When I was 14, I went to my first concert. It smelled like cigarettes, beer, and unmet expectations. All things I’d only seen on MTV or in my dreams.

Some people wore tails. Others had band tees that seemed to fuse with their torsos through some sort of emotional osmosis. And me? I was the kid who showed up in a nice shirt. Like, something that had been ironed recently.

I was painfully out of place. So I did what any insecure teenager would do: I bought an overpriced hat and hoodie to hide my lack of facial hair and crippling need for approval.

It was after changing into my new uniform that I suddenly felt like I could hang. I screamed every lyric louder than the drunk next to me (mostly out of defiance, partially out of fear.) And in that moment, I had this profound realization:

“Maybe we never really outgrow the urge to costume ourselves into belonging.”

Okay, fine. The 14-year-old me didn’t think that. He was just amazed at how many new ways one could use the F-word. But still, the point stands.

Except now, instead of hoodies, it’s tone of voice. Layouts. Abandoned cart flows and a new seasonal color palette. Maybe your emails are still wearing their middle-school outfit. Maybe they could use a little more eyeliner and enough questionable language to make HR nervous.

So, in the spirit of the season of costume changes (literal and existential), here are the most popular emails right now to get some ideas from.

An ad from one of our partners:

Finally, some science to shut down the "more is more" crowd. Sending 7 emails per month isn’t just safe, it’s statistically optimal. In this data-backed deep dive, Science Says shows why infrequent buyers respond better to more emails, while loyal customers want less.

While 63% of marketers already use AI, most are doing it wrong and are producing “AI slop”: robotic, low-converting email content that sounds like a machine wrote it. In this video, Kasey shares three proven frameworks that her agency uses to turn AI into a real revenue driver.

“Shop small” doesn’t just sound nice; it performs. Emails with cozy, community-first vibes trounced traditional hype language in a 12k-campaign study. “Mega sale” might shout, but “shop small” gets opens and clicks.

Staring at a blank Figma screen? You’re not alone. Archit walks us through intentional inspiration hunting, from diversifying your stimulus inputs (not just Dribbble and Behance) to exercising your mind with analog experiences, constraints, and remixing. The framing is simple: inspiration doesn’t find you. You go out and get it.

An argument that stock and AI-generated visuals distort how we consume content, degrade visual culture, and reward clickbait over substance. The prescription? Design the systems that make text feel complete, strip away the unnecessary image clutter, and let images carry real weight when they’re used.

Found in Harley-Davidson's on-tour email

Thanks for reading and learning since you joined on 2021-01-24!

- Mike and the rest of the RGE team.