THE EMAIL GROWTH SHOW EPISODE 153

Today, we’re tackling a super important part of email marketing – one that can literally make or break your email campaigns: writing email subject lines that actually get your email opened. Because let’s face it, you can have the best content inside your email, but if no one opens it, it’s all for nothing, right?

Today I’m sharing 5 proven strategies for writing winning email subject lines that grab attention and entice your audience to open. These tips have not only helped me achieve consistently high open rates (45% or higher) but have also worked wonders for my 1:1 clients and membership members.

Click play to listen to the episode in full:

Why Do Email Subject Lines Matter?

First things first, why do email subject lines matter so much? Your email subject line is essentially the gatekeeper of your email. It’s the first impression, the ‘thing’ that convinces someone to open and read. Think of it like the headline of a news article – if it’s not compelling, no one’s going to bother reading what’s inside.

Here’s a crazy stat from an Optin Monster article I found: 47% of people open an email based on the email subject line alone! That means almost half of your audience makes a split-second decision based on those few words. And what’s even more surprising? About 69% of email recipients report an email as spam based solely on the subject line… and we want to avoid being marked as spam as much as we can help it!

So, mastering the art of email subject line writing is crucial if you want your emails to get opened and read.

And remember, it’s not just about getting the open – it’s also about setting the tone for the entire email. If your subject line creates intrigue, urgency, or promises value, it primes your reader to engage with the content inside.

But if it falls flat, your amazing email content goes to waste.

5 Proven Strategies for Writing Winning Email Subject Lines

Alright, let’s dive into the good stuff – my top five strategies for writing winning email subject lines that will help you boost your open rates.

1. Use Curiosity to Spark Interest

People are naturally curious, and tapping into that can work wonders for your subject lines. Think about headlines that make you go, ‘Wait, what?’ that’s the power of curiosity. For example, try using something like ‘You Won’t Believe What Happened Last Week’ or ‘The Secret to Growing Your Email List…’

Action Step: Go through your existing content and pull out a surprising fact or result. Turn it into a curiosity-driven subject line that makes people think, ‘I need to know more.’ The key is to give just enough information to make them want more, without giving everything away. Avoid being misleading, though – your email should deliver on the promise of your subject line.

2. Create a Sense of Urgency or Scarcity

Urgency works because it plays on FOMO – fear of missing out. Subject lines like ‘Last Chance to Grab This’ or ‘Only 3 Spots Left!’ can drive your audience to take immediate action.

Action Step: Look at your upcoming promotions, sales, or time-sensitive offers. Use phrases like ‘Ends Tonight’ or ‘Only Until Midnight’ to create that urgent nudge. Just remember, don’t overuse urgency – reserve it for genuine scenarios to maintain credibility and continue to build that trust with your email list.

3. Personalise Your Subject Lines

Personalisation goes beyond just adding someone’s first name. Think about including details that make your reader feel seen, like referencing past purchases or interests. For example, ‘Hey Sarah, This Is Just for You’ or ‘Your Perfect Community Is Waiting For You.’

Action Step: Use your email platform’s data to personalise your subject lines with details that matter to your audience. Try experimenting with personalisation beyond names – consider mentioning location, past interactions, or any unique details you have about your subscribers. This is where segmenting your list can come in handy – if you want to dive more into what that can look like, check out: How To Level Up Your Email Marketing for an 1000+ Email List where I dive more into some simple segmentation practices you can try!

4. Make It Benefit-Driven

Your audience wants to know, ‘What’s in it for me?’ A benefit-driven subject line answers that question right away. Focus on the outcome your email provides. For example, ‘How to Double Your Sales in 30 Days’ or ‘Get More Done with This Simple Trick.’

Action Step: Next time you write a subject line, ask yourself: What’s the key benefit the reader will get? Rewrite it to highlight that. Make it clear and specific, so they instantly see the value in opening your email.

5. Keep It Short and Sweet

And lastly, but I argue most importantly – remember, to keep them short & sweet. Email subject lines often get cut off, especially on mobile devices. Keeping them short – ideally under 50 characters – ensures your full message is seen. For example, ‘New Offer Inside’ or ‘Quick Tip for Better Results.’

