The 3 Marketing Emails Every Business Needs

Written By J.J. Peterson

Not sure what to send your email list this week? Most businesses don't struggle because they run out of ideas. They struggle because they don't know what each email is supposed to accomplish. Dr. J.J. Peterson shares three email frameworks you can return to again and again—a testimonial email, a problem/solution email, and an objection email. Master these three, and you'll always know what to write next.

Prefer to listen? Press play below.

Most businesses think writing marketing emails is a creativity problem.

It isn't.

The hardest part isn't coming up with something to say. It's knowing what the email is supposed to accomplish.

That's the shift Dr. J.J. Peterson encourages businesses to make. Instead of asking, "What should I write?" he recommends asking a much more useful question:

What does this email need to do?

Every marketing email has a job. Some build trust. Others help customers recognize a problem. Others remove the hesitation that's keeping someone from saying yes.

Once that job is clear, writing becomes much easier.

While there are countless ways to communicate with customers, Peterson believes most businesses can build an effective email strategy around three repeatable frameworks:

  • A testimonial email

  • A problem/solution email

  • An objection email

Each one serves a different purpose, and together they give businesses a practical system they can return to again and again.

1. Testimonial Emails Reduce Risk

People don't buy simply because they're convinced you have the best product or service.

They buy because they're no longer afraid to make the decision.

Researcher Robert Cialdini describes this as social proof. When people feel uncertain, they naturally look to others who have already made the same decision. It's why shoppers read Amazon reviews, diners check restaurant ratings, and business owners ask for referrals before hiring an agency.

That's also why many testimonials miss the mark.

A great testimonial isn't really about your business.

It should tell the story of someone who looked just like your future customer before they worked with you.

The framework

Every testimonial email follows four simple steps:

  1. Start with the customer's problem.

  2. Explain why that problem was frustrating.

  3. Show the transformation they experienced.

  4. Invite the reader to take the next step.

Example

"Hey, Sarah.

Last month, one of our clients put words to a problem we hear all the time.

She said, 'For years, our website looked good, but nobody seemed to understand what we actually did. Every salesperson explained it differently, so every proposal felt like we were starting over.'

Sound familiar?

After working together, they clarified their message, rebuilt their website, and simplified their sales process.

A few months later, prospects understood what they did before the first sales call, sales conversations became shorter, and decisions happened faster.

If you're looking for this same kind of transformation, schedule a strategy session today."

When to use this email

Send a testimonial email when your audience already understands the problem but needs confidence that your solution actually works.

2. Problem/Solution Emails Create Clarity

Customers usually don't need help discovering they have a problem.

They're already living with it.

What they often haven't done is connect that frustration to your solution.

That's where this email comes in.

Instead of trying to explain every feature of your product, focus on one problem your audience experiences and clearly demonstrate how your business solves it.

Peterson points to George Loewenstein's Information Gap Theory, which suggests curiosity grows when people recognize the gap between what they know and what they still need to understand. Your job isn't to overwhelm people with information—it's to help them connect the dots.

The framework

Every problem/solution email includes four parts:

  1. Name the problem.

  2. Describe how that problem feels.

  3. Position your product or service as the solution.

  4. Paint a picture of life after the problem is solved.

Example

"Hey, Sarah.

Most companies don't lose business because they do bad work. They lose business because potential customers don't immediately understand the value they bring.

When your message isn't clear, people hesitate. They compare you on price, ask for one more proposal, or move on with someone who explained their value better.

That's why we always start with messaging.

When customers quickly understand what you do, who it's for, and why it matters, every part of your marketing gets easier.

If creating marketing feels harder than it should be, let's talk."

The goal isn't to close the sale.

It's to help the reader recognize both the problem and the possibility of solving it.

When to use this email

Use a problem/solution email when customers haven't yet connected their everyday frustrations to the solution you provide.

3. Objection Emails Remove Hesitation

Sometimes customers aren't saying no.

They're simply not saying yes.

