How to Write Better Email Subject Lines (With and Without AI)

However‚ this is not true of e-mail message subject lines․

The average person receives 121 emails every day․ You only have 2 Seconds to write a subject line․ Your subject line competes with 120 others․

Most people write their subjects after writing the body of the email‚ which is backwards because the subject line of the email is the header․ In a battle of subjects‚ the body would be what it was due․

I've emailed for 7 years․ I've studied hundreds of e-commerce‚ SaaS‚ and B2B campaigns in-depth․ This is how it's done․

These are the 6 patterns that make up the actual opens․

1․ The Specific Number

It has been shown that people are more likely to respond to "5 things you're doing wrong" than to "Things you might be doing wrong․" Numbers signal commitment․ A more exact number seems more believable than an approximate one․

2․ The Direct Question

Thought provoking questions can do well․ Not clickbait․ The essential feature is that the question can be answered in the email with a simple yes / no answer․

3․ The Personalized Hook

Personalisation means doing something to make a reference to the recipient's behavior or situation‚ rather than simply mentioning their name․

Instead of "Complete your purchase․" say "Your cart is waiting․"

4․ FOMO (Sparingly)

The formula to get people to do something is urgency and scarcity - until they're not․ If there's a deadline of each e-mail‚ then the deadlines aren't as meaningful․ FOMO should only be used for time-sensitive content․

5․ The counterintuitive statement

An opinion‚ claim or fact that differs from the accepted standard or supposedly generally held opinion‚ claim or fact․ It really isn't it?

6․ The Clear Benefit

The simplest way to do that is to tell precisely what is in your email subject line and why it is useful․

Not very smart to just halve all your meetings‚ just like that․ Clear? Clear wins․

Where AI Actually Helps

AI can effectively be used for subject lines in two ways:

Then I supply an AI tool with the central message of my email message and ask it to tell me 10-15 different ways of saying it․ Some bad‚ some good‚ and at times some excellent․ Now it is up to you to choose the two best and test them!

Work with patterns with which you are familiar․ So you tell an AI‚ "write a subject line with a counter-intuitive angle and a number - regarding email marketing" - and it does just that‚ instantly․

Email subject lines are another area where the UtilityGenAI's Email Subject Generator can be a great help․

My subject line formula to use․

1. Write the email first․ Know what you are giving a warranty on․

2․ Find one good thing about the e-mail․

3. Use a mix of them to produce at least 10 variations (AI welcome)․

4. Read them out loud․

5․ Test two․ Try to run an A/B test․

6․ Track and learn․ Keep an (e-mail) "swipe file" of subject lines that work․

What doesn't work anymore (What no longer works)?

Include emojis in each email‚ which was new as of 2019․ Now it's noise․

Looks like spam - ALL CAPS․

A common component of clickbait headers‚ the phrase "quick question" is used to entice the user to click a link‚ though marketers have overused it․

Too good of a pun! A word play has to be grasped‚ the second time and in a cluttered inbox․

NO URGENT: When there is NO urgency․ Readers remember․

If I have seen the difference between a 15% open rate and a 35% open rate‚ in all the campaigns that I have studied‚ the only thing I've had to come up with is that it has to do with the subject line - it has nothing to do with the body; it has nothing to do with the send time; it has nothing to do with list quality․

The subject line that you took 3 minutes to write is as good as the email you took 3 hours to write․ Take the 3 minutes․