Very Bad Email Subject Lines

68 replies
I see a lot of people use subject lines that look like a purchase confirmation.

They say things like "Your purchase is confirmed" or "Confirmation" or "Payment received, download link enclosed."

And the first thing I think is "Has someone got unauthorised access to my account?!"

Then I find out that it's just some marketer trying to trick me into opening his email.

So first I'm fearful, and then I'm angry.

Do you honestly think I am going to buy from you now?

You have just reminded me in very strong terms how dangerous and insecure it can be ordering stuff on the internet from people you don't know.

Nice marketing strategy, dumbo.

So let's brainstorm. What kind of email subject lines might people use instead? If you want people to open your emails, what subject lines work well without pissing people off?

Personally, I put very little work into subject lines, since my list tends to open my emails just because I sent them. They know my name comes attached to emails that don't suck. And I hear that from a lot of people; they care more about the name.

But a lot of us aren't trying to be a household name, and aren't working in a niche where they have recognised authority, and the name on the email is just basically "some bloke." These people need subject lines. Sure, sure, describe what's in the email - but what should be in the email?

I like a curiosity headline, like "you're going to love this." That gets me to open an email.

What about others?
#bad #email #lines #subject
  • Dear {first_name_fix!}, how are you today?

    That's my favorite haha
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    • Profile picture of the author noangel
      I've unsubscribed from a fair few of those lately!

      The problem as I see it, is that people are focusing on
      the wrong thing... they are trying to make money at all
      costs, instead of trying to genuinely help someone with
      their product.

      The end result is that no one is helped, including their
      own bank accounts!

      Angela
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      • Profile picture of the author cbgaloot
        Originally Posted by noangel View Post

        I've unsubscribed from a fair few of those lately!
        Angela
        Does unsubscribing actually work?

        I always heard the unsubscribe button would more accurately be called the "Yes this e-mail address is good. Please Spam the H*** out of Me" Button.
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        • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
          Originally Posted by cbgaloot View Post

          Does unsubscribing actually work?

          I always heard the unsubscribe button would more accurately be called the "Yes this e-mail address is good. Please Spam the H*** out of Me" Button.
          That may be true when clicking the unsubscribe buttons of spammers trying to sell you Viagra, but this thread is pretty much about IMers that you have opted in to receive their mail.
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          • Profile picture of the author cbgaloot
            Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

            That may be true when clicking the unsubscribe buttons of spammers trying to sell you Viagra, but this thread is pretty much about IMers that you have opted in to receive their mail.
            OH!....Us honest spammers.
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            • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
              Originally Posted by cbgaloot View Post

              OH!....Us honest spammers.
              Most IMers use Aweber or something similar. The unsubscribe link is what it says. Spammers don't use reputable third party companies like that. They use software that caters to their spamming needs.
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              Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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        • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
          Originally Posted by cbgaloot View Post

          I always heard the unsubscribe button would more accurately be called the "Yes this e-mail address is good. Please Spam the H*** out of Me" Button.
          If you don't recognise the domain as a legitimate autoresponder provider, it probably is the "Yes this address is good" button.

          But the major names will protect you from that sort of thing.
          Signature
          "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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          • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
            Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

            If you don't recognise the domain as a legitimate autoresponder provider, it probably is the "Yes this address is good" button.

            But the major names will protect you from that sort of thing.
            Some "marketers" (or half-baked spammers, oblivious to their own "wrongdoings") do honour opt-out requests, even if they've obtained your email address illegitimately (e.g: bought a list on a CD-ROM, or something), I think.

            You can usually spot the ones that won't, because the link you click doesn't take you to an unsubscribe form pre-populated with your email address, and you can "successfully unsubscribe" by entering any random email address into the form they present.

            Of course, some have genuinely stored your email address in their database, and so you can't "fool them" this way.

            These days, though, what with improvements in spam-filtering, few "genuinely illegitimate" emails successfully get through to one's inbox, anyway.
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            • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
              Caliban, like yourself, I think my list opens my emails because they're from
              me so I don't think I'm a good measuring stick.