Most buying decisions stall because people worry about making the wrong choice, not because they need more information.

Behavioral research calls this loss aversion. People tend to feel the pain of losing something more strongly than the satisfaction of gaining something.

That's why hesitation deserves to be addressed directly.

Rather than pretending objections don't exist, acknowledge them openly and respond honestly.

The framework

An objection email follows three steps:

  1. Name the objection.

  2. Empathize with it.

  3. Address it honestly before inviting the next step.

Example

"Hey, Sarah.

One of the questions we hear most often is, 'We know our marketing needs work, but we're not sure we're ready yet.'

Honestly, that makes sense. Most businesses have invested in marketing before and didn't get the results they hoped for.

That's why we don't start by redesigning your website. We start by clarifying your message.

If we can't help you clearly explain what you do and why it matters, there's no reason to spend money on anything else.

If you've been waiting because you're afraid of making the wrong investment, let's have a conversation."

Instead of avoiding the objection, this email makes the customer feel understood before explaining why moving forward is worth the risk.

When to use this email

Use this framework when people are showing interest but repeatedly delaying a decision.

Which Email Should You Send?

If you're wondering where to start, use this simple guide.

  • Send a testimonial email when people need confidence.

  • Send a problem/solution email when they haven't connected their frustration to your offer.

  • Send an objection email when hesitation is keeping them from taking action.

You don't need dozens of email templates.

You need a handful of frameworks that solve different problems.

Rotate these three over time using different customer stories, different frustrations, and different objections, and you'll rarely find yourself staring at a blank screen wondering what to send.

Build a Stronger Marketing Foundation

These three email frameworks work best when they're built on a clear marketing strategy. If you'd like to go deeper, these articles expand on the ideas that lead naturally to writing stronger emails:

Once those pieces are in place, the three email frameworks in this article become much easier to write—and much more effective.

When the Problem Isn't the Email

If writing marketing emails always feels harder than it should, the problem may not be your writing.

More often, it's that your message isn't clear enough yet.

That's the work Dr. J.J. Peterson helps organizations do every day. By clarifying what your business does, who it's for, and why it matters, your emails become easier to write, your website becomes easier to understand, and your marketing becomes easier for customers to act on.

Learn more about working with Dr. J.J. Peterson at drjjpeterson.com.

  • The 3 Marketing Emails Every Business Needs

    [00:00:00] Every Email Has a Job

    Over the years, I've learned that the best marketers I know aren't asking, "What should I write?" They're asking the question, "What does this email need to do?" And if you know the job of the email that you're writing, writing gets a whole lot easier. So today, to close out this series, I want to give you three types of emails that you can write over and over again.

    So anytime you are in that spot of where you're staring at a blank screen and going, "What do I do?" These are three emails you can come back to over and over.

    Welcome to Badass Softie, a podcast for leaders who are unapologetically ambitious and want to lead with heart, because you're allowed to chase big goals without losing what makes you human. I'm your host, Dr. JJ Peterson, and over the past few weeks, we've been talking about marketing from a few different angles.

    Uh, Chris Jones really challenged us to think differently about sales conversations. Matt Wolf talked about authenticity and relationships and building trust. And Raj Lulla really reminded us that marketing isn't just about algorithms. It's about people, about connection, and ab- about understanding another human being enough to genuinely help them.

    And I have loved these conversations. I hope you have as well, because they really kind of grounded me in rethinking how we approach marketing as a whole.

    [00:01:30] Why Marketing Emails Feel So Hard

    But today, I am going to close out this series by bringing us down to the ground level, because, uh, you know, eventually, you actually have to write something.

    You have to create. You know, maybe it's Monday morning and you open up your laptop and your email platform is just staring back at you. You know, that cursor is just blinking, and you think, "What in the world am I going to send people today?" I remember that feeling. Um, the way that I first got into marketing really 30 years ago was because, not because I wanted to be a marketer, but I cared about the company I was working for and the people that I was working with.

