7-Ways To Write Wicked Good E-mail Subject Lines…

Hey there, how are you doing today?

I hope you don’t mind, but I just woke up. It’s 7:48 A.M. and I stumbled to my desk. Now I’m writing to you. It takes me a little bit to get going before the coffee kicks in.

And I’m just wondering what would you like to read about today.

Hmmm… It could be leads, recruiting, or marketing but that won’t do today. I think today, we should talk about something small. Small but important. Something that all too often gets neglected by internet marketers everywhere…

How about e-mail subject lines!

“Why?” You ask.

Well, there’s millions of things we could talk about that must be more important than e-mail subject lines, right? But… not really.

Think about this…

The internet is getting more and more crowded everyday. E-mail is still free and still crucial to your internet marketing success, but it’s almost impossible to get anybody to read them anymore!

You know, sometimes I’ll send a personal e-mail to a close friend and they won’t even read it.

No that’s not an exaggeration. It’s an ugly problem.

And without great subject lines your e-mails will never get opened…. nevermind read. So writing great subject lines has never been more important.

But before I give you a bunch of tips on how to write your own… I think it’s important to know one thing about subject lines and that is… they’re actually NOT the most important factor in your e-mail marketing success.

You see, YOUR NAME is actually more important than your subject line.

Why? Well, with so much junk mail out there people want to see where an e-mail is coming from before they open it. You might have a clever subject line, but it won’t do you have as good as a decent reputation with your list.

So above all you should protect your reputation and watch out for the best interests of your subscribers. Of course, this assumes that you have subscribers.

You might not have a blog or mailing list and you’d think… “Oh well, this doesn’t matter.”

Baloney! It matters to everyone who sends emails to anyone. Especially to leads, team members, new recruits and so on.

So how do you write a subject line that gets them to open the email every time?

Well, actually you don’t.

A 100% open rate online is almost unheard of. But there’s a few tips that will help you out big time if you master them.

Before I share them I’d just like to confess I’ve had my failures too. Don’t assume because I’m Jason Better I’m perfect… because I’ve written some dumb subject lines and headlines in my time but the thing is, with a good checklist you can usually tell after the fact and fix it.

Now, here’s a few subject lines and I want you to guess which ones worked best. These have actually been tested in the field.

Which one’s work? Which don’t?

Try to guess before you read on.

• Science Proves “Faking It” Works?
• John, are you a poser?
• How To Catch Monkeys…
• Really Cool Mind Trick — Zajonc Effect
• 100 Ways To Die

Well, can you guess which ones worked best?

Would you be surprised if I told you that “100 Ways To Die” performed much better than most and that “Science Proves “Faking It” works” was probably the worst of all?

Hmmm… you should be. You could know how to write headlines, but you’d be surprised by what works and doesn’t work in e-mail.

Sometimes the complete opposite is true.

But here’s a few guidelines to get started:

Short N’ Spicy – Sometimes shorter is better. A short subject line stands out from the crowd and tends to get more clicks in my experience. Not always true, but hey give it a test.

Ex.
– 7 Dumb Facts

Invoke Curiosity – They say “curiosity killed the cat” but it’s one of the main principles if you want to write a subject line that get’s clicks. The problem is… curiosity alone is often not enough to get your e-mail opened. This is a tough way to go.

Ex.
– Three headed Kittens inside…

Promise Benefit – Why not tell your reader what they have to gain? Just make sure it’s believable. When you make a claim you can’t prove online it almost always kills results. But people still want something for nothing if you can get through the wall of skepticism.

Ex.
– Gets 57% boost in response

Loosen Up! – I’m often surprised by the results an informal subject line with a “smiley” in it will get. I think this is because people are so used to getting sales pitches that they’re excited to see something else for a change.

Ex.
– Hey, check this video out.

Kick Up The Contrast – Check out what everyone else is doing and do the opposite. This is probably the biggest secret of subject line writing you could ever master but almost nobody uses it to full effect. Why? Well, It’s pretty scary going where no one else is… and can backfire too.

Ex.
– Do NOT NOT open this before noon

Deliver News — This is one of the easiest ways to get attention out there. It never gets old as long as you have something authentic and new to say. Current events are a big help here. Tie your subject line to something current and you might be surprised by the results.

Ex.
– Michael Jackson Is Dead

Violence And Conflict– This an old stand-by. I don’t use it much because I’m such a peaceful guy but you can really get a lot attention fast if you have a conflict to talk about. The sad fact is, when an accident happens we turn our heads so this is definitely one of the more powerful openings out there.

Ex.
– Last night I almost died…

Urgency– If you have a deadline looming then by all means use it. This is one of the most effective ways to prompt immediate action. Just don’t lie about it. People hate being tricked.

Ex.
– Your bonus expires at 3:30 P.M.

3-Things NEVER To Do In Your Email Subject Lines…

1)) Pure Curiosity– I’m not a big fan of curiosity only headlines or subject lines. Because I don’t know how many times I’ve written a pure curiosity subject line and had it backfire. Yes, curiosity works… but use it to strengthen your subject lines not as a stand alone unless you’re really confident you have a winner. But It works miracles with a news based or benefit driven headline.

DO SAY: 7 Wicked Ways To Write A Headline
DON’T SAY: Wicked Writing…

One promises specifics… the other relies almost entirely on curiosity which is often gonna fail in today’s crowded inbox.

Then again, context is everything. So don’t be afraid to test.

2)) The Bait And Switch– Whenever possible your subject line should flow right into your copy. You don’t want to write a really cool subject line like

SUBJECT: “Michael Jackson’s Head Pops-Off…”

Then you talk about network marketing without tying the two together. This builds an incredible amount of resentment with your readers and lowers your overall open and click-through rates.

So a quick tip — Make it flow.

3)) Mindless Word Vomit – Another big mistake I’ve been guilty of and I hope you don’t do the same is spending so much time on your emails that you forget to write a decent subject line. This is easier to do than you think. These days I won’t send an e-mail out unless I’ve written out at least a half-dozen subject lines and picked the best.

Remind yourself. if nobody opens the e-mail then… really… what’s the point of sending it?

Before you go…

Anyway, I really hope this helps you out.

The way I see it, your website or blog is your muscle, your email is your lifeblood and a bad subject line is like a clogged artery. You can’t afford to ignore this… not for long.

To your success.

Jason Better “The Better Networker”

P.S. Won’t you be my neighbor? I wish I could invite you over today for brunch but the closest thing I have here is sizzlin’ tips to help you be a Better Networker. All you have to do is put your name and e-mail in the form below. It’s worth it.

5 Comments

Shirland on September 30th, 2009

Great suggestions as usual, I did not bookmark this post, I wrote it down in my book. I like headline that promise benefit and then delivers. Thanks again.

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