              However, I still use safelists for email marketing and I can tell you the kind
              of subject lines that seem to work very well for them.

              It comes down to one thing..."what's in it for me?"

              Use a subject where you're promising a solid benefit from opening it and
              you'll get a lot of opens.

              Some of my personal favorites that I have used with great success:

              4 Steps To Building A Biz - FREE
              30 Niches Completely Researched - Handed To You On A Silver Platter
              Free Report On How To Do Niche Research
              Blowing The Lid Off The Lies Of The Internet
              Free Report Tells WHY You're BROKE

              There are tons of others I've used over the years but I think you get the
              point. The recipient should have a damn good idea of what to expect
              once they open the email.

              At least that's what works for me. Test and see what works for you.
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              • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
                Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                Caliban, like yourself, I think my list opens my emails because they're from
                me so I don't think I'm a good measuring stick.

                However, I still use safelists for email marketing and I can tell you the kind
                of subject lines that seem to work very well for them.

                It comes down to one thing..."what's in it for me?"

                Use a subject where you're promising a solid benefit from opening it and
                you'll get a lot of opens.

                Some of my personal favorites that I have used with great success:

                4 Steps To Building A Biz - FREE
                30 Niches Completely Researched - Handed To You On A Silver Platter
                Free Report On How To Do Niche Research
                Blowing The Lid Off The Lies Of The Internet
                Free Report Tells WHY You're BROKE

                There are tons of others I've used over the years but I think you get the
                point. The recipient should have a damn good idea of what to expect
                once they open the email.

                At least that's what works for me. Test and see what works for you.
                Steven,

                If I wasn't at times such a cynical, skeptical, "intolerant" young man, I'd have unsubscribed from your list, and "ignored" your posts, a long time ago.

                Reading your (occasional?) rants brings a smile to my face in much the same way as watching George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Doug Stanhope videos.

                That's a compliment.
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              • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
                Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                Caliban, like yourself, I think my list opens my emails because they're from me so I don't think I'm a good measuring stick.
                Wrong, Steven.

                You're an excellent measuring stick.

                At least in this case.

                ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author WD Mino
    How about from -Support "your account is activated" RE"cb_some number_______ purchase"
    "I Bought this for you"

    All I do when I see crap like that now is unsub,delete.
    I now actually log into my accounts before I open the email to see if I did in fact make x before I open the email if I didn't opened and unsub'd immediately.no reading anything.
    -Will
    Signature

    "As a man thinks in his heart so is he-Proverbs 23:7"

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    • Profile picture of the author ChrisHeggem
      Your subject line should be personal and should offer value. Being assumptive or secretive will often backfire.

      Also, test out your From field.
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      • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
        Originally Posted by ChrisHeggem View Post


        Also, test out your From field.
        Yes, whenever you have an email that you think may catch some heat, always change the From field to "CDarklock".

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        Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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        • Profile picture of the author WD Mino
          Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

          Whenever I have an email that I think may catch some heat, I always change the From field to "CDarklock".
          This is why I love this forum. I now have a new way to fire off emails. E Brian Rose Presents
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  • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
    You could use...

    "Your wife is in the hospital" or "My Doctor Said I should Contact All of My Past Boyfriends"

    Both of the opening lines would be "Just kidding, buy my product..."
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    Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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    • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
      I remember one of John Reeses lines was

      Subject: "I broke Frank Kerns Nose..." or something like that.

      where he later on revealed that he was joking. it aroused curiosity, and got me to open.

      (This was years ago)
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      • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
        I'm sort of in the same boat with the Name being more important than the Subject Line.

        If I'm reading your emails it's because I'll trade my time for the value I receive from reading your stuff.

        After many years in the IM niche I tend to think I've seen it all as far as subject lines. Pretty hard to write one that makes me click just because of the subject line.

        Seems I've been overdosed with trickery and just don't feel the need for anymore "D'OH!" moments when I'm scanning my inbox.

