This 3-minute read brought to you by the team at Rogue Pine
In this issue, you'll learn:
Most businesses think their biggest email marketing problem is low open rates or bad subject lines.
Wrong.
The real issue?
❌ Your audience doesn’t trust you.
And without trust, no one is clicking, replying, or buying.
Trust is Earned, Not Assumed
Imagine meeting someone at a networking event.
Before you even shake their hand, they launch into a 5-minute pitch about why you need their services.
Would you:
A) Whip out your credit card?
B) Look for the nearest exit?
If your emails are only about selling, you’re doing the digital version of option B.
As Nikki said in our latest podcast:
"You wouldn’t meet someone for the first time and immediately ask them to marry you. So why do we expect people to buy from a single email?"
Trust is built over time.
And that’s why most businesses get email marketing completely wrong.
The 3 Phases of Trust-Building Emails
Most brands only send one type of email—sales.
That’s a huge mistake.
If you want people to buy, you have to guide them through three essential stages of trust-building:
1️⃣ Recognition (They know who you are.)
Your audience needs to recognize your name in their inbox and associate it with value.
📩 Example Email: “The content system we use to publish 100+ posts a week”
2️⃣ Relevance (They see you as helpful.)
Before they trust you, they need proof that your content actually helps them.
📩 Example Email: “How we scale content without losing quality”
3️⃣ Relationship (They trust you enough to buy.)
Once you’ve consistently delivered value, now you can ask for the sale.
📩 Example Email: A clear offer, with a product/service that aligns with what they’ve been learning from you.
The problem?
Most brands skip straight to #3.
That’s like proposing on the first date.
How to Make Sure Your Emails Pass the Trust Test
Before you send your next email, ask yourself:
✅ Would I open this if I wasn’t me?
✅ Does this email help the reader, even if they don’t buy?
✅ Have I sent enough trust-building content before asking for anything?
If the answer to any of these is no, rethink your approach.
Trust isn’t built overnight, but every email you send is an opportunity to strengthen it—or break it.
The Takeaway
If your email list isn’t buying, it’s not because they don’t want what you’re offering.
It’s because they don’t trust you yet.
Before you send another “last chance” email…
Ask yourself:
Have you given them a reason to trust you first?
If not, start there.
P.S. Next week, I’m sharing all the best takeaways from my interview with a founder who created a successful FinTech Saas product…all from a spreadsheet.
