Hey it’s Idris from Retentiononly.
I found an email about nail fungus.
Yes. Nail fungus.
And it's one of the best-written DTC emails I've seen this year.
Here's why that matters for you:
This brand is selling to the hardest audience there is.
People who have already tried everything.
People who have been burned.
People who assume your product is another scam.
Sound familiar? Because that's every inbox in 2026.
Most brands would throw discounts at this audience and pray. This email does something completely different, and it converts because of it.
Here are the 5 moves it makes and exactly how to use them in your own campaigns.
Btw here is the email: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVH6S_mi4=/?share_link_id=305375242145
Move #1: They open with the objection, not the product
The first lines aren't about the product at all.
"You've probably tried things for your nail fungus before. And they didn't work."
They name the skepticism before the reader can.
The moment you say what your reader is already thinking, you stop being an advertiser and start being someone who gets it.
Trust goes up. Guard goes down.
Action Steps
Write down the #1 reason people don't buy from you. Open your next campaign with it. Word for word.
Move #2: The guarantee IS the hook
The subject line: "I'll refund you if it doesn't work."
Not the product. Not the discount. The risk reversal.
And the first CTA shows up before the product is even explained: try it for 90 full days, use every last drop, get a refund if it doesn't work.
Most brands bury their guarantee in the footer. This brand made it the headline.
Action Steps
If you have a strong guarantee, lead with it. If you don't have one, that's your real problem.
Move #3: A mechanism that excuses past failures
This is the smartest part of the email.
"Everything you've tried before sat on top of your nail."
One sentence that does two jobs. It explains why nothing else worked. And it explains why this will, without ever blaming the customer.
New mechanism = new hope.
That's what re-opens a wallet that's been closed by disappointment.
Action Steps
Answer this in one sentence: "Why will this work when everything else they tried failed?" Put that sentence in every campaign.
Move #4: Honest timelines that build belief
The email openly says: first results in 2–4 weeks, full clearing in 3–6 months.
Counterintuitive, right? Most brands promise overnight miracles.
But realistic timelines make everything else in the email more believable. They lower refunds. And they quietly pre-sell the repeat purchase, because the customer now expects to use it for months.
Action Steps
Set real expectations in your copy. Frame the wait as proof it's actually working, not as a drawback.
Move #5: Every CTA sells the outcome, not the click
No "Shop Now." No "Learn More."
Instead: "Try the Anti-Fungus Pen completely risk-free for 90 days (and save up to 83% today)."
Offer, guarantee and urgency packed into the link itself. And the email closes on the outcome, not the product: "You have absolutely nothing to lose. Except the fungus."
Action Steps
Rewrite your CTAs so each one restates the offer and the risk reversal. The link copy should sell on its own.
Here's the bigger lesson
None of this is clever wordplay.
It's structure: objection → guarantee → mechanism → honest expectations → outcome-driven CTA.
That structure works whether you sell skincare, supplements, apparel or software. It's exactly what we build into campaigns for the 7, 8 and 9-figure brands we work with.
Want us to look at your emails and show you where this structure is missing?
If your brand is doing at least $100k/mo, apply for a free audit here: [Application for a free audit]
Best,
Idris