        ~Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
        Here are a couple that could work:

        "I thought of you when I read about this"

        "Here's something I thought you might like"

        "This idea could be worth something"

        "There's a change coming soon"

        -----------------------------------------------------------

        Here are some things that would be good to keep out of the subject lines.

        "Personal" - "Yeah, right" If it is really personal, you don't need to say so"

        "I need you to . . ." "Well, I don't care what you need"

        "I want you to . . . "I don't care what you want, I care what I want"

        "This will only take a second" "Wanna bet?"
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I actually got an email that said someone had killed themselves once. Open it up and it was all about how hard they had worked on something after indicating in the subject that they actually committed suicide. I was furious. Dropped a program that I'd had an account with for about four years and even used now and again. When I wrote back and told them exactly how crude I found them - they wrote back and pointed out how many people they had subscribed. Well, la de da - then you won't miss me and I don't wanna actually pick up people that actually respond to that kind of **** as affiliates. No telling what BS tactics they would use to sell my products and what kind of grief they'd cause me in the long run.

    How bout just a note about what is actually in the letter? "New SEO methods" "New traffic techniques" -- simple but something that people in the business keep their eye on.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
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  • Profile picture of the author WhamSoft
    Yes, some people are really pushing the boundaries on subject lines.

    A while back I had this subject line "Read this or DIE."‏ apparently it was used by some medical company in the past with great success.

    I don't think you can get much worse. I mailed the guy back and called him a [insert insult here] and unsubscribed, I can't remember who it was.

    Lee
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  • Profile picture of the author aandersen
    Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

    You could use...

    "Your wife is in the hospital" or "My Doctor Said I should Contact All of My Past Boyfriends"

    Both of the opening lines would be "Just kidding, buy my product..."
    I'm all out of thanks for the day, or else I'd give you one for that.


    CD -- come on man, we've beat this one into the ground already! It's not like you to start a thread on a topic that's been discussed so many times before....


    OK, now I've got that out my system, I'll comment.


    I'm one of the "bad guys" who believe most of you complain too much about how we market.

    I think being clever (e.g., Matt Morgan's post) is always fair game. Get this, I also have no problem wtih a little trickery and decption from time to time. I don't care if you subject implies something... I don't care if you make me thinks I'm going to learn something very differnt... just make sure message does it's job and the email delivers on some level... We're all good there.

    Marketers will market, and I can respect the hustle.


    However, If someone sends me a "payment notification" or "so and so is in the hospital" message... I'm getting pissed. period. end of story

    F--- that S---



    That's not clever marketing, that's just annoying, and proof they couldn't use their brain to write a decent headline!
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
      Originally Posted by aandersen View Post

      I'm all out of thanks for the day, or else I'd give you one for that.


      CD -- come on man, we've beat this one into the ground already! It's not like you to start a thread on a topic that's been discussed so many times before....


      OK, now I've got that out my system, I'll comment.


      I'm one of the "bad guys" who believe most of you complain too much about how we market.

      I think being clever (e.g., Matt Morgan's post) is always fair game. Get this, I also have no problem wtih a little trickery and decption from time to time. I don't care if you subject implies something... I don't care if you make me thinks I'm going to learn something very differnt... just make sure message does it's job and the email delivers on some level... We're all good there.

      Marketers will market, and I can respect the hustle.


      However, If someone sends me a "payment notification" or "so and so is in the hospital" message... I'm getting pissed. period. end of story

      F--- that S---


      That's not clever marketing, that's just annoying, and proof they couldn't use their brain to write a decent headline!
      Good to know.

      Anyway, if you have to resort to subterfuge to get me to open your message, then it's the last one I'm opening. I was that way prior to being a marketer, and still feel the same way.

      A product or message should be able to stand on its own merits. If you think you have to trick people to get them to open a message, then that speaks volumes about your belief in whatever it is you're selling.

      All the best,
      Michael
      Signature

      "Ich bin en fuego!"
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      • Profile picture of the author aandersen
        Originally Posted by Michael Oksa View Post

        Good to know.