    It wasn't because I cared about, quote-unquote, marketing in general. 'Cause what had happened was, what had happened was I spent the summer after my freshman year in college, uh, actually living in the slums of Tijuana and working with an organization that was doing community development. They, they were and still are called Amor Ministries.

    In fact, I'm still involved with them. I'm on their board. And I was so impacted by my time with them that I just kept coming back after that first summer. So on spring breaks or summer breaks, or really any time I'd have free, I'd spend hopping on a train from, I lived in Southern California at the time, in Orange County, and I'd hop on a train and go down to San Diego and Tijuana and be with them.

    And by my junior year in college, I really was hooked. Like, I just wanted to go and be a part of this organization. You know, at that point, 'cause I believed and think so much of what was happening there and the people that were doing it, that I was like, "I'll sweep floors. Just whatever you need, just I'll do anything."

    So I called them and I actually asked, "What do you need?" And they said they needed someone in PR and marketing. So my, uh, my major at the time was early childhood education, and I changed my major to communication, and as it happens when you do that, I ended up cramming four years of college into five, and when I graduated, I went to work for them.

    And like I said, at the time, marketing was not my passion. Helping change lives was, and I wanted to be a part of telling the story of Amor. But I remember, actually, I remember sitting there every week trying to figure out what words I was gonna put in emails and newsletters. Because I, I had great stories, and the organization had a, quote-unquote, great product.

    They were doing amazing things, and people wanted to be involved, but I still was struggling to figure out what to say on the day-to-day And I, I don't know if you are like that, sitting down every week, trying to figure out, "What am I going to write in emails?" But over the years, I've learned that the best marketers I know aren't asking, "What should I write?"

    They're, they're asking a little bit better question. They're asking the question, "What does this email need to do?" Because every email has a purpose, and if you know the job of the email that you're writing, writing gets a whole lot easier. So today, to close out this series, I want to just be really down and dirty practical.

    I want to give you three types of emails that you can write over and over again. So any time you are in that spot of where you're staring at a blank screen and going, "What do I do?" These are three emails you can come back to over and over. Testimonial email, a problem solution email, and an overcome objection email.

    Let me say those again. A testimonial email, a problem solution email, and an overcome objection email. Honestly, if you only mastered these three, you would have enough material to market your business for a very long time. 'Cause they each move a customer forward in a different way at different stages of a relationship So I'm gonna give you what this type of email is, why it's important, and I'm just gonna show you how to write it.

    So get a pen and paper out, or make sure you mark this episode so you can come back to it, because I'm gonna give you step by step how to create these emails. And this is for anybody who is in a nonprofit, in a B2B business, in a B2C business, if you are a consultant, a marketing agency, everybody who is trying to connect with customers, a thought leader, these are emails you need.

    [00:06:16] Testimonial Emails Reduce Risk

    So let's start with the testimonial email. The job of a testimonial email is really to redu- reduce risk. You want to reduce risk. People don't buy because they're just convinced that you have the best product, to be honest. They buy because they're no longer afraid. Robert Cialdini has spent decades, he's a researcher, and he's spent a, decades researching influence.

    He actually wrote a book called Influence, and he describes how social proof is one of the most powerful voices and forces when it comes to decision-making. When we're uncertain, we naturally look to other people who have already gone before us and made this decision. You know, that makes sense. I do not buy a product on Amazon without reading the reviews.

    I don't go to a new restaurant without looking at Yelp. If I'm considering hiring a marketing agency, I expect that agency to tell me they're great, but I'm not auto- automatically gonna believe it. But if another business owner says, "Well, we doubled our qualified leads because of this agency," now I'm listening.

    That's why this testimonial email is so important. It shows your potential customer that someone like them has been helped by someone like you Notice something important. The testimonial in a testimonial email, or really any that goes on your website, it's not about you. Your testimonies that you put on your websites and emails should not say, "They're great.

    We love working with them. JJ is incredible in the room." Mm-mm. When you are creating a testimony, your customer wants to see that you helped someone like them. So the testimony needs to be about your customer. The testimonial email simply tells the story of another customer who had the same problem your reader has today.

