problems
ā
Inject personality so your brand sounds like someone theyād want to hear from
When your copy feels right, conversions tend to follow.
š” Knowledge Drop:
Costco cracked the code on retention... by making customers feel smart for buying more. Jimmy breaks down how ecommerce brands can steal the same play with tiered product options that drive higher AOV and long-term loyalty.
The retention play you should steal from Costco
Costco does something really well: They make people feel smart for buying more at once.
Your eCom brand can do the same.
Hereās how:
Show a few different size or quantity options on your product page, like a small, medium, and
ā Jimmy Kim (@yojimmykim)
5:33 PM ⢠Oct 21, 2025
š Up Next on Send It: What are Chase and Jimmy Building?
Next week on Send It! we spill all the detailsā¦
We reflect on our first year of partnership - from scaling a media company to launching brand-new software tools built for ecommerce and retention marketers.
Hereās what we dig into:
The vision behind eClickTrack and solving the bot/fake click problem
A sneak peek at Inboox, the 1M+ ecommerce email database with AI insights
Why theyāre doubling down on media, community, and education for retention marketers
The lessons learned building tools by marketers, for marketers
šļø Subscribe to the channel and tap the bell to catch every new drop.
š„ DTC Wins:
AG1 Launches NIL Deals (for Scientists)
AG1 just flipped the script on athlete sponsorships with its new Nutrition In Labs (NIL) program. Instead of college athletes, theyāre backing rising researchers (from FSU to UC Davis) whose work advances nutrition and health science. Itās a smart play that reinforces AG1ās credibility as a brand rooted in research, not just results.
AG1 is proud to introduce Nutrition In Labs (NIL) endorsement deals with three rising researchers to support their work and the future of health research.
NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals with athlete sponsorships often take center stage, but we think another group deserves
ā AG1 (@drink_AG1)
1:05 PM ⢠Oct 15, 2025
Annnnd thatās a wrap for this edition!
Thanks for hanging with Chase and me, always a pleasure to have you here.
If you found this newsletter helpful (or even just a little fun), donāt keep it to yourself! Share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer. Letās get them on board so they donāt miss next weekās drops.
Remember: Do shit you love.
š¤ Jimmy Kim & Chase Dimond
PS - Your next best customer might be reading this right now. Want in? Email Jimmy to sponsor this newsletter and more.
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