Why Your Emails Sound Great But Don't Convert
I love a brand with a clear POV and a memorable voice. Who doesn't?
But here's the thing: personality alone won't make your emails convert.
Everything you write stands at a crossroads. One road leads to "sounds exactly like me" and the other points toward "speaks to what my reader actually needs to hear." Most people pick one road and stay on it. That's the problem.
If you only stick to what sounds like you, you write emails that are fun to read but don't motivate anyone to take action. Your readers enjoy hearing from you, but they're not buying.
If you only focus on what they need to hear — following "best practices" and optimizing for conversion — you end up sounding like everyone else in your niche. Zero personality usually means zero connection. Your emails become invisible in the inbox.
Your brand voice gets their attention. Your message makes them take action. Conversion happens when those two meet in the middle.
The Two-Road Problem
If you only sound like you:
Fun to read
Personality shines
But may not persuade
If you only focus on them:
Clear and useful
But easily replaceable
Personality disappears
If your emails aren't converting, you're probably overindexing on one or the other.
The Copywriting Crossroads
The best email copy lives at the intersection of:
Who you are (your voice, perspective, and style)
What your audience is feeling or deciding right now (their needs, fears, and goals)
That overlap is where connection happens, trust builds, and conversion feels effortless instead of forced. It's also the secret to writing emails that sound like you and actually sell.
Here's a simple way to check if you're hitting that sweet spot.
Three Yes/No Checks Before You Hit Send
Before you send your next email, newsletter, or sequence, run it through these three questions:
Voice: Would someone who knows me say "I can absolutely hear you saying this"?
Relevance: Does this speak to what my reader is deciding or worrying about right now?
Signal: Does this help them move one step closer to a decision?
If you hit 2 out of 3, publish it.
Hit all 3, you are officially winning email.
Why This Matters for Service-Based Businesses
Your readers aren't browsing for entertainment. They're evaluating whether you're someone they want to trust with their money, their time, and often their big, important goals.
When your emails sound like you and speak to their decision process, your subscribers stop scrolling and start investing.
Write like yourself, but always anchor the message to a specific audience need or moment. That's what makes email copy convert: relevance. If it speaks to what someone is actively deciding, they move.
Ready to Nail Your Voice + Strategy?
If you feel stuck at the crossroads or worried you might have a blind spot, I built something for you:
Rock on and keep writing like you.
P.S. This blog post brought to you by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's iconic "The Crossroads." Because sometimes you need a little '90s rap with melodic R&B-style harmonies while thinking about email marketing.