    So let's get really practical. What does a testimonial email look like? It's really just a few simple pieces. First, start with where your customer was. So you talk to a customer, or you get a review from them, and what you're looking for is where they identify where they were or a problem they were experiencing.

    Not where you were, not how you came into the story, where your customer was. So start with your customer problem. Then ramp that up a little bit by talking about how it was frustrating for them. What wasn't working? Why were they upset? What was bothering them? So s- name the problem, ramp it up with talking about their frustration.

    Then, third, show their transformation. What changed? How was their life different after working with you? And then finally, and this is really important because a lot of people miss this, what's the one step that the reader, the person who's getting that email, what's the one step they need to take in order to work with you?

    That's it. Those are the pieces. So here's a quick example of a testimonial email that a marketing agency... We'll use a marketing agency as an example. Here's one that they could send out. So it really starts with s- you know, saying hi to the customer. "Hey, Sarah. Last month, one of our clients put words into a problem we hear all the time.

    She said, 'For years, our website looked good, but nobody seemed to understand what we actually did. Every salesperson had to explain what our company did, and they did it differently every time, so every proposal felt like we were starting over.'" Then I write, "Sound familiar? After working together, they clarified their message, rebuilt their website, and simplified their sale process, and a few months later, they told us something had changed.

    Prospects started understanding what they did before the first sales call, and sales conversations got shorter, and decisions got faster. If you are looking for this same kind of transformation, schedule a strategy session today." That's it. Name the problem. The problem was the customers couldn't understand what they did when they went to their website.

    The transformation after working with us was when people got on sales calls, it was much easier to sell because they understood before they got there, and sales times, uh, diminished, like the sales cycle actually shortened. And then we add a call to action. That's a two-minute email for you to write.

    There's no gimmicks there. There's no fake urgency. It's just a story. Testimonies are asking your customers to say where were they, why were they frustrated, what was their life like after you solved it, and what does the reader need to do to move forward? Very simple. All right. Next email.

    [00:11:17] Problem/Solution Emails Create Clarity

    The next email I want to introduce you to is what we call a problem solution email.

    This email really has a different job. The first one is to kind of reduce the risk and s- and kind of provide social proof, but this one is to help your customer see themselves in the story that you're telling as a brand or company. Because customers are already living with a problem. They're already feeling a frustration.

    Your job usually, sometimes you have to agitate that problem and wake them up to it, but usually, your job is to help them realize that what you offer isn't just another product, it's a solution to something they already want to solve. 'Cause one of the biggest mistakes businesses make is assuming customers already understand why they need them.

    They know something is frustrating in their own story. They know something isn't working, but they haven't connected the dots yet to, from their problem to your solution. So your job often is not to create a problem or even educate them ab- about a problem. It's to explain the problem that's already there, and then connect your product as a solution to that problem.

    There's actually some fascinating research around this as well. Um, back in the early 1990s, a researcher named Joe Loewenstein introduced something called the information gap theory. So his research showed that curiosity isn't created by giving people information. It's created when people become aware that there is a gap between what they know and what they need to know.

    That's why headlines like, "Five mistakes you're making are costing you," that, uh, they work really well, not because they're clever, but because it makes us wonder if we're missing something important There's another piece of research that supports this from a researcher named John Sweller, and he developed the cognitive load theory, which shows that our brains naturally avoid information that's difficult to process.

    So when something feels confusing, we don't usually work harder to understand it, we just move on. That's why clear marketing matters so much, and it's why this email actually matters so much. Because you're helping people make sense of a problem they've been experiencing all along. You've named it, and then you've said there is a solution.

    Because often, if they have a problem and, uh, they continue to have that problem, they're not connecting the dots to a solution. You have to connect the problem to the solution. So you can do that in a very simple email. Here is the framework, the just step-by-step process to create a problem solution email.

