A diagnostic for your email · by Gerry Tait

The Email
Autopsy.

You sent the email. You liked it. You might have even been a little proud of it.

And then… nothing. Or close to nothing.

Here's what nobody tells you when you're trying to figure out your email marketing: If an email's underperforming, it's rarely because "the writing is bad." It's usually because it's disconnected from the things that actually make an email work: your buyer, your offer, your expertise, your main message, or your CTA. And when one of those is off, the email can sound fine and still not do its job.

This autopsy walks you through all five, scores your email across each, and tells you exactly where the disconnection is happening. Then it tells you what to fix first.

Takes ~15 minutes
You'll need One recent email
You'll leave with A clear next step

Before you click:

Go grab the email you want to autopsy. A newsletter, a launch email, a welcome sequence email, a reconnection email to a ghosted list, even one you drafted and never sent. Whatever's been bugging you recently, pull it up in another tab so you can refer to it as you go.

The more specific the email you're looking at, the more useful the diagnosis.

Setup
1 of 7

First, a little context.

One quick setup question, then we'll dive in.

Buyer Connection
2 of 7
01
Buyer Connection

Is this email talking to someone specific about something specific?

This email connects to something my reader is actually thinking about or dealing with right now.

totally off their radarright on their mind

There's a moment in this email where my reader would feel directly spoken to.

they'd skim pastthey'd feel seen
Offer Connection
3 of 7
02
Offer Connection

Does this email do a job inside your bigger sales picture?

There's a clear line from this email to something I actually sell.

nopecrystal clear

After reading this, my reader would know what to do next if they wanted more from me.

they'd be lostsuper obvious
Expertise Connection
4 of 7
03
Expertise Connection

Does this email show why you're the right person to solve this?

This email has a take or a point of view only I would have.

anyone could've written itunmistakably me

The reader can feel my brain on the page, not just information.

just infofull personality
Message Connection
5 of 7
04
Message Connection

Is there one clear idea that doesn't get muddled along the way?

If I had to sum up this email in one sentence, I could do it without cheating.

it's all over the placeone tight idea

Every paragraph is doing work for the main point. Nothing wanders.

lots of wanderingzero wandering
CTA Connection
6 of 7
05
CTA Connection

Does the next step feel like the logical next thing, or a random swerve?

The call to action feels like the natural continuation of what I just said.

total plot twistobvious next step

A reader wouldn't feel "sold to" or confused about what I want from them.

yikesfeels like a conversation
Your diagnosis

Okay. Here's what's actually going on.

Your email scored
0 / 50

The breakdown.

Here's how each connection point scored. The lowest one is the weakest link, and the one we'll prescribe for.

The prescription

So now what?

You just ran an autopsy on one email. That's one data point.

The real shift happens when every email you send goes through this lens before it leaves your drafts folder. Every week. With someone actually looking at your stuff and telling you where the disconnection is and how to strengthen it specifically for your business, offers, audience, and voice.

That's what I do inside The G6 Email Lounge. It's $127 a month, which is less than copywriters charge to write one email. The Lounge is built for the person who just ran this autopsy and thought "shit, I need someone looking at ALL my emails this way."

P.S. Whether or not you ever join me inside G6, you now have a super handy framework. Run it on your next three emails and you'll start seeing a pattern. It's a little infuriating and also really useful.
xxG The Email Autopsy by Gerry Tait · gerrytait.com