Action Step: Use a character count tool when drafting subject lines and try writing three versions – short, medium, and long. Test them on your phone to see what gets cut off. Stick with the short version that packs the most punch.

Some Common Mistakes to Avoid With Your Email Subject Lines

Now that we’ve covered the best practices, let’s talk about some common mistakes to avoid with your email subject lines that can harm your open rates.

Mistake #1: Being vague or misleading. If your subject line promises something, make sure the email delivers on that promise. Misleading subject lines might get clicks initially, but they’ll damage trust and hurt your long-term engagement…

Mistake #2: Using all caps or too many exclamation points or emoji’s. It looks spammy and can often lead to your emails landing in the dreaded spam folder. Keep your subject lines professional and clean, and let your words do the talking.

Mistake #3: Relying solely on clickbait. Clickbait can work once or twice, but it’s not sustainable. You want to build trust, not trick people into opening your emails. Plus, this will lead to a higher rate of subscribers leaving, when all you wanted them to do was open your email.

Action Step: Go through your recent subject lines and audit them for these mistakes. Replace anything that could seem misleading, overly salesy, or too pushy.

The Importance Of Testing & Tweaking Your Email Subject Lines

One of the best ways to improve your subject lines is through testing. Try A/B testing different subject lines to see which ones perform best for your audience. Maybe test a curiosity-driven subject line against a benefit-driven one, or compare personalisation against a standard format. Remember, this is a relationship we’re building so it’s important that we get to know what our perfect person likes to open, so we can tailor our email subject lines to them – and the only way we can find this out, is by testing and tweaking those subject lines!

Now, if you have no idea how to do this – simply google ‘how to A/B test with – and the name of your email service provider. I personally use and rave about ConvertKit – and they make it super easy right on the broadcast page where you write your email – here’s my affiliate link in case you want to try them out!

Action Step: Set up A/B tests in your email platform. For your next email, draft two versions of the subject line using different strategies and let the data guide you. Look at your open rates at least 24 hours after you’ve sent it, but also track other metrics like click rates and responses to see which style resonates most with your audience.

So there you have it – five proven strategies to write email subject lines that get opened – and some mistakes to avoid as well. Remember, your email subject line is your first impression, so make it count. Use curiosity, urgency, personalisation, and benefits, and keep it short and to the point.

Avoid common mistakes, and don’t forget to test and tweak along the way.

I hope you found these tips helpful, and I can’t wait to hear about the subject lines you create! If you want more support when it comes to growing, nurturing or selling to your email list, check out my membership, The Email Growth Club! I’d love to support you with this!

Until next time, keep growing, keep connecting, and keep nailing those subject lines!

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Full Transcript:

Kylie Kelly [00:00:04]:
Are you a female business owner frustrated with battling the algorithm and looking for growth strategies that don’t involve awkwardly pointing or dancing online or throwing cash at paid ads? Welcome to The Email Growth Show. I’m your host, Kylie Kelly, visibility and email marketing strategist. I grew my email list from 0 to almost 10,000 subscribers in less than 2 years, and the same is possible for you too. Are you ready to build your email list and start making more money in your online business? Let’s head into today’s episode. Hey there. Welcome back to The Email Growth Show. I’m your host, Kylie Kelly, and today we’re tackling a super important part of email marketing, one that can literally make or break your email campaigns, writing email subject lines that actually get your email opened. Because let’s face it.

Kylie Kelly [00:00:53]:
You can have the best content inside your email, but if no one opens it, it’s all for nothing. Right? So if you’ve been struggling with low open rates or feel like your emails are getting lost in crowded inboxes, stick around. You are going to love this episode. Today, I’m sharing 5 proven strategies for writing winning email subject lines that grab attention and entice your audience to open. These tips have not only helped me achieve consistently high open rates, 45% or higher, but have also worked wonders for my 1 to 1 clients and membership members. So grab your pen and paper and let’s dive in. So first things first. Why do email subject lines matter so much? Your email subject line is essentially the gatekeeper of your email.

