The most important part of your email marketing:
The subject line.
But 95% of writers ignore these 5 golden rules (and it's killing your open rates)
Rule 1: 5-15 words, max.
A good rule of thumb is your subject line should not exceed 15 words. Ever.
Less is always more here.
• If you can say it in 15 words, try to say it in 10.
• If you can say it in 10 words, try to say it in 7.
• If you can say it in 7, try to say it in 5 words.
However, “less words” doesn't mean the subject line is “better.”
The key is to give the reader a “hook” that makes them want to click and open the email— without losing the meaning.
--
Rule 2: Subject lines should read like you're talking to a friend.
This comes down to grammar and punctuation more than anything else.
For example:
V1: “3 Mental Models To Quantify Your Financial Success As A Writer”
V2: “3 mental models to quantify your financial success as a writer”
In general, the second subject line here will see better open rates.
Why?
Because your inbox is personal.
And personal feels relevant (interesting to open) for the reader.
Just as if they've received the email from a friend.
--
Rule 3: Use 1 of the 4 proven hooks.
There are 4 types of hooks that work over and over again (regardless of industry, niche, or topic):
1. "Here's a ton of value for minimal time."
Example: Your entire Life Coach career path blueprint… in 1 email!
2. "Here's a ton of value for minimal cost."
Example: Here's our entire $1M marketing plan. Steal it!
3. "Here's how to solve your problem without much effort."
Example: Losing money in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
4. "Here's how to unlock this desirable outcome, instantly."
Example: 3 keys to land $10,000 consulting clients, from home, in your pajamas, right now.
Always use 1 of these 4 proven hooks in your subject lines.
Otherwise, the reader won't have a good enough reason to click, open, and ultimately read your email.
--
Rule 4: Use visceral language.
Now, you can “amp up” your subject lines even more by adding in visceral language.
Things like…
• URGENT!
• Hemorrhage
• Steal this!
• Gut-wrenching
• I can't believe I'm giving this away.
And so on.
For example:
(Original) Losing money in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
(Amped Up) Hemorrhaging cash in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
Visceral language always increases open rates by a few percentage points.
--
Rule 5: Name & Claim ideas (in the subject line).
Even more than visceral language though, the ultimate goal is to Name & Claim ideas right there in the subject line.
For example, notice the difference between these 3 subject lines:
• 3 easy ways to make 10x more money as a life coach (nobody tells you this).
• Life Coach Money Manual: 3 easy ways to 10x your monthly earnings (nobody tells you this)
You should be able to feel (in your skin!) how much more you want to click on the second one because “Life Coach Money Manual” feels like you're receiving a “thing.”
And this makes it feel exponentially more “valuable.”
--
That's a wrap!
Here are the 5 golden rules of email subject lines:
Rule 1: 5-15 words, max.
Rule 2: Use visceral language.
Rule 3: Use 1 of the 4 proven hooks.
Rule 4: Name & Claim ideas (in the subject line)
Rule 5: Subject lines should read like you're talking to a friend.
If you liked this post, then be sure to like, comment, and retweet so you can find it for yourself later and share it with others too.
These 5 rules are the “game” of writing subject lines… on your own.
Want to train ChatGPT to help you write click-worthy email subject lines?
Check the reply to this post–there's a free prompt you can use with ChatGPT to generate subject lines in seconds 👇
The subject line.
But 95% of writers ignore these 5 golden rules (and it's killing your open rates)
Rule 1: 5-15 words, max.
A good rule of thumb is your subject line should not exceed 15 words. Ever.
Less is always more here.
• If you can say it in 15 words, try to say it in 10.
• If you can say it in 10 words, try to say it in 7.
• If you can say it in 7, try to say it in 5 words.
However, “less words” doesn't mean the subject line is “better.”
The key is to give the reader a “hook” that makes them want to click and open the email— without losing the meaning.
--
Rule 2: Subject lines should read like you're talking to a friend.
This comes down to grammar and punctuation more than anything else.
For example:
V1: “3 Mental Models To Quantify Your Financial Success As A Writer”
V2: “3 mental models to quantify your financial success as a writer”
In general, the second subject line here will see better open rates.
Why?
Because your inbox is personal.
And personal feels relevant (interesting to open) for the reader.
Just as if they've received the email from a friend.
--
Rule 3: Use 1 of the 4 proven hooks.
There are 4 types of hooks that work over and over again (regardless of industry, niche, or topic):
1. "Here's a ton of value for minimal time."
Example: Your entire Life Coach career path blueprint… in 1 email!
2. "Here's a ton of value for minimal cost."
Example: Here's our entire $1M marketing plan. Steal it!
3. "Here's how to solve your problem without much effort."
Example: Losing money in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
4. "Here's how to unlock this desirable outcome, instantly."
Example: 3 keys to land $10,000 consulting clients, from home, in your pajamas, right now.
Always use 1 of these 4 proven hooks in your subject lines.
Otherwise, the reader won't have a good enough reason to click, open, and ultimately read your email.
--
Rule 4: Use visceral language.
Now, you can “amp up” your subject lines even more by adding in visceral language.
Things like…
• URGENT!
• Hemorrhage
• Steal this!
• Gut-wrenching
• I can't believe I'm giving this away.
And so on.
For example:
(Original) Losing money in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
(Amped Up) Hemorrhaging cash in the stock market? Just buy these 3 companies.
Visceral language always increases open rates by a few percentage points.
--
Rule 5: Name & Claim ideas (in the subject line).
Even more than visceral language though, the ultimate goal is to Name & Claim ideas right there in the subject line.
For example, notice the difference between these 3 subject lines:
• 3 easy ways to make 10x more money as a life coach (nobody tells you this).
• Life Coach Money Manual: 3 easy ways to 10x your monthly earnings (nobody tells you this)
You should be able to feel (in your skin!) how much more you want to click on the second one because “Life Coach Money Manual” feels like you're receiving a “thing.”
And this makes it feel exponentially more “valuable.”
--
That's a wrap!
Here are the 5 golden rules of email subject lines:
Rule 1: 5-15 words, max.
Rule 2: Use visceral language.
Rule 3: Use 1 of the 4 proven hooks.
Rule 4: Name & Claim ideas (in the subject line)
Rule 5: Subject lines should read like you're talking to a friend.
If you liked this post, then be sure to like, comment, and retweet so you can find it for yourself later and share it with others too.
These 5 rules are the “game” of writing subject lines… on your own.
Want to train ChatGPT to help you write click-worthy email subject lines?
Check the reply to this post–there's a free prompt you can use with ChatGPT to generate subject lines in seconds 👇
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