7 subject lines to help your emails get opened
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What’s that? You only do it multiple times a day? Phew...we’re not the only ones. Which makes this article about subject lines that much more important.
Because your prospects inbox is no different than both of ours.
It’s cluttered, chaotic, and clamoring for their attention.
And that’s really the name of the game in marketing...attention. Your goal is to capture it, hold it, and channel it towards the next action. Mastering the ability of getting attention in the right way can pay huge dividends for yourself and your digital business.
But before sending your next email, you first need to understand that many of your emails will go unopened, unread, and forever cast out in the trash folder. This is just how it is.
Even the best email marketers writing consistently excellent subject lines can’t do much about it.
And that’s ok.
You see every email you send lives on its own. So while your prospect may have chosen to delete on sight your previous 13 emails, they may just open the next one...
If you think about it, you’ve probably done this yourself. Seen emails from a certain person or business come in every day, paying no attention and deleting them without a second thought.
Then one day you clicked, read, and bought. It happens...
Remember, all it takes is one email to get opened and read for everything to change. Maybe they form a relationship with you and actually start looking forward to your next one, or they click your link and buy your product.
All you need is one.
So just because your prospects inbox is already overflowing, this doesn’t mean you should not be emailing. In fact, just the opposite...
You should now be focusing on doing your best to craft an even more compelling and attention-getting subject line.
In this article, we’ll touch quickly on just 7 ideas to create them.
7 Subject Line Examples That Work
1: Straight Forward & Simple Benefit
Often times we think every subject line needs to be a psychological masterpiece. We bang our heads on the table trying to think of the most creative, awe-inspiring snippet which would leave our prospects unable to look away.
While there’s certainly a time and place for that, sometimes simple is best.
In fact, often times prospects have become so jaded by all the other “over the top” style subject lines that something straight and simple will work even better.
So instead of: “The Buzz Lightyear Client Getting Secrets”
You could simply do: How To Get New Clients
There’s a percentage of people who like the more simple and direct type of subject line. There also far easier to write. State the benefit you’re offering clearly and you’re done.
Try it and see!
2: Ask Relevant Questions
Our brain automatically wants to answer a question when presented with one, so using this in your subject line can be quite effective. By making it relevant you also tie into the existing thinking of your prospect, making them want to click and open it even more.
Here are some examples if you were in the health or fitness niche:
“Does Counting Calories Actually Work Against Me?”
"What Is The #1 Exercise To Lose Belly Fat?”
“Why Didn’t My Gym Tell Me This”?
See how questions automatically make you curious and interested in finding out the answer, especially when it’s something relevant to what your prospects care about?
3: Free Offers And Sales
This one probably comes as no surprise. People like free offers and sales?! Go figure.
So take this as a friendly reminder that communicating these sorts of deals in your subjects line typically makes people want to check it out.
Here are a few examples for someone who sells courses on photography:
“FREE: My Top 7 Photography Presets”
“[50% Off Sale] Best Selling Photography Course”
Easy right? Good. That’s exactly how you want it to be. If it’s easy to write, it’ll be easy to read. No need to complicate it, especially if you’re running a free offer or discounted sale!
4: Trending News Tie-Ins
If you consider that national media giants spend untold fortunes to keep the latest local and world events top of mind for each one of us, it creates a great opportunity for you to piggyback off the attention they’ve created.
And just remember, email is an extremely forgiving media, so don’t be afraid to try something new or test out different ideas.
Here are a few examples of how to use this type of subject line if you were teaching people how to do yoga...
“Why Donald Trump Should Do Yoga”
“Climate Change And Your Chakras”
“How Yoga Helped Tiger Woods Come Back…”
Yes, some of those are kinda dumb. That’s ok! The goal here is to give you a quick idea how you could really take anything in the news or pop culture and find a way to tie it back into your subject line.
Whether it’s politics, Hollywood, sports, or global events...all of it can be used in your subject lines to help get attention. Then tie it in with your email body copy.
5: Secrets Of...
'Secrets' is just one of those words that we all are just naturally drawn to. It communicates curiosity and something private now being made public. Who doesn’t love a little dramatic reveal?
If you were teaching people how to have better relationships, here’s how you could use it:
“Relationship Secrets Of The Happiest Marriages”
“Secrets Of Hollywood Love Stories That Make It”
“The Secrets Of Lasting Romance”
Using secrets every now and then almost always will boost your response.
6: Specific Numbers
Anytime you can use a specific number, more people will be intrigued. It helps create proof in your statement because it’s harder to create a specific figure than it is to just throw out a general statement.
Wherever you can, use specifics not generalities. The subject line especially.
Here are a few ideas if you were a business coach:
“Here’s Why 78.19% Of People Aren’t Reading Your Emails”
“How I Made $14,356.17 This Week With No Product…”
“Only 19 Spots Left For The Program!”
See how much more powerful a specific number is than saying something like…
“Around 100% of People Think Kajabi Is Just Really Great” ; )
7: Combine And Conquer
If you look through the examples above, you’ll see where we combined different styles. Many effective subject lines do this. Combining curiosity, self-interest, trending news...it all works.
See how this one is both specific but also communicating a hidden benefit?
“How I Made $14,356.17 This Week With No Product…”
When writing an email, create a few subject lines and if one of them doesn’t quite get your attention, combine two of them and see if that works even better.
Often times it does!
It Only Takes One Subject Line To Get A New Sale
As we wrap this article up, remember…your prospects inbox is cluttered, just like yours! Your subject line is the first thing they see before making a snap judgment on whether to read or delete. Use the ideas here, along with whatever other ones you find, to craft subject lines that get attention.
Our 7 subject lines type were:
- Straight Forward & Simple Benefit
- Ask Relevant Questions
- Free Offers And Sales
- Trending News Tie-Ins
- Secrets Of
- Specific Numbers
- Combine And Conquer
Remember, you only need one to get opened to make a sale or create a new relationship with a prospect!
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Still researching? Check out Kajabi’s free downloadable ebook guides on launching and growing a knowledge commerce online business! Have you ever mass deleted emails in your inbox without ever even opening them?
