How I write email subject lines people click on

Hello marketing maestro,

Which of the below email subject lines are you more likely to click? (Yes, audience participation—you shouldn’t have sat in the front row.):

The second one, right?

But why?

We receive a million* emails per day, a billion* messages and a zillion** notifications.

Getting people to stop the scroll and click on your email subject line or blog title is half the battle won.

In this issue, I’ll break down exactly what it is about effective email subject lines that gets people to click and open.

*Not a real stat | **Not even a real number

Here’s my scrappy little process for writing email subject lines people (mostly) click on.

1. Draft a working title

Once I’ve decided on my topic, I write a working title. This acts as a bit of a north star, so I can hold in mind the central theme and aim of the post as I write.

2. Tweak on the go

Often as I write, another angle or theme emerges which leads me to tweak the title a bit (or completely). This can happen once or twice,  but I’ve usually tweaked it a good four or five times by the end of a first draft.

By the time I’ve finished writing and have done my first read-through, I usually have something close to a final title. 

3. Keep keywords in mind

I keep keywords in mind, but I don’t dwell on them.

I used to dwell a lot more, but these days I just want to say what I want, and do my best to get people to read what I say. For me, that means thinking about keywords but not overthinking it.

4. Edit then write email preview text

If my title is a bit long, I look for ways to cut it. If I want to say more than my title can handle, I’ll use the email preview text. (More on that later.)

Here are the dos and don’ts I follow for writing those subject lines.

Do:

Be specific: The example I used at the top of this post shows how being a bit more specific with your email subject lines can pique people’s interest.

Generality is bland, while specific statements or questions demand attention.

Consider using a question: Talking of questions, these are a good way to spark curiosity and promise valuable insights. It can’t just be any old question though—it needs to be thought-provoking and address a problem you know your reader needs to solve. 

For example, ‘Are you making these 5 marketing mistakes?’ piques interest and suggests a solution lies within the email. (To be clear: The solution must lie within the email.)

Experiment with unexpected statements: Make bold statements in your subject lines and your readers are more likely to open them. Don’t resort to clickbait (see ‘dont’s below), but do challenge conventional wisdom and promise a fresh perspective where you can.

Example: I got a creative writing email in my inbox the other week with the subject heading: ‘Remember to fail.’ I opened it.

Balance clarity with curiosity: Your email subject lines need to strike that very delicate balance between clarity and curiosity. They should give readers a clear idea of what to expect while leaving just enough mystery to entice them to click through. 

Edit ruthlessly: I don’t always follow my own rules, but try to keep email subject lines to under 50 characters. This will avoid them being cut off by some email providers. 

Whether you stick to this or not, every word needs to earn its place. For example, as I write this sentence, the current title of this newsletter issue is:

Not awful. . . but not exactly great. It’s a bit long. Hopefully I’ll do better by the time I hit send.

Test what works: Once you’ve crafted your perfect email subject line, A/B test it if you can.

For example, for last week’s issue of Write Like You Mean It, I wrote two email subject lines:

Just one teeny-tiny word different, but the second one got a higher open rate, so this week I’m using another subject line starting, ‘How I…’. (This won’t be a given for all how-to posts from now on. I will need to keep testing and iterating.) 

If you can’t (or won’t) A/B test, simply compare the open rates of all your previous emails. This will give you an indication of the type of subject lines that work and the type that flop harder than that film version of Cats.

Don’t:

Forget the email preview text: Email preview text is that snippet that appears next to the subject line in an email inbox. Like a subheading, it’s another opportunity to tease the main content and can influence your reader’s decision to open.

Use your email preview text wisely by demonstrating extra value and/or doubling down on building the curiosity of the email subject line. Just be sure that your subject line can stand on its own, as some email providers don’t show them.

Resort to clickbait: Clickbait is the junk food of marketing—it momentarily satisfies but ultimately leaves you feeling disappointed in yourself.

Avoid clickbait at all costs by making sure your email subject line accurately reflects what’s inside your email. 

Bury the lead: Get to the point. Quickly.

Overuse punctuation: Steer clear of capital letters and excessive exclamation marks. 

If your headline is good enough, you won’t need to shout.

Use marketing clichés: Marketing phrases like “Quick question” or “Don’t miss out!” are so overused they’ve become background noise. 

Be original, be unique. Be you/your brand.

Our brains like solutions, simplicity and specificity (and alliteration). Just keeping these things in mind will help you write better email subject lines. 

Also bear in mind that if it feels like clickbait and reads like clickbait, it probably is clickbait. The aim is not only to get your readers’ attention—it’s to build a trusting relationship for the longterm.

What did you think of this issue? Let me know in this inexplicably insect related poll. 👇️