Institutional voice
Marketing emails from software comes across to me like polite begging. The desperation is veiled. They speak in modern idioms, wishing my family well while using exclamation points. Email broadcasting is already unnatural, and so instead of pretending to masses with the pleasantries of a 1:1 coffee date, have the courage to be yourself.
And isn’t “being yourself,” the thing a company can’t be? It’s inherently not a self, but a conglomerate. Who is speaking? Who is “team”? A more honest way is to “share the process,” to give people the glimpse of what it’s like in a company. But still, I think there’s something corrupting about letting a market dictate your decisions.
Of course, that’s what venture requires. But we’re entering a paradigm where software can be so easily made, that all of our ratios can flip. Someone can make tools for themself. If I’m making a tool for myself, I can not only show you the process of making tool, but the things my tool makes. That’s the ultimate proof. I don’t want to just share screenshots of text-editor features and shill you benefits; I just want to share the fruits.
If the founder isn’t actively engaged in the product, then why should we believe them? And so, that might be how to make a niche products long-term sustainable. Serve yourself, and let the small selection of overlapping others have access to it.