        Anyway, if you have to resort to subterfuge to get me to open your message, then it's the last one I'm opening. I was that way prior to being a marketer, and still feel the same way.

        A product or message should be able to stand on its own merits. If you think you have to trick people to get them to open a message, then that speaks volumes about your belief in whatever it is you're selling.

        All the best,
        Michael
        But let's not confuse deceit with excitement.

        ~Michael

        I get what you're saying. I'm just saying I'm more tolerant than a lot of you guys around here. So please folks, don't file me away in youre "he rips people off" category just yet.

        My point is, if John Reese wants to send me a message telling me he broke fank kern's nose, I'm not unsubscribing and banning him for life... like so many people around here suggest is the proper action.

        Look, you write something to peak my curiosity, and it gets me to open the message... that's cool with me. As I said, as long as you deliver on your promise somewhere in the body of th message (even if it wasn't in the way you initially had me thinking)
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        • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
          Originally Posted by aandersen View Post

          I get what you're saying. I'm just saying I'm more tolerant than a lot of you guys around here. So please folks, don't file me away in youre "he rips people off" category just yet.

          My point is, if John Reese wants to send me a message telling me he broke fank kern's nose, I'm not unsubscribing and banning him from life... like so many people around here suggest is the proper action.

          Look, you write something to peak my curiosity, and it gets me to open the message... that's cool with me. As I said, as long as you deliver on your promise somewhere in the body of th message (even if it wasn't in the way you initially had me thinking)
          No worries, I wasn't suggesting you're ripping people off. That's an entirely different issue than misleading subject lines.

          But as to our unsubscribing being the "proper action", darn right it is...for us. And I would recommend everybody else do the same thing. If you don't have a problem with a lack of respect from the people sending you email messages, then that's up to you.

          I'm not going to let them lie to me or trick me. And it seems as though you agree with that. The only difference is where each of us draws the line. Nothing wrong with that.

          All the best,
          Michael
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          "Ich bin en fuego!"
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by aandersen View Post

      I'm one of the "bad guys" who believe most of you complain too much about how we market.
      Nothing bad about that. Most people do complain too much about marketers. I'm a firm believer that you should market however you want to market.

      I'm also a firm believer that marketers have the same problem as consumers: they only care about their own side of the conversation.

      Marketers send a message with a goal. Consumers read a message with a goal. Both of them get so bound up in their own goals, they don't think about the other person's.

      When a consumer complains that you only sent him a link to make money, he ignores the basic reality that you are a marketer and that is your job.

      Similarly, when marketers complain that consumers complain too much, they ignore the basic reality that if the consumer is not happy he is not going to buy anything.
      Signature
      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Nothing too specific.

    I tend to use descriptive subject lines, and elipses. Every now and then I like to use alliteration for a change of pace.

    All the best,
    Michael
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    "Ich bin en fuego!"
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  • Profile picture of the author Colin Theriot
    I'm firmly in the "subjects don't matter so much when you make the FROM field matter more" camp. Of course that's a long term proposition, and even within that, you watn to use varying degrees of urgency, and then only sparingly. Writing emails isn't really hard - you just write as if you are writing an email to a professional friend. Assume they know you, not just in the copy, but in the content. Then the more content they consume, the more they will absorb your assumption, and will FEEL like you know them and they know you. And that gets more opens than anything. In fact, I find when you're doing it well, it totally screws up your metrics because people will SAVE your emails and read them days, weeks, months later. Of course, that's a good thing regardless of skewed statistics or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    Any subject line that gets attention will also get negative
    attention by some segment of your list. It's the nature
    of the beast. If you try to offend no one, then you end
    up offending everyone--with boredom that is.

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
      Originally Posted by Raydal View Post

      Any subject line that gets attention will also get negative
      attention by some segment of your list. It's the nature
      of the beast. If you try to offend no one, then you end
      up offending everyone--with boredom that is.

      -Ray Edwards
      But let's not confuse deceit with excitement.

