subject lines

I’m about to teach you some tactics that got you to open this newsletter.

Here are my 3 main tips for subject lines to get your emails opened:

1) Don’t make it look like a marketing email

When you know you’re on a marketing email, you know you’re on a list with hundreds or even thousands of other people. You’re a cog in a wheel and it doesn’t feel great.

The best marketing emails don’t look like they’re sent to massive lists.

So what does spam look like?

Long subject lines that are 4+ words. Check your inbox now and your spam folder. There will be lots of “Do You Need Help with IT Support?” or “Last Chance to Claim …”

So what’s the alternative? 

2) Use 1 or 2 words

Remember your goal is not to explain what’s in the email. It’s just to build curiosity to get someone to open the email. Build curiosity, but don’t satisfy it until they see the full email.

Think about this email. All I said was “subject lines”. I didn’t say “3 Tips to Improve Your Subject Lines”. That makes it sound like a marketing email or blog post.

I just want people who are interested in subject lines to be curious about the email. And if someone doesn’t like subject lines, then there’s no need for them to read the email.

Don’t believe me? According to an analysis of millions of emails by Lavender, going from 2 to 4 words in a subject line reduces replies by 17.5%!

3) Use an observation about your audience

If it’s a 1-to-1 email and you’re sending it to a specific person, show them that you know them and do your research.

For example, if they posted they just opened a London office, you can put “London office.”

Now if it’s a marketing email, think what’s the most interesting theme that your audience will be interested in. Then explain it in 2 words like “subject lines” here.

You could also pick a theme from the news. In recent weeks for example, it could be Jaguar, Elon or Nadal.

I’ll finish with 1 piece of advice again.

Your goal is to build curiosity but not satisfy it.

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