Kylie Kelly [00:01:36]:
It’s the first impression, the thing that convinces someone to open and read. Think of it like the headline of a news article. If it’s not compelling, no one’s going to bother reading what’s inside. Here’s a crazy stat from an OptinMonster article I found. 47% of people open an email based on the subject line alone. That means almost half of your audience make a split second decision based on those few words. And what’s even more surprising, about 69% of email recipients report an email as spam based solely on the subject line. And we want to avoid being marked as spam as much as we can help it.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:13]:
So mastering the art of email subject line writing is crucial if you want your emails to get opened and read. And remember, it’s not just about getting the open. It’s also about setting the tone for the entire email. If your subject line creates intrigue, urgency, or promises value, it primes your reader to engage with the content inside, which is what we want. But if it falls flat, your amazing email content goes to waste. Alright. So let’s dive into the good stuff. My top five strategies for writing winning email subject lines that will help boost your open rates.

Kylie Kelly [00:02:46]:
Number 1. Use curiosity to spark interest. Now people are naturally curious and tapping into that can work wonders for your subject lines. Think about headlines that make you go, wait, what? That’s the power of curiosity. For example, try using something like, you won’t believe what happened last week or the secret to growing your email list. Now, of course, the secret might be different for you and what you do, but for me, that one would work really well. So what I want you to do is go through your existing content and pull out a surprising fact or result. Turn it into a curiosity driven subject line that makes people think, oh, I need to know more.

Kylie Kelly [00:03:24]:
The key is to give just enough information to make them want more without giving everything away. Avoid being misleading, though. Your email should deliver on the promise of your subject line. Number 2. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity. Now urgency works well because it plays on FOMO. Right? Fear of missing out. Subject lines like last chance to grab this or only 3 spots left can drive your audience to take immediate action.

Kylie Kelly [00:03:51]:
So what I want you to do is look at your upcoming promotions, sales or time sensitive offers. Use phrases like ends tonight or only until midnight to create that urgent nudge. Just remember, don’t overuse urgency. Reserve it for genuine scenarios to maintain credibility and continue to build that trust with your email list. Alright. Number 3 is personalise your subject lines. So personalisation goes beyond just adding someone’s first name. Think about including details that make your reader feel seen like referencing past purchases or interests.

Kylie Kelly [00:04:26]:
For example, hey, Sarah. This is just for you. Or your perfect community is waiting for you. And how do we do this? So we want to use our email platform’s data to personalise your email subject lines with details that matter to your readers. Try experimenting with personalisation beyond names. Consider mentioning location, past interactions or any unique details you have about your subscribers. This is where segmenting your list can come in handy. If you want to dive more into what that can look like, scroll back to episode 139, which was titled how to level up your email marketing for a 1,000 plus email list.

Kylie Kelly [00:05:01]:
And I dive more into some simple segmentation practices that you can try. But in a nutshell, it’s really just adding tags and adding labels to your subscribers in line with the actions that they’ve taken or the products that they’ve purchased. Just so that when you go to send that next email, you can personalize it a little bit further. I’ll put the link to Episode 139 in the show notes for you below as well. Now number 4. Make it benefit driven. Your audience wants to know what’s in it for me. In today’s world when our inboxes are already really full, we need to use benefit driven subject lines that answer that question right away.

Kylie Kelly [00:05:35]:
Focus on the outcome that your email provides. So some examples. How to double your sales in 30 days or get more done with this simple trick. Right? So next time you write a subject line, ask yourself what’s the key benefit the reader will get. Rewrite the email subject line to highlight that. Make it clear and specific so they instantly see the value in opening your email. And lastly, number 5. Keep it short and sweet.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:00]:
So this one, I argue, is probably the most important. Remember to keep it short and sweet. Email subject lines often get cut off, especially on mobile devices. So keeping them short, ideally under 50 characters, ensures your full email subject line is seen. I often see this with the members of the Email Growth Club. I do email audits for the premium members and often the email subject lines are just too long. So, for example, short little ones like new offer inside or quick tip for better results. So regardless of what device they’re checking their inbox with, your email subject line will be seen in full.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:34]:
So use a character count tool when drafting subject lines and try writing 3 versions. Do a short one, a medium one and a long one. Test them on your phone and see what gets cut off. Always stick with the short version that packs the most punch. So just to wrap up those 5 tips. Number 1 was to use curiosity to spark interest. Number 2. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity.

