Avatar 3 made this mistake. So did your emails.

Hey it’s Geb from The Fanbased Formula Newsletter.

I finally watched Avatar: Fire and Ash this week.

Three hours and fifteen minutes of jaw-dropping visuals. Pandora has never looked more stunning. The Wind Traders' floating airship alone is worth the IMAX ticket.

But here's what critics keep saying: it feels like The Way of Water all over again. Same family drama. Same villain chase. Same final battle on a sinking ship. Even the dialogue hits identical beats.

IndieWire called it "the first Avatar film that fails to meaningfully iterate on its premise." Roger Ebert's site said it "squanders the opportunity to close out what could be a trilogy with weight and fury."

The visuals evolved. The storytelling didn't.

And that's exactly what I saw when I looked at this Koio email.

Brand: Koio (Italian handcrafted sneakers)
Email Type: Black Friday Sale / Welcome Hybrid
Subject Line: "Start your Koio story with 15-70% off sitewide."

What the email says:

Opens with "HANDMADE IN ITALY. BUILT FOR LIFE." Big hero image of a guy in sneakers.

Then immediately: BLACK FRIDAY NOW LIVE: 15% OFF ALMOST EVERYTHING.

Then "The Koio Difference" section with three pillars (comfort, design, durability).

Then product showcase (Capri, Monza, Capri X).

Then "MASTERFUL ITALIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP" with artisan photos.

Then another Black Friday reminder.

Then footer with shipping info.

The Problem:

This email does exactly what Avatar 3 does. It repeats the same message over and over hoping volume equals impact.

"Handmade in Italy" appears in the hero. Then again in the craftsmanship section. Then again in the body copy. The Black Friday discount shows up three separate times.

There's no progression. No story arc. No reason to keep reading.

It's the email equivalent of James Cameron showing us another underwater battle sequence and hoping we're still impressed.

The harshest criticism of Fire and Ash isn't that it's bad. It's that it's predictable.

Audiences don't mind formula. They mind repetition without escalation.

What made the first Avatar work wasn't just visuals. It was transformation. Jake goes from wheelchair-bound marine to Na'vi warrior. He loses his legs but gains wings. There's a journey.

What made Way of Water work was environment change. Same family, new world. Water instead of forest. New skills to learn. New dangers to face.

Fire and Ash just... does it again. Same beats. Same structure. Same emotional notes.

The lesson for email:

Your subscribers don't need to hear "handmade in Italy" four times in one email. They need to feel something different each time they encounter your brand.

Repetition builds recognition. Repetition without progression builds fatigue.

Original Subject: "Start your Koio story with 15-70% off sitewide."
Improved Subject: "42 hands touched these before you"
Why it's better: Specific. Intriguing. Makes you want to know more.

Original Opening: "HANDMADE IN ITALY. BUILT FOR LIFE. Every pair is handcrafted in Italy and manufactured in century-old Tuscan tradition."

Improved Opening:

Most sneakers are made by machines.

Yours won't be.

42 Italian artisans will touch your pair before it ships.
Cutting the leather. Stitching the seams. Hand-painting the edges.

Same craftsmen who make Chanel sneakers.
Now making yours.

Why it's better: Specific detail (42 hands) creates intrigue. Chanel comparison elevates perceived value. Short sentences that scan on mobile.

Original Body: Lists three pillars (comfort, design, durability) with generic descriptions.

Improved Body:

Here's what separates Koio from everything in your closet:

We visited 34 factories before choosing one.
A third-generation family workshop in Le Marche.
The same artisans making $600 designer sneakers.

The difference you'll notice:

Day one. Soft calfskin leather. Zero break-in period.
Day thirty. Gentle creasing. Not deep cracks.
Day three hundred. They look better worn in than brand new.

That's Italian leather done right.

Why it's better: Tells a mini-story (34 factories). Uses time progression (day one, thirty, three hundred). Specific benefits, not generic claims.

Original CTA: "SHOP NOW & SAVE 15% SITEWIDE"
Improved CTA: "Find your first pair"
Why it's better: Action-oriented. Personal. Doesn't scream "sale."

This Week:

☐ Audit your last 5 emails for repetition. How many times do you say the same thing differently?

☐ Find your "42 hands" detail. What specific, surprising fact makes your product interesting?

☐ Add progression to your next email. Start somewhere. End somewhere else. Make the reader feel movement.

The Framework:

Avatar 1: New world, new body, new purpose. (Transformation)
Avatar 2: Same character, new environment. (Expansion)
Avatar 3: Same everything. (Repetition)

Your emails should follow Avatar 1 and 2, not 3.

Start with a hook that creates curiosity. Build with specific details that surprise. End with a reason to act now.

Not: Feature. Feature. Feature. Discount. Discount. Discount.

Segment by email fatigue, not just engagement.

Create a segment for subscribers who've received 10+ emails in 30 days but opened fewer than 3. These aren't disengaged. They're oversaturated.

Drop them into a slower cadence flow. One email per week max. See if open rates recover.

Sometimes the problem isn't your content. It's your volume.

Where to find it: In theaters now (IMAX 3D recommended)

What to watch for:

Notice how the first hour introduces new elements (Wind Traders, Ash People, Varang). That's when the movie works best. Fresh environments. New characters. Unexpected conflicts.

Then notice how the final act retreats to familiar territory. Another ship battle. Another rescue mission. Another villain monologue.

Ask yourself: "Do my emails introduce something new? Or do they repeat what subscribers already expect?"

The goal isn't to reinvent your brand every email. It's to give subscribers a reason to keep reading.

What email have you seen that actually surprised you? Send it my way. I'll break it down.

Watching movies and critiquing emails,

Geb Vence
See you next Sunday 12AM PHT.

Want help making your supplement brand emails feel less like Avatar 3 and more like the original?

I run Email Rev Lab, an email marketing agency for supplement brands. We build Klaviyo systems that tell stories, not just push products.

We've generated over $334k+ in email revenue. Not through discount blasts. Through emails people actually want to read.

SCHEDULE YOUR CALL →

P.S. I work with 3 supplement brands per month. That's how I maintain high quality and minimise repetition.