      ~Michael
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      "Ich bin en fuego!"
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  • Profile picture of the author bhuff85
    I'm used to the outrageous subject lines or those that seem far-fetched, but it's those that try to disguise an e-mail as something personal or critical to me are what gets me to unsubscribe quickly.

    For example:

    "RE: Your Download"
    "You've received a payment from xxxx"
    "Clickbank Notification of Payment"
    "Your account is expiring soon" (for an "account" that I never created, that is)

    And so on......Marketing is one thing, but flat out deceiving people just to get an e-mail open is where I feel it crosses the line. Makes me wonder exactly just how desperate some of these guys really are.
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  • Profile picture of the author apoorv.parijat
    I'd agree with the who being more important than the what, too.

    Its weird - the purpose isn't to just get people to open the e-mail. Even if it increase the open rates but brings down the number of people who trust you and buy from you, what purpose did it serve?

    Dear {first_name_fix!}, how are you today?

    That's my favorite haha
    Don't remember the exact date but...

    I received an e-mail I think an year or so ago.

    Hey {!firstname_fix},

    This is a personal e-mail.

    ...

    The thing was that they got the tag wrong and it didn't parse my name. It just said !firstname_fix, this is personal. Funny.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Or the idiot who sends "You've got a payment" and you discover it's a whopping $1 to PayPal. "Click" - trash. I don't even want to know what the offer is. BUT - if you'd sent me a dollar note taped to a letter via snail mail, that would get my attention. Especially if the copy was good.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Mayo
    My Favorite

    RE:

    Oh, and it was sent to me from me... I have to stop spamming myself
    Bad thing is I don't even remember sending it. (I didn't)

    Have a Great Day!
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
    Caliban,

    The most compelling email subject line I have read in a long time went something like this:

    "i just had sex with ur gf"

    and my email account showed there was an attachment to the email.

    It was a cellphone photo, of my (now ex) gf.

    That's about as personal as email subject lines can get.

    From marketers, I have unsubbed from nearly all the lists and don't bother so sign up to any fresh ones anymore. But two lists I stayed on are Paul Myers TalkBiz newsletter and David Thompson's Marketing Alchemy list. They're straight shooters and don't 'try too hard' with their email subjects. They say it like it is and their content always outshines the subject line, which, to me, is what it's all about.

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
      Originally Posted by Paul_Short View Post

      Caliban,

      The most compelling email subject line I have read in a long time went something like this:

      "i just had sex with ur gf"

      and my email account showed there was an attachment to the email. It was a cellphone photo, of my (now ex) gf.
      Ya, sorry about that. All wounds heal in time. Forgive me?
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      Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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      • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
        Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

        Ya, sorry about that. All wounds heal in time. Forgive?
        If you want someone who cheats on her bf, ahem, ...

        Paul
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        • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
          Originally Posted by Paul_Short View Post

          If you want someone who cheats on her bf
          Oh, but she only did that because the other guy was so awesome.

          Certainly not because of any flaw or failing she has. :rolleyes:
          Signature
          "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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        • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
          Originally Posted by Paul_Short View Post

          If you want someone who cheats on her bf, ahem, ...

          Paul
          I think you missed the joke.
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          Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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          • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
            Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

            I think you missed the joke.
            Hmm, I admit that it has happened in the past.

            Lets see, dude sends me an email saying he stole my gf, I say you can have her, she cheats anyway. I thought it was funnier that way. It ain't my loss, it's yours, cuz you got a gf who cheats! LOL

            Paul
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            • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
              Originally Posted by Paul_Short View Post

              Hmm, I admit that it has happened in the past.

              Lets see, dude sends me an email saying he stole my gf, I say you can have her, she cheats anyway. I thought it was funnier that way. It ain't my loss, it's yours! LOL

              Paul
              I'm not sure, but I think E. was saying he was the guy who sent you "that" email. So, he can't have her, because he's already "had" her.

              I don't know, now you both have me confused!

