not your average croissant [Stretch #25]

*Your 2-minute stretch break for better email marketing.*

Hey Reader,

Last Saturday, a chocolate croissant almost brought me to tears.

Fresh out of the oven. Soft on the inside, crispy bite on the outside. Just enough warm chocolate to balance out the layers of pastry.

I'm not normally a big food person, but this thing was so good I actually couldn't hold a conversation.

It made me think about how many things we consume that are just... fine. The dry muffin you grab just to eat something. The *meh* rom-com you don't even pay attention to.

That pain au chocolat stood out because it's rare for me to eat something that delightful.

Everyone's talking about AI right now - what it's doing to creativity, attention, and connection. But here's the hopeful side:

AI is churning out dry muffins by the millions.

Soulless content people don't remember, or even regret consuming, because it wasted their time.

This means you have a real opportunity to delight your people. Just by caring enough to create something great.

The world is a tough place right now, but this is what we can do for fellow humans.

Keep showing up. Put soul into our work. Be real and vulnerable.

Create stuff that puts people back into their bodies, whether they're sparkly about life for a brief moment or just biting into something that makes their eyes light up.

We're craving this level of human connection.

I see it in the marketing that's performing best right now.

I promise you'll get better results by operating this way, too.

I'll show you how to bring more human connection into your emails and share an example in the Lift below.

The Warmup

One easy desk stretch

- Interlace your fingers

- Push your palms in front of you

- Hold for 10 seconds and breathe

- Raise them overhead and stretch tall

- Repeat at least twice (or throughout the day)

The Lift

One insight to stretch your email ROI

Winning online isn't about loud marketing, pretty templates, or clever prompts. It's about how well you make human connection happen through screens. Period.

To do that with your emails:

- Be upfront about your values.

- Ask for replies. Invite people in.

- Tell stories from your team and customers.

- Be conversational. Like you'd talk to a real person.

- Share behind-the-scenes pictures, even snapped on your phone.

The emails performing best right now feel like letters from someone you trust, not announcements from a faceless brand.

Example: Electrolyte brand Sult creates a community feel with their emails using the tactics above. This means people want to do more than open and read. They're excited to root for (and stay loyal to) the brand.

Quick snippet from Sult's welcome email:

🧠 Try this in your next email:

Think of something real your brand is experiencing this week. A team moment or even a new shipment. Bring subscribers behind the scenes to show the care you put into your work.

The Cooldown

One quick brain breather

Here's the chocolate croissant in question. If I'd known how good it'd be, I never would've shared with Sam 😜

What's something truly great you experienced lately?