Kylie Kelly [00:06:58]:
Number 3. Personalise your subject lines. Number 4. Make it benefit driven. And lastly, keep it short and sweet. Now that we’ve covered the best practices, let’s talk about some common mistakes to avoid with your email subject lines that can harm your open rates. So mistake number 1 is being vague or misleading. If your subject line promises something, make sure the email delivers on that promise.

Kylie Kelly [00:07:23]:
Misleading subject lines might get clicks initially but they’re going to damage trust and hurt your long term engagement. We do not want that. Mistake number 2 is using all caps or too many exclamation points or emojis. It looks hella spammy and can often lead to your emails landing in the dreaded spam folder. Keep your subject lines professional and clean and let your words do the talking. And then mistake number 3 is relying solely on clickbait. Clickbait can work once or twice, but it’s not sustainable. You want to build trust, not trick people into opening your emails.

Kylie Kelly [00:07:57]:
Plus, this will lead to a higher rate of subscribers leaving when all you wanted them to do was open your email. So I’d love you to go through your recent subject lines and audit them for these mistakes. Think about any that are too vague, that might be seen as misleading, any that are using all caps or too many emojis or exclamation points or any that are a bit clickbaity and replace them with better versions. Right? Keep these mistakes in mind as you continue to create these email subject lines and your email deliverability and your open rates are going to be all the better for it. Now I’ve given you those 5 tips, but arguably you wouldn’t be doing them all at once. So how do we take action from here? What I would love you to do is start AB testing. So maybe test a curiosity driven subject line against a benefit driven one or compare personalization against a standard planar format. Remember, this is a relationship that we’re building with your email list.

Kylie Kelly [00:08:53]:
So it’s important that we get to know what our perfect person likes to open so we can then tailor our subject lines to them. And the only way we can find this out is by testing and tweaking those email subject lines. Now if you have no idea how to do this, simply Google how to AB test with and the name of your email service provider. I personally use and rave about ConvertKit and they make it super easy right on the broadcast page where you’re writing your email. I will put my affiliate link in the show notes in case you want to try them out. But, again, all email service providers will do this. So a simple Google should give you instructions on how you can AB test different subject lines to see what resonates with your current subscribers, with your audience, with your perfect person. So your action step from today, I want you to set up some AB tests in your email platform.

Kylie Kelly [00:09:43]:
For your next email, draft 2 versions of the subject line using one of the different strategies that I mentioned above and let the data guide you. Look at your open rates around 24 hours after you’ve sent it, but then also track other metrics like click rates and responses to see what style resonates most with your audience. So there you have it. Five proven strategies to write email subject lines that get opened and some mistakes to avoid as well. Remember, your email subject line is your first impression, so let’s make it count. Use curiosity, urgency, personalization and benefits and keep it short and to the point. Avoid common mistakes and don’t forget to test and tweak along the way. I hope you found these tips helpful, and I can’t wait to hear about the subject lines you create.

Kylie Kelly [00:10:29]:
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps me reach more amazing entrepreneurs just like you. And if you want more support when it comes to growing, nurturing, or selling to your email list, come on over to my website, kyliekelly.com, and check out my membership, The Email Growth Club. I would love to support you with this. Until next time, my loves. Keep growing, keep connecting and keep nailing those subject lines. I’ll see you next week. Bye for now.

Kylie Kelly [00:10:57]:
Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Email Growth Show. I hope you found valuable insights into the next steps you can take to grow your email list and boost your business without relying on social media or paid ads. If you enjoy this episode please take a moment to rate and review the show and share it with others. Your feedback helps me reach more female entrepreneurs just like you, who are ready to say goodbye to social media and leverage email marketing to grow their business and make a bigger impact. Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you in the next episode.