              :confused:

              ~Michael
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              • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
                Originally Posted by Michael Oksa View Post

                I'm not sure, but I think E. was saying he was the guy who sent you "that" email. So, he can't have her, because he's already "had" her.

                I don't know, now you both have me confused!

                :confused:

                ~Michael
                Well, now I'm more confused than ever. But I'm still glad she's gone

                Paul
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                • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                  There's another side to the deceptive subject lines...

                  They may help the open rate of some people at some time, but with the multiplication of phishing scams pretending to be from legitimate companies, it would be real easy to lose any trust you might have as a sender.

                  You send me an email with "Invoice Enclosed" and then hit me with some other offer and a link, I'm forwarding that to the abuse address for anyone I can identify - PayPal, Clickbank, aWeber, or anyone else.

                  A few unhappy people on your list could be the least of your worries...

                  I'm not against clever subject lines. Even the "I broke Kern's nose" headline is clever and opening the email, you see that Reese wasn't taking himself too seriously. He knew he was being cute, and he knew that most of his audience was bright enough to see it, too. It turned into almost an inside joke, and he was including you among the insiders, rather than a deliberate intent to deceive.

                  I guess my two guidelines boil down to "don't try to scare me" and "don't insult my intelligence"...
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              • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
                Originally Posted by Michael Oksa View Post

                I'm not sure, but I think E. was saying he was the guy who sent you "that" email. So, he can't have her, because he's already "had" her.

                I don't know, now you both have me confused!

                :confused:

                ~Michael
                That was the joke that I was going for. It seems to have lost its steam now, as do all jokes that have to be explained
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                • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
                  Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

                  That was the joke that I was going for. It seems to have lost its steam now, as do all jokes that have to be explained
                  Ok, it's no wonder she left me then. She complained about having to explain jokes to me too
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                  • Profile picture of the author Coast2Coast
                    As a recepient of listage emails from quite a few regular posters here (and quite a few no longer subscribed to), I went and looked at my inbox to double check.

                    'From' column first, absolutely. If unfamiliar, forward to secondary 'trash' account, then to spambox before peeking in, then roughly 99.9% of the time, Unsubscribe.

                    Currently getting stuff from 3 different Ryans, only one of whom uses his full name, in which cases I wish they'd be a tad more descriptive in the 'Subject' column.

                    'Clever' or 'teaser' subject lines do nothing for me, because everybody's doing it, and been doing it long enough to've jaded me long heretofore.

                    My 2 cents's.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gail_Curran
      I read somewhere that a subject line like "Can you do me a favor?" gets a pretty good open rate. Or maybe I hallucinated it.

      Anyway, more often than not this subject line works on me. Even though I know deep down that the person will not really be asking for anything I can or want to provide, I still open the email. It seems to trigger my innate and twisted desire to be helpful.
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul_Short
        Originally Posted by Gail_Curran View Post

        I read somewhere that a subject line like "Can you do me a favor?" gets a pretty good open rate. Or maybe I hallucinated it.

        Anyway, more often than not this subject line works on me. Even though I know deep down that the person will not really be asking for anything I can or want to provide, I still open the email. It seems to trigger my innate and twisted desire to be helpful.
        I'll agree with Gail on that being a decent subject line and I have opened those types of emails before.

        I haven't personally tried this approach so I have no numbers to back it up whether it's effective or not, but I would also open emails if they were asking for my input on something. Like, genuinely asking for feedback inside the email too. With some creativity, these types of emails could easily be tailored to sell.

        I guess what I'm saying to Caliban is that I agree with the pert of his OP discussing how distasteful the bait and switch emails are. If the content don't match the subject, I ain't buyin and you get yourself an unsub.

        Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author James Clark
        You know what, when I see those subject lines I don't open them anyway! Yeah you might open the first one but after that you are hip to them. My guest is their open rate is dropping fast.

