Deadly Effective Email Subject Lines to Supercharge Your Email Marketing Campaigns

There was a recent study done of deadly effective email subject lines and I think some of these subject lines will inspire you as you put together email marketing campaigns.  Here are the reasons behind why they were found to be effective:

SELF INTEREST

In broadcasting we often said that everyone’s favorite station is W.I.I.F.M. – What’s In It For Me

WIIFM subject lines are your go-to subject lines – you should be using them most frequently. They are usually direct and speak to a specific benefit your audience will gain by opening the email.

Self-Interest subject lines also help pre-qualify openers by giving them a clue about your email’s body content.

CURIOSITY

Once in a while, offer a cliffhanger, or something that is odd or interesting.

Curiosity-based email lines pique the interest of subscribers without giving away too much information, leading to higher opens.

Be careful though because curiosity-based subject lines can get old fast and are the most likely to miss their mark.

FREE (Or Discounted) OFFER

Do you like free stuff? Do you like to buy things?

So do people on your email list.

When you are giving something away or selling something your subscribers would be interested in, directly stating that in your subject line is a great way to convince them to open the email and learn more.

URGENCY

One days sales or limited supplies are incredible motivators.

Subject lines that communicate urgency and scarcity tell readers they must act now. Too many of these can lead to list exhaustion so use sparingly and, of course, only when there is truly a deadline, limited quantity, or limited availability.

HUMAN INTEREST

We’ve seen incredible results from business who highlight their local humanitarian outreaches.

Sometimes you need to thank your subscribers for their participation in a local fundraiser, tell them a story about how your business impacted the community, or make a human appeal for their attention.

NEWS

People love knowing the latest news – especially news about products and organizations that interest them.

Keeping your audience informed about new developments in your field builds authority and keeps your open rates high. These subject lines often work well when combined with a curiosity element.

SOCIAL PROOF

Testimonies and satisfied customers help to draw in new customers like a magnet.  A fundamental characteristic of humans is that we look to the behavior of others when making decisions.

You can leverage this in your email subject lines by mentioning individual’s success stories, familiar names, or highlighting how many people are already using a product or service.

A GREAT STORY

Great stories sell more products than great sales pitches.  Telling a story, or at least teasing the beginning of one, in your subject line is a unique way to highlight a benefit and get the open rate you’re looking for.

75 Effective Email Subject Lines –

Adapted from content we own from Digital Marketer

  1. (Your Conference) in (an Exotic Location)?
  2. Your one Page Cheat Sheet on _______________
  3. Sale Up, Refunds Down, Retention Up
  4. Your private invitation expires tomorrow night
  5. Hiring a ___________? Here is your guide
  6. Let’s fix you your offer together
  7. ________ + _________ Tech Stack
  8. I have some good news and some bad news
  9. 4 critical question your business must answer right now
  10. I promise… It’s worth it!
  11. Our 7 best Facebook ads
  12. Start using this new Facebook ad type
  13. [Flash Sale] 85% off our _________________
  14. What happens when you’re approved?
  15. Your Content Campaign Planner (Google doc)
  16. [EMAIL TEMPLATE] Fix your company’s biggest marketing issue
  17. (Conference) Day 1 Highlights – News
  18. [In Case You Missed It] How to Hire The Right Content Marketer…
  19. [LAST CHANCE] 85% off sale ends today!
  20. [CHECKLIST] Get up to 20% better email deliverability
  21. New Facebook Group features – this is BIG
  22. The Best of (your convention)
  23. Livestream for (your convention) this year?
  24. Tomorrow’s the day…
  25. Swipe these 5 killer traffic campaigns
  26. The 30-Second Sales Pitch
  27. Massive changes coming to _____________
  28. [Infographic] How to have the ultimate experience at ______________
  29. Is this you?
  30. Open up for our best content
  31. Facebook + Pinterest + Video = More Closed Sales
  32. You’re Invited
  33. Paid traffic not converting? Download this…
  34. Here’s the REAL reason Amazon is buying Whole Foods
  35. I knew I was right…
  36. FINAL NOTICE: “Perfect Offer Mini-Class”
  37. ________ surprised me with 18 more sessions
  38. Digital Marketing Mastery is open!
  39. Brand NEW (and free) Training: 3 Steps To a Perfect Offer
  40. How we got 1,329,572 “earballs” in 20 months
  41. This, friends, is how you sell with email…
  42. Class closes down tonight…
  43. Important message (about tomorrow’s big announcement)
  44. $7 today, $47 tomorrow
  45. Blog posts that sell (a complete guide)
  46. The guy who made $1,015,209 in one day… on Amazon
  47. Let’s build the perfect __________ ad campaign, together (for free)!
  48. Claim your free ___________________!
  49. The highest-level training we offer
  50. Re: Frequently Asked Question #1
  51. [Subscriber] Are you familiar with ________________
  52. Your perfect product launch for $_______
  53. Landing Page Not Converting? Try This!
  54. Join me today at ______pm
  55. Ask me anything?
  56. [85% Off] 3 Proven ______________ Campaigns to Run Today…
  57. Join me in congratulating…
  58. For advanced marketers only!
  59. The BIG shift that’s happening right now (and what it means for you)
  60. [POLL] Can you answer this?
  61. [FLASH SALE] My 11-step business launch plan (and templates)
  62. Finally monetize your email list…
  63. Earn your (super-rare) “_________________”
  64. [Free PDF Download] Claim our _____________ File
  65. Does your _____________ suck?… or is it ‘perfect’?
  66. Your (this year) Business Growth Plan –
  67. Do NOT launch your product or service without this ______________
  68. [CASE STUDY] 30 minutes of work -> _______________ pageviews
  69. WIN a day with __________________ & ___________________!
  70. The little_____________ tweak that halved lead cost
  71. Does your ad type match your offer?
  72. Turn ice cold prospects into buyers
  73. Exciting announcement (and special invitation)*
  74. How he built a $20M ecommerce brand
  75. Facebook Targeting Expansion: The Test (and the results…) – Self-Interest

 

Here is another article about how to build an email sales machine

 

Want more Creative Ideas?

A complete list of blog post ideas as well as a huge list of helpful email subject lines is available in our guide.  The list alone is worth the price of the guide!