The old version of this step was an email built around selling the album or a merch bundle. We stopped building sequences around selling anything directly.
Every regular email to your list should be worth opening on its own — a story, a behind-the-scenes moment, something only the list gets. If the only reason you email is to ask for money, people stop opening your emails.
Subject: the line I almost cut from track 4
Hey [first name],
I almost pulled a line out of the bridge on the new song three days before we mixed it. My producer stopped me — said it was the one honest moment in the whole track. He was right. That line’s still in there, and it’s become the one people quote back to me most at shows.
Working on two more right now. Will share a clip once one of them doesn’t embarrass me.
— [Your name]
P.S. — Got new merch up if you want to rep the music: [link]
Merch still matters — it’s real revenue and a real signal of support. It just isn’t the point of the email anymore. One line. Every relationship email can carry it. None of them should be built around it.
A reader who just enjoyed a story or an update is in a generous mood — a low-pressure aside lands better there than a dedicated sales email ever does. People buy merch to show support, not because a feature list convinced them.
Old: email to sell something. New: email to be worth reading — with a merch mention riding along for free.
Next: Fan Upsell — moving a fan from one follow to true-fan status.