        I mean, you have a responsibility to protect you list members. If you don't have something of interest to say then they should not be sending me emails.
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        • Profile picture of the author Colin Theriot
          Originally Posted by Raydal View Post

          Any subject line that gets attention will also get negative
          attention by some segment of your list. It's the nature
          of the beast. If you try to offend no one, then you end
          up offending everyone--with boredom that is.

          -Ray Edwards
          True story - one time you said an email I wrote was the best email promoting anything you'd seen in a year. You probably thought Andy Jenkins wrote it though, but I'll still take the compliment.
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  • Profile picture of the author suemax
    Yeah, I get a load addressed to [first name] etc

    What I also hate is the use of the word "support" as the sender of these mails, but then even legit people use "office" for instance when replying, so will people ALL please look at what you are sending? Don't be so up yourselves that you think everyone knows who you are and why you are writing! I have thrown out many a legit mail that I'd been waiting for, when it was disguised in amongst all the spam ones, saying it was from Support or from "Office".
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  • Profile picture of the author Shazia Mirza
    I'm thinking these e-mails are aimed at the really gullible people.

    People at the warrior forum are the smart ones.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonWebContent
    My favorite SPAM emails are the ones where they try to trick you into entering your credit card/bank account information. Of course, being the sucker that I am, I always enter my credit card info and then wonder why I no longer have any money in my account a day later!! Not really.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan57
    I've noticed a lot of these crop up in one of my email accounts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ian Varnava
    Yes, the subject lines going around these days are just beyond utterly pathetic... and many from well-known marketers as well, not just from some random Newbie who didn't know any better.

    I normally just delete the e-mail and unsubscribe if the need be, no big deal.

    What these morons fail to understand is.... that if you're providing quality content, on your website and in your e-mails, then people will open the e-mail just because it is from you, like CDarklock said. I only send out pure informational e-mails (no selling) 99% of the time and the subject line is usually something describing the content of the e-mail, nothing special to get them to "open" my email. If they don't open it, they don't open it. Maybe that's a subscriber better off not being on my list anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author CyberSorcerer
    I never unsubscribe, because, I just delete the email address. It's was a throwaway anyway.

    Every time, before I signup for an opt-in, I make a new email address on one of my domains for it and then make an excel sheet to monitor the mailings coming from that address. This is for my own research in analyzing other marketers and how they market to their list.

    But bottom line is when I've had enough of that email, from that particular address, I just delete the account all together and I'm done with it!

    Yes this is why I love Internet Marketing because I love researching, studying, and analyzing things. Trying things out, etc. And in the process I even make some money doing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author darkwizgemz
    That's a good one. They would eventually view it. It a matter of trick or treat. haha
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

    I like a curiosity headline, like "you're going to love this." That gets me to open an email.

    What about others?
    I'm sorry to have to tell you this. The lab results are back.
    Can I trust you with this secret?
    If it lasts for over 4 hours, call a doctor.
    From the Law Offices of ________ and _________.
    Cease and Desist.
    I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
      I'm going to go write you an email right now.
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      "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    I've seen a lot of rants about email subject lines, lately.

    I have no problem with this one, it's really stupid to see stuff like "your payment is here" "here's your download link" etc. when it's just to push a product.

    I have seen some rants where people somehow seem offended that a marketer will try to use an email subject line that actually will get more opens, I don't see the problem with some of the ones that are actually used, just with the stupid, completely misleading and downright dishonest subject lines marketers use, like the ones in CDarklock's OP.
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  • Profile picture of the author DPWeb
    I've learned if you leave your email address to public on your blog somewhere, all the Spam Bots get it. I'm not saying don't leave an email address for your readers, I'm just saying its sure annoying.

    I hate the bank confirmation phishing emails, the fake lottery spams, the "I'm Dying and here is my inheritance," its all crap. Does that honestly work enough to be worth feeling like a creep?

    I think good headlines should get the recipient excited. Certain words for each niche will bring automatic curiosity to the reader's minds. A lot of people just cannot resist the curiosity factor. Your headline should make them click and say "no way." If you get that wow impression, you are on the right track to viral marketing gold.
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