Counterintuitively, highly formatted and image-heavy emails can feel corporate and impersonal, decreasing engagement. Shifting to a simpler, plain-text style mimics a personal message from a friend, which increases perceived authenticity and encourages more replies and genuine connection.

Amy Porterfield found her newsletters with the highest open rates and clicks were those sharing personal stories, not just promoting content. This human connection, she argues, is the most powerful business strategy available to a creator.

From Nov 20th to Dec 20th, sending a personal letter-style email from a founder or executive to unengaged contacts can increase open rates by 40%. The key is changing the "from name" to a person, not the brand, and using a subject line that acknowledges their absence. This strategy works for both B2B and B2C brands.

Instead of using personalization upfront to grab attention (e.g., "I saw you went to Penn State"), place it at the end after the core message. This shifts it from a transactional "bait" for a meeting into a humanizing touch that softens the overall tone of the message.

In an era of mass automation, customers notice and value actions they know can't be easily scaled. Instead of another automated email, send a personal video via text, a handwritten note, or "lumpy mail." These high-effort signals cut through the noise and show genuine appreciation.

To maintain a personal voice at scale, have your team or VAs draft the bulk of your marketing emails. However, always reserve the top paragraph for yourself to write a brief, personal story or update. This maintains a relatable, human connection with your audience while scaling content production.

Users instinctively look for familiar names in their inbox, not company logos. Sending emails from team members, even if automated, creates a personal connection and improves open rates because it mimics a social feed experience where personal identity is paramount.

Adding a deeply personal postscript (P.S.) to cold emails, such as referencing the recipient's favorite whiskey, demonstrates genuine research and builds rapport. This simple tactic humanizes the outreach and can dramatically increase the likelihood of getting a response from a busy executive.

By shifting from a structured, podcast-focused newsletter to a personal, 'unhinged' format discussing everything from reality TV to eye patches, Amy Porterfield dramatically increased engagement. This personality-driven approach created a stronger connection with her audience, who now genuinely look forward to her emails.