He didn't want to be the brand that annoys people. Here's how he changed his mind - and what happened when he did.

Cody Cessna almost said no to email marketing entirely. Not because he didn't believe in it, but because he believed too much in his customers. He didn't want to be the brand that bugs people until they unsubscribe. That instinct made the early work harder - every send had to be deliberate, every flow had to earn its place - but it also shaped an email program that actually reflects the brand behind it.

Cody is the founder of COE, a brand built for the working and active man who needs eyewear that can handle real life without looking like it came out of a safety catalog. He spent years as a lineman, touching 16,000 volts every day, wearing safety glasses that were ugly and sunglasses that weren't actually rated for protection. So he built what didn't exist. No design background, no marketing background. He learned Shopify from YouTube videos.

Here's what building COE for seven years has taught him about marketing, customers, and why the basics matter more than most brands realize.

The Problem Was Personal - and That's the Whole Point

COE didn't start with a market research report. It started with Cody on a job site, wearing Oakleys that looked good but wouldn't protect his eyes in a flash, or safety glasses that made him look angry all day. He wanted something affordable enough to keep a pair in his car, his work truck, his suitcase - and good-looking enough to wear off the job.

When he launched, he brought the first samples directly to coworkers and asked them what they thought. Too much lens? Blocking peripheral vision? Fogging up? He knew the details that a brand without field experience wouldn't know to ask about - like the fact that CDL drivers can't have anything more than a half inch of arm blocking their side vision, or they risk a traffic violation.

That real-world knowledge is still the edge he has over competitors with bigger budgets. When he designs a new frame, he sends it to friends still working in the field and asks them to try it out. It's product testing that no focus group could replicate.

The Founder Story Is the Marketing

Before COE had a polished content strategy, Cody was taking photos on job sites with his phone. Coworkers in bucket trucks. Real gear in real conditions. And that content - rough, unpolished, obviously authentic - converted better than anything a media crew could produce.

That insight became a principle: put the product in the real world, not on a set. COE's lifestyle shoots now include job sites, gyms, rodeos, and outdoor scenes that match the actual life of the customer Cody is designing for. When they launched the Bandit frame - a cleaner, more classic silhouette - the shoot leaned into a Western, timeless aesthetic that matched the frame's character. The photography follows the product, not the other way around.

On the ad side, one of their best-performing formats has been a founder-story video that's been running for over three years - still active, minimal spend, still producing. They also tested a format borrowed from the fitness industry: a staged podcast-style interview that gave Cody space to tell the brand story in a natural, conversational way. It didn't feel like an ad because it wasn't written like one.

The throughline is the same in every format: Cody is the credibility. The brand story isn't a marketing overlay - it's the actual reason COE exists.

The Email Hesitation - and What Changed

When Joy Joya started working with COE on email and SMS, Cody was upfront about his hesitation. He didn't want to spam people. He didn't want to be the brand filling someone's inbox with noise. That meant every send had to have a reason to exist, and every flow had to be built with more restraint than a brand that doesn't think about those things.

What changed his mind wasn't a pitch - it was data. Seeing attributed revenue from email and SMS made the case in a way that instinct alone couldn't. And COE's approach to email ended up reflecting the same values as everything else: real, intentional, and actually useful to the person receiving it.

COE sends founder letters. A real person answers the phone. The follow-up after a purchase feels like it comes from a brand that noticed you bought something - not a brand running a sequence.

A 55-Day Repurchase Cycle - and How Email Drives It

COE's average repurchase window is around 55 days. For context, the ecommerce average is closer to 75 to 90, and that's without accounting for price point or product category. For COE, once a customer gets the product in hand, they tend to come back fast.

The email and SMS strategy is built around that reality. A cross-sell flow goes out after the first purchase, introducing frames that match what the customer just bought - different colorways, sports styles, or the backup pair for the car. A win back flow kicks in around the natural repurchase window, catching customers at the moment they're most likely to be thinking about a second pair anyway.

Cody puts it plainly: if a customer buys once and never comes back, the ad spend that brought them in is basically wasted. The goal is always lifetime value — and email is one of the main tools for building it.

What Seven Years Taught Him

Cody is quick to tell other ecommerce founders two things. First: nothing good comes easy, and it won't happen as fast as you want. Second: how you handle mistakes matters more than whether you make them. Learn from them, don't repeat them, and pay attention to the people around you who are making them too - because that's free education.

He also talks about the value of community - not influencer partnerships, but actual peer relationships with other entrepreneurs. Comparing notes, sharing what's working, asking the questions that might feel dumb but save you six months of figuring it out alone.

For someone who taught himself Shopify from YouTube videos and retired from the trades to build a brand now carried by three of the largest utilities in California, the message is straightforward: if you have a real problem to solve and you're willing to keep showing up, the resources are there.

About Cody Cessna and COE

Cody Cessna is the founder of COE, an eyewear brand built for working and active men who need real protection without sacrificing style. After years as a lineman, Cody saw a gap in the market that no existing brand was filling and built COE from the ground up - with no design or marketing background and a lot of YouTube videos. COE is now carried by three of the largest utilities in California and continues to grow its direct-to-consumer business through a combination of founder-led content, real-world photography, and an intentional approach to email and SMS.

🌐 COE: https://coewear.com
📸 Instagram: @coeyewear