Today, I don’t give a 💩 about whether or not your emails are any good.
Because if we don’t nail your subject line, it doesn’t matter.
I know you spend so much time on the newsletter/sales email/WHATEVER–but are you babying the subject line too?
Subject lines are the equivalent to a “good hook” for your Reel or social media caption.
It’s doggone crucial you nail it.
Let me show you 5 times I nailed mine last month, then show you how to do it too.
Here’s my quick & dirty checklist:
- Drop the titlecase.
- Be a lil tease, aka make it intriguing.
- Break punctuation/grammar rules.
Subject Line: This email is only 25 words long 😱
Open Rate: 81.8%
Why it worked:
Yes, the email was actually that short!
This subject line made people wonder why it was so short, and what I possibly had to say that wasn’t long-winded.
Subject Line: Your email platform + my cake pops
Open Rate: 78.5%
Why it worked:
I really like picking 2 random elements of my email and throwing them into the subject line with a “+” sign. You could try using & instead.
It’s informal and random. The kind of thing a pal would put in a subject line just to keep it from being empty for an email they’re casually sending at 2 am.
They don’t need to get creative because you’re buds! They know you’ll open it, random or not.
And I know that too.
Subject Line: Copy + queso
Open Rate: 75%
Why it worked:
Again with my lazy “Pick 2”-style subject line. Maybe I need to trademark this? Try it out.
This one could’ve been better, though! It was my first sales email for Personality Profits.
If I were to give this another whirl, I’d try out “I have performance anxiety 🍆”
Intriguing? Check.
Emoji? Check.
If a subject line could make a Karen gasp, I’m using it.
Subject Line: Boring people are more relatable.
Open Rate: 75%
Why it worked:
I’m not 100% sure on this one, but here’s my theory:
“Boring people” are the first 2 words. It’s attention grabbing and a controversial opinion in our world of side-boob influencer girlboss Reels.
A common misconception is that you can’t pull off storytelling in copy if you have a “boring” life.
This might have made it kinda… relatable?
Subject Line: No shade but…
Open Rate: 72.7%
Why it worked:
DRAMA. We’re wired for it, us nasty humans.
It’s clickbait-y.
It’s short.
And if you read my emails regularly, you know I actually do vocalize things that make folks blush and text me screenshots with: “I can’t believe you said that 🤣”
WARNING:
Don’t cry wolf.
If being a problem isn’t part of your brand, don’t pretend in the subject line. This applies to more than being a sasshole.
If your subject lines consistently contradict the style of your content, your open rates will plummet.
Don’t make a liar out of yourself.
Know thyself.
Write better subject lines for thyself.
ps – 1 more thing: Always send yourself a test email and look at your subject line on mobile. You can’t have it running off-screen into an abyss of “…”
Go write some bangin’ subject lines and send me your best 1 or 3 or 5!
