The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox

Episode: SALES EMAIL SUMMIT: Tarzan Kay – Addressing the Biggest Objection and Moving Customers Past Shame
Date: August 19, 2025
Host: Liz Wilcox
Guest: Tarzan Kay

Episode Overview

This episode features renowned email marketer Tarzan Kay sharing in-depth insights into crafting powerful sales emails, especially ones that tackle the biggest objection online course buyers face: the “too many courses” syndrome and the shame associated with unimplemented digital purchases. Tarzan breaks down the strategy behind her most effective sales email, the psychology of moving customers past shame, and actionable tips for constructing reusable, hard-hitting promotional sequences.

Key Discussion Points

1. The “Too Many Courses” Objection & Customer Shame

• Tarzan’s approach: She describes a sales email whose subject line is: “Are you a too many courses person?” This directly addresses the worry many customers have about acquiring more educational products without having used past ones.
• Psychological barriers: Tarzan highlights the paralyzing impact of shame on progress and purchasing:
  • “A lot of people come into online business with high hopes and they buy a lot of courses… and they have so much shame. When they're stuck in all of that shame, you can't learn, you can't move forward.” (02:12)

2. Reframing the Narrative (02:30 – 05:00)

• Skill-building vs. shame: Tarzan reframes buying many courses not as a failure but as a necessary part of entrepreneurship:
  • “To be successful with Internet marketing, you have to be great at a lot of things: design, copywriting, ads, tech, finance. And that's something they may not have thought about… You're not starting over, you're building a skill that actually… you can apply to any future business.” (03:35)
• Categories of courses: She differentiates between broad business model courses and niche skill-based ones, noting that certain skills (like building an email list) are universally applicable regardless of the business model.

3. Structuring Effective Sales Emails (05:00 – 09:50)

• Addressing objections directly: The strongest promotional emails tackle a clear, specific objection and help the reader reframe it.
• Leveraging exclusive bonuses: Tarzan explains how she emphasizes limited-time offers and bonuses by:
  • Including reminders in multiple places: top-of-email boxes, body text, and PS sections.
  • Orienting the reader with clear calls to action about deadlines:
    • “It's the last day to enroll with the bonus package and extended payment plan… People need the reminder. They're not paying that close attention.” (07:25)
• Localization: As a Canadian, she created a dedicated checkout for Canadian customers in their own currency—significantly improving sales and customer experience.

4. The Email Writing and Repurposing Process (09:56 – 16:20)

• Long-term campaign thinking: Tarzan writes all emails with the intent to reuse them.
• Post-campaign analysis: She tracks which emails lead to sales during launches and refines or reuses only the strongest, most objection-busting messages:
  • “When I'm reviewing all the emails, I can see…where I've made a really strong case for why you should buy the product, and I can see where other emails were just like, maybe they weren't addressing a clear objection… The best emails are the ones…addressing a clear objection and help the buyer reframe that objection.” (14:55)
• Practical advice:
  • Don’t aim for perfection every time; sending a “so-so” promo email is better than sending nothing at all.
  • Over time, you’ll build a refined collection of reusable, well-targeted emails for future promos.

5. Notable Quotes & Insights

• On customer shame:
  “You can't move forward when you're stuck in shame.” — Tarzan (02:15)
• On skill-building:
  “You're not starting over, you're building a skill that…applies to any future business.” — Tarzan (04:58)
• On bonus reminders:
  “You also have to keep in mind…people are exposed to any number of promos in their inbox. They're not paying that close attention. So they do need the reminder.” — Tarzan (07:25)
• On email process:
  “I write all emails from the perspective of emails I'm gonna send again.” — Tarzan (10:19)
• On progression:
  “You're gonna write lots of so-so emails and it’s okay. In fact, it’s better to send a so-so promo email than no promo email.” — Tarzan (15:30)

6. Memorable Moments

• Canadian Currency Trick (08:40): Tarzan highlights a simple but effective localization strategy: offering Canadian customers a checkout option in their own currency, complete with a special red box and flag, yielding extra sales and gratitude from customers.
• Behind the scenes honesty (12:50): Tarzan discusses the real, imperfect process of promotional campaigns, including identifying when she was “phoning it in” and only selecting her sharpest work for future launches.

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:03] Tarzan introduces her “Are you a too many courses person?” email and discusses addressing shame.
• [02:30 – 05:00] Reframing the value of course-buying as skill building.
• [05:00 – 09:50] Detailed breakdown of structuring sales emails, including bonus reminders and localization.
• [09:56] Liz asks about the repeat use of the email and Tarzan’s re-purposing process.
• [12:50 – 16:20] Tarzan outlines her system for writing, tracking, and refining sales emails.
• [16:43] Tarzan shares her email newsletter details.
• [17:08] Liz’s personal endorsement and mention of Tarzan’s sales email templates.

Where to Learn More

• Tarzan’s Newsletter:
  “Emails but better” — www.tarzankay.com/newsletter
  “It is full of stories, embarrassing tell-alls and not too much advice. Very light on dice so you can get it at tarzank.com/newsletter—it’s called ‘Emails but better,’ and I think it lives up to its promise.” — Tarzan (16:43)

Summary / Takeaways

• Effective sales emails tackle real objections (especially shame) and reframe them as logical, necessary steps of entrepreneurial growth.
• The strongest emails in a promo sequence are those addressing specific objections/refusals or offering irresistible, time-limited bonuses.
• Process matters: reusing and refining solid, objection-busting emails over product launches strengthens your campaigns and lessens the workload.
• Personal touches (like currency localization) can be surprisingly powerful.
• Perfection isn’t mandatory, but consistency generates results.

For more actionable templates and all the summit’s email examples, check out Liz Wilcox’s “Steal These Sales Emails Template Pack.” (See show notes for details.)