It’s All in the Relationship: Takeaways from Content Contract

02/12/25 • 18 min

Email Swipes

Let’s dive into the strategies and methods used in the Ness Labs book reveal email, featured in Episode 34.

Ideas you don’t want to miss

(08:24) Takeaway #1: Use storytelling for these 2 reasons

(09:13) Takeaway #2: Email is all about relationships – and relationships are emotional

(09:49) Takeaway #3: Take risks, then massage your strategy to reduce risk

(10:41) Takeaway #4: Introduce pattern interrupts to balance familiarity with freshness

(11:38) Takeaway #5: Use email signatures to kill 2 birds with 1 stone

(12:19) Takeaway #6: It’s your contractual right to promote yourself to your readers

(14:10) Takeaway #7: Provide value as you sell

(15:05) Takeaway #8: Be strategic if you’re sending consistent content

(16:55) Takeaway #9: Mix things up with other media to deliver more depth

(17:23) Takeaway #10: Nothing sells itself, not even free content your audience will love

Links from this episode

Take a look at the emails we featured in Ep. 34

Rand Fishkin recommended Anne-Laure for Email Swipes. Did you hear his episode on winback emails?

Find tons of ideas for ecomm emails that give value (not just sell) in my Welcome Playbook.

Free consult when you sign up to Kit (formerly ConvertKit) using this affiliate link. Terms and conditions here.

Follow Nikki on LinkedIn

Get Nikki's email musings at ⁠nikkielbaz.com/subscribe ⁠

Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]

Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

Or find on your favorite podcast player

Let’s dive into the strategies and methods used in the Ness Labs book reveal email, featured in Episode 34.

Ideas you don’t want to miss

(08:24) Takeaway #1: Use storytelling for these 2 reasons

(09:13) Takeaway #2: Email is all about relationships – and relationships are emotional

(09:49) Takeaway #3: Take risks, then massage your strategy to reduce risk

(10:41) Takeaway #4: Introduce pattern interrupts to balance familiarity with freshness

(11:38) Takeaway #5: Use email signatures to kill 2 birds with 1 stone

(12:19) Takeaway #6: It’s your contractual right to promote yourself to your readers

(14:10) Takeaway #7: Provide value as you sell

(15:05) Takeaway #8: Be strategic if you’re sending consistent content

(16:55) Takeaway #9: Mix things up with other media to deliver more depth

(17:23) Takeaway #10: Nothing sells itself, not even free content your audience will love

Links from this episode

Take a look at the emails we featured in Ep. 34

Rand Fishkin recommended Anne-Laure for Email Swipes. Did you hear his episode on winback emails?

Find tons of ideas for ecomm emails that give value (not just sell) in my Welcome Playbook.

Free consult when you sign up to Kit (formerly ConvertKit) using this affiliate link. Terms and conditions here.

Follow Nikki on LinkedIn

Get Nikki's email musings at ⁠nikkielbaz.com/subscribe ⁠

Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]

Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

Or find on your favorite podcast player

Previous Episode

undefined - The Content Contract: How Ness Labs grew to 100,000 subscribers in 5 years, all founded on one simple relationship perspective ft. Anne-Laure Le Cunff

The Content Contract: How Ness Labs grew to 100,000 subscribers in 5 years, all founded on one simple relationship perspective ft. Anne-Laure Le Cunff

When you’re sitting down to write the most important newsletter of your life, where do you even start? If you’re Anne-Laure Le Cunff, you go back to your foundational perspective – then mix your tried and true template with a meta reveal to share the story, capture its weight, and inspire action.

About our guest

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is an award-winning neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author. She founded Ness Labs, an online learning platform offering evidence-based resources for professional and personal growth, which weekly newsletter has more than 100,000 readers. She is also a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience of King’s College London, where she studies the neurodevelopment and evolutionary neuroscience of curiosity. Previously, she was an executive at Google, where she led digital health projects. Her upcoming book, Tiny Experiments, will be published in March 2025.

Ideas you don’t want to miss

(08:52) How Anne-Laure approached the creation of the “the most important newsletter I have ever sent”

(09:58) Her super simple content strategy and how it’s led to list growth

(14:24) The foundational analogy Anne-Laure uses that earns her audience’s trust and loyalty

(11:55) How Anne-Laure gives neuroscience emails a personal touch

(16:14) Why sending this book reveal newsletter felt nostalgic

(22:35) The creative solution that “allowed” Anne-Laure to market her book while still providing her trademark neuroscience content

(27:25) The 3 phrases of the Ness Labs’ list growth that attracted 100K subscribers in just 5 years

Links from this episode

Take a look at the email we’re talking about today

Become the scientist of your own life when you subscribe to Anne-Laure’s emails.

Anne-Laure’s book, Tiny Experiments, will help you rethink your approach to goals, creativity, and life itself. Preorder now (until March 2025) to access exclusive bonuses.

Plan more effective campaigns with my Promo and Launches Playbook or with my Campaign Ideation Masterclass

Free consult when you sign up to Kit (formerly ConvertKit) using this affiliate link. Terms and conditions here.

Get inspired like Anne-Laure does with James Clear’s 3-2-1 Newsletter

Connect with Anne-Laure Le Cunff on LinkedIn and Instagram

Follow Nikki on LinkedIn

Get Nikki's email musings at ⁠nikkielbaz.com/subscribe ⁠

Let me know what you thought about the episode by emailing [email protected]

Subscribe to Email Swipes and never miss another episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

Or find on your favorite podcast player

Next Episode

undefined - Template Teamwork: How Semrush moshed their two best emails into a single template that wins across price points and products ft. Taylor Raffa

Template Teamwork: How Semrush moshed their two best emails into a single template that wins across price points and products ft. Taylor Raffa

What happens when you’re reviewing email performance and a team member suggests combining your two best emails? If you’re Taylor Raffa of Semrush, you agree – and develop a home run email that wins again and again across all products and price points.

About our guest

Taylor Raffa is the Mass Email Team Lead at Semrush, a leading SaaS platform for digital marketing. Her team crafts engaging newsletters, drives impactful campaigns, and fosters a strong culture of connection. With over a decade of international email marketing experience across diverse industries, Taylor has worked in the US, France, and now the Netherlands.

Ideas you don’t want to miss

(02:40) How Semrush (brilliantly) structures their email team

(05:12) The “wild idea” behind the template mosh

(09:15) The tangible and intangible results of this email combo

(11:18) The #1 factor Taylor thinks gave the email success

(07:15) The design elements and shifts that contributed to this email’s success

(19:06) How they've adapted the email since – across multiple price points and products

(20:10) The brand that has Taylor “smelling the store” in her inbox

Links from this episode

Take a look at the email we’re talking about today

Check out all the way-more-than-SEO offerings from Semrush

Plan more effective campaigns with my Promo and Launches Playbook or with my Campaign Ideation Masterclass