If you have been reading my articles for a while, you'll already know that I advocate writing online with a personal, but genuine tone of voice.

Not a dry, corporate voice.

Not a "you're my best buddy" voice.

Time and again I have seen the benefits of using an authentic personal tone.

But recently I have been seeing more and more emails that take the "instant best buddy" approach.

You sign up for some information on a site, and 10 minutes later you receive a breathless email and hear how the author has just taken his kids to the beach, but simply had to rush home and share some terribly important news about an upcoming product launch.

It's tempting to dismiss these emails.

As the recipient, you know perfectly well that the writer is not your buddy.

And you know that his or her breathless excitement is simply a device to generate sales.

But here's the thing.

They work.

But why? If they are so transparent in their purpose, and if their intimacy is so clearly false... why do these emails work so well?

I think there are two answers.

Reason No. 1: People want a better future

In psychological terms, people who respond to "best buddy" emails slip into a state of dissociation. We all dissociate from time to time.

Dissociation is a term with a complex definition. And there are various levels of dissociation.

But here's a good definition of its mildest form:

"Dissociation is a protective mechanism that exists in nearly all people. In its most mild forms, it's a part of escapism—when you get so absorbed into a movie or book that you stop paying attention to your surroundings or body, that's dissociation. Someone may walk up to you and say your name three times and you don't hear them. This is normal."

In the case of reading a sales letter or email, dissociation turns off the usual filters we apply when we objectively assess a sales message.