Oops! Sorry for the mistake 🤦‍♂️

A sneaky little marketing idea

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A Ramp rep sent this generic cold email:

Then a few moments later, they sent the “mistake” follow-up:

Honest mistake? I don’t think so.

“Forgetting” is a genius marketing trick 🥷

The “oops” is the perfect reason to send a second email, after the first one was ignored. Here’s why it’s super effective:

1. 🧠 Psychology: People can’t ignore a correction. “Whoops, I forgot something” feels human, so you open the email without thinking. Now the rep got two emails in front of you instead of one, and the second one has the real pitch.

2. 🪝 Spam filters: Cold emails with links are 10x more likely to get dumped in spam, especially the very first one you send a stranger. The filters don’t trust a link from someone you’ve never replied to.

Genius!

💡 THE MARKETING IDEA

(1) Send an “accidental” email.

It must be a believable mistake: like a button that links to a dead URL, a wrong date, a body that’s literally Lorem Ipsum, or a discount that “went out too early”.

(2) A few minutes later, send the “apology”.

Subject: “Oops, that wasn’t supposed to happen”. Body: “That’s on us. Here’s the working link, plus an extra 10% for the confusion: OOPS10”.

The most successful brands have been doing this for years ⚡️

My favorite email ever came from my favorite cruise line, Virgin Voyages:

Wait, what? 😳 Black Friday was still a month away, and Lorem Ipsum is a placeholder in design templates. Did Virgin make a big mistake? (hint: not at all)

A few moments later, another email arrived from Virgin:

Oh, thanks for the apology, Virgin. 🚢

There’s a strong chance Virgin’s team orchestrated the whole thing on purpose, and nothing was a mistake.

Why “fake mistakes” work so well 🧪

If you’ve never tried it, it’s worth a shot:

1. 🧠 Detective’s brain: People LOVE catching mistakes, it makes them feel sharp. Just like you clicked on this because of the title.

2. 🎉 Create excitement: The “mistake” doubles as a teaser. Virgin’s Lorem Ipsum email told everyone a Black Friday sale was coming, a month before it started.

3. 💖 Humanize the brand: Apologizing for a “mistake” shows there are real people behind the logo.

4. 💰 Prompt sales: An apology is the most natural excuse to throw in a little extra discount or extend a sale deadline.

You’ll find these all over your inbox 🤡

You’d be amazed at how frequently this strategy is used. Try searching “oops” or “Lorem Ipsum” in your email inbox. You’ll find plenty of examples.

Here are 3 recent ones from my own inbox:

The Fork’s “mistake”

Indochino’s “mistake”

Epidemic Sound’s “mistake”

P.S. Don’t overuse. While researching this marketing idea, I noticed my inbox was flooded with Epidemic Sound’s mishap emails. They do it every couple of weeks. Pfff.

For everyone’s sake, only do it once.

Have a great week!

Tom

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*this is a refresh of a piece I first published in 2023