    First, name the problem. What's going on in their world? What are they experiencing? They have headaches. Uh, they have stomach aches. They are missing out on time with their family. What is the problem that they're experiencing? Then, once again, we're going to agitate that problem. We're gonna talk about how that problem feels.

    Are they frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed? So first name the problem, then talk about how that problem makes them feel. After you have identified those two things, then position your product as a solution. You don't wanna talk about every feature about your product or service. You don't wanna talk about everything you offer.

    You just want to make a direct connection in their brain between the problem they're experiencing and your solution, just enough to show there's a better way. Then lastly, and this is the, really a very important piece, is paint a picture of what life's look like, what life looks like after that problem is solved.

    Those are the four key parts. Name the problem, name how it makes them feel, position your product or service as a solution, and then paint a picture of what life looks like after that problem is solved. And then of course, as always, close out with the next clear step. What do they need to do? So here's what this type of email could sound like.

    Again, short, sweet, tight. Uh, we'll use the, uh, marketing agency example again. So, "Hey, Sarah, most companies don't lose business because they do bad work. They lose business because potential customers don't immediately understand the value they bring. When your message isn't clear, people hesitate. They compare you on price.

    They ask for one more proposal, or worse, they move on with someone else who simply explained their value better." So those two things right there, just I'll pause here in the middle of the email. I named the problem, and then I agitated the problem. Now I'm going to position our product as a solution to that.

    Here we go. "That's why we always start with messaging. When your customers quickly understand what you do, who it's for, and why it matters, every part of your marketing gets easier. Your website works harder. Your sales conversation gets shorter. The right customers are much more likely to say yes. If creating marketing feels like it's harder than it should be, let's talk.

    You can schedule a strategy session today." So see what I did there. Named the problem, amplified the problem, talked about how we solve that by working on your messaging, and then I talked about how your website works better, your salespeople work better, everything. I, I cast a vision for what life is like.

    I didn't try to explain everything. I picked one problem. I explained why it matters. I offered a solution, and then I invited them to the next step. That's all this email is supposed to do. One problem, one solution, the result of that solution, and one invitation. Don't try, uh, to write an email that really, like, closes the sale or does everything right there.

    Just make people curious and try to get them on the phone with you. Write the email that helps your customer understand why they're struggling in the first place and why they need you. Because once people understand the problem, they're much more open to hearing about the solution. Okay, so the first email, testimonial.

    Second, problem solution.

    [00:17:41] Objection Emails Remove Hesitation

    And the third, which actually is one of my favorites to write, is called an overcome objection email. This third email also has one job. It's to remove a reason someone is hesitating to buy your product. Most of us think that customers don't buy because they need more information, they need more education, but usually that's not true.

    Most people know enough to make a decision. They're just worried about making the wrong decision. There's research around this as well called loss aversion. So one of the biggest discoveries about loss aversion is this: it's that people often feel the pain of losing something more strongly than they enjoy gaining something.

    So, uh, think about that. If I told you I could help you make an extra $100, you probably would think, "That, that sounds great." But if I told you you were about to lose $100, you would actually pay attention much faster. We're wired to avoid regret. So when somebody is getting ready to buy your product or service, that is what is causing that hesitation before they're ready to buy.

    They're wondering, "What if this doesn't work? What if this isn't worth it? What if I waste my money? What if it creates even more work, or if it makes me look stupid?" Your job isn't to pretend that these questions don't exist. Your job is to answer them before they're even asked. That's what an overcome objection email does.

    So when I'm working with clients, the first thing I do when I'm getting ready to write this type of email is I actually sit down and I ask them, "What are the top five reasons why people don't buy from you?" And we actually, I mean, we sit there and we write them out. Oftentimes, the first response is, "Well, we're too expensive."

    Okay. I want to dig a little bit deeper, because a lot of people think that the reason why people aren't buying our products or service is 'cause we're more expensive than somebody else. But the truth is, we don't often buy the cheapest product. We don't often buy the most expensive. We buy the one that has the most value.

