“The money is in the list!” – or so says just about everyone, ignoring the fact that without great email subject lines, you’re going nowhere.
In fact, you’re probably tired of reading that line by now, but the reason you hear it is because it’s true. But what if I told you that the real money isn’t in your list. You’ll actually find it in your email subject line.
Now, this article isn’t going to be so much about quick tips that you can follow to start getting 100% CTR rates suddenly – it just doesn’t work that way. I’m sad about that, too.
What this article is about is creating them the right way – and why it’s the right way. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, the secret to good email subject lines that gets people clicking open is actually pretty simple.
So, let’s jump right into it!
Skip the Swipe Emails – Everyone’s Using Them!
Now, if you’re like most people, you might be using those swipe emails. You know the type – you can’t think of a half-decent subject line, so you go Googling to find one.
Great, now you’ve got an overused line that everyone’s already seen hundreds – if not thousands – of times before. Stuff like,
“This dude made $300 with just 100 hours of work a day!”
“WARNING! You’re doing it all wrong!”
That’s obviously designed to grab your attention, but will it after you’ve seen it over and over again. That’s a hard pass for most of us, which makes them a lot less useful than they once were.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use these email subject lines if you’re fresh out of ideas – just know that you could do better on your own steam, so try to stop that habit; it’s a pretty bad one.
Make Sure Your Email Subject Line Matches What’s Inside
Whether you have already written the rest of the email or not, you’re going to want to bear in mind that the email subject line should reflect that. Not just in terms of the promised content you’re delivering, but also in terms of the tone of voice. A silly subject header with a deadly serious inside tone is really off-putting, so try to keep those two consistent with each other so that there are no expectations being weirdly crushed under the weight of disjointed writing.
Aside from tone, you also want to check that the content matches up to its promise. If you’re writing an email that says “Make Seven Figures Tomorrow” in the subject header, then you want the inside content to reflect that. If you switch suddenly to how to make $100 a day, then that’s just going to leave your reader confused – and a little upset that they’re already getting such a drastic pay cut. What gives?
Spend a Good 10 Minutes Working on A Subject Line
Writing a good email subject line doesn’t take that long. If you can spare 10 minutes to really focus on what you’re doing, then you can brainstorm some pretty good lines.
Remember, you need to identify a problem and solve it. That’s it. Most of the time, you don’t even really need to mention the problem – just the solution.
Remember, if you get your email content pitch perfect and your email subject line gets people interested enough to click, you’re not that far off from getting people to act the way you want them to.
It’s worth it to spend a little extra quality time focusing on a subject line that really resonates with your target audience and makes them open it. This is the only point of the subject line: to get them to open it. Focus on that, not on working in some fancy English skills.
Reveal What’s In It For Them… If They Open
Now, obviously, you don’t want to give the whole game away. But you want people to understand that right now, right here, with one click, they can access something that they want.
Sometimes, it can be as much as telling them there’s a hefty discount inside. Other times, reveal you’ve solved a problem. Maybe they need more followers on Twitter or a little extra cash. Know what your audience wants and deliver it.
Sometimes, that’s all you need for a great email subject line. Something that your target audience wants to hear and needs a resolution to. The more blatant you are with your offer, the better.
Work On Building Your Trust
This is one of the most important things you can do for your business, no matter what industry you’re in. The more trusted you are as a source, the better results you’re going to get – especially if you’re consistently delivering high-quality email content.
This is something that you need to remember while writing your email subject lines. So many of these tips are focused on one thing: don’t misdirect or mislead. I hate that, you hate that, we all hate that. As soon as you start going down that route for an easy CTR win, you’ve lost. Maybe not now, but in the long run.
You see, think of subject lines as more than just an open the darn thing already job to get over and done with as soon as possible and start thinking of it as an exercise in value and relationship building.
Your audience wants to hear from you because they believe you can help them. As soon as you start sending sketchy content with dubious subject lines, you’re going to lose that.
But if you take the time to craft your email subject lines and ensure that they’re working together with your content, it’s a whole new show. You might not make a lead convert today… but if you keep chipping away at the block, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s coming.