    So I want to go deeper, beyond that. That's why I ask for top five reasons why people don't buy. Other reasons might be, you know, it's gonna take too much time, it's too hard or complicated, or, you know, we can't do everything our competitors can do. These are the types of objections people may have to buying your product or service.

    So after we write those down, then I say I'm sure you get these objections all the time. What do you say to people when they say these objections to you?" And they will sit down, and they will tell me all the ways they overcome these objections. These two pieces of information are key to writing this email.

    What are the objections people have, and how do you overcome that objection when talking to people? Then what I do is I just pick one. We start with one. I don't try to overcome all the objections. We do one, and we write an email. So again, here is the simple framework to writing this email. The first is you just name the objection.

    Just go, "We hear all the time," or you say, "Often, people are worried." Or you just name it. Just name the objection. Do not ignore it. Second, empathize with it. Honor it. Show people you understand why they feel that way. So first, name the objection. Second, empathize with it. Then third, address the concern honestly.

    You know, don't hype it up, or don't exaggerate what your product offers. But with ... When you start with empathy, you can then show up and say, "Here's why, actually, that hesitation is costing you." Now we're going back to that loss aversion piece. When you stop because of this hesitation, you are missing out.

    So you overcome that by talking about, you know, your process, a story of somebody who's overcome this, clear expectations. Maybe you have a guarantee. But you talk about how you solve that objection honestly. Honor it and then overcome it. And then finally, as always, have a clear call to action that take, that calls them to take the next step.

    So here's what an overcome objection email can sound like. Hey, Sarah. One of the questions we hear most often is, "We know our marketing needs work, but we're not sure we're ready yet." Honestly, that makes sense. Most businesses have tried something before that didn't work. The last thing you want is to spend more money on another marketing project that ends up collecting dust.

    That's why we don't start by redesigning your website. We start by getting clear on your message. If we can't help you clearly explain what you do and why it matters, there's no reason to spend money on anything else. Our strategy process is designed to give you clarity first, so every marketing decision after that becomes easier.

    If you've been waiting because you're afraid of making the wrong investment, let's have a conversation. Schedule a strategy session today. So see what I did? I started with, we hear this all the time. It's scary to make another investment. You've probably done it before. It probably didn't work. We get that.

    We hear it all the time. Here's why we're different. We overcome it. Notice what happened. I didn't ignore the objection. I leaned into it. I acknowledged it. I even explained why people feel this way, and then I showed them how to remove that risk. That's what overcome objections emails do. They don't pressure people into saying yes.

    They help people feel safe enough to make a decision. And that's really what I love about these three emails together. Because a testimonial email says people like you have succeeded. A problem solution email says, here's why you're struggling, and there is a way out. The overcome objection email says, here's why you don't have to be afraid.

    [00:23:57] Rotate These 3 Emails Forever

    If you rotate these three emails over time, you'll always have something meaningful to say. Because marketing isn't about finding clever things to write. It's about helping people take the next step in the relationship with you. And when you know the job your email is supposed to do, writing becomes a whole lot easier.

    So let me leave you with this. May you never underestimate the power of a few well-chosen words. May you remember that every email is an opportunity to help someone take one more step towards a better story. May you have the courage to be clear instead of clever, helpful instead of impressive, and consistent instead of chasing the next marketing trend.

    And may you remember that behind every open click and every reply is a real person looking for someone they can trust. If you need help with your marketing, if your company needs a better sales funnel, I am here to help. Reach out at drjjpeterson.com, and I can help you clarify your message and reach your customers.

    Because we believe you can be both ambitious and kind, fun and driven, powerful and deeply human. Your leadership can inspire, your success can have soul, and your ambition can make space for everyone. That's why you're a badass softie. We'll see you next week. Thanks for listening. Follow and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

    Badasssoftie.com is crafted by Fruitful Design and Strategy.

J.J. Peterson
Previous

Are You Being Kind—or Just Avoiding Conflict?
Next

Stop Marketing Like Everyone Is a Stranger