Hey Bad Ass Copywriters, What Is a Good Subject Line?

yeah that one got a really good open rate from me too....

Dude, that's spot on. Reputation is the most valuable thing in business. Of course, writing great copy helps, but if you're not credible it just pisses people off. They know you're out to sell something and if you ain't got a name people trust, they ain't buyin'.

That said, I'd suggest avoiding specific words or phrases that "work," mainly because other marketers will copy you, and eventually the words will become generally regarded as "spammy." Focus instead on "types" of openings and topics...here are four that work well for me and my clients:

(This is only as they relate to the niches I write for, so keep that in mind)

1) Consistently deliver the hottest new stories in your niche. If they know they can hear it from you first or you ONLY, they'll read your emails. This works best in financial niches, marketing and "how to make money" niches. SEOmoz does a bangup job of this and so does NIA.
2) Say something controversial, make sure it's relevant to your niche. This works great in the dating niche and sometimes in the personal growth niche. You have to be badass to pull it off in the marketing niche. David Wygant is a master of this, check out his newsletter. In the marketing niche, check out Dan Kennedy.
3) Use "How to..." and talk about something they really need to know how to do. This works really well in technical niches, web design, programming, anything involving technology. It bombs out pretty bad in the personal growth niche, average results in the marketing niche.
4) List type headlines. 7 Ways to____, 5 Most Popular____. This can work in any niche, but is most effective when combined with one of the above three.

Couple other things. I've noticed that using their first name in the subject line has been bombing lately. Makes sense because the moment I see "Seth" in an email subject, I know it's a marketing email. If you're in the personal growth niche, avoid negative words not, don't, isn't etc.

Words like "quick," "fast" "simple" and "easy" still work like crazy in biz opp niches, weight loss, dating and sometimes in personal growth.

But again, it's all about being somebody. A great reputation is the best sales strategy

@GamerDiehard It can be prospects, readers, or whoever your target audience is. Glad you liked the points!

Yes Carlton is the man....I love his writing style...and also saw this subject in his email sent to me....thanks

Two people I pay attention to in my email inbox is Matt Furey and Ben Settle. Both are great at creating email headers that get attention. Furey sells exercise and health info products. Settle sells his "email secrets" in a monthly print-only newsletter.

Some of Furey's:

Oh, My Aching...
No More Shoulder Pain
You Changed My Life (that one is pure gold)
Doctors Make You Fat

Settle goes a different route. A waaaay different route. His mission is to entertain while always pitching his product. Here are some of his (often hilarious) email headers:

You know what they say about guys with big lists...
Mocking the naysayers with the "F Word"
Why I'm such a fart about endorsing auto-responders
Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by

What all of those headers have in common is a strong curiosity-arousing statement. Some of them have the reader shaking his head, saying, "Okay. I'll bite. I've got to read this to figure out what he's saying!"

It's all to grab attention and to do it quickly (and stand out from the mammoth amount of email in one's inbox). You have to be different. None of this, "Who else wants to be a gazillionaire" type of header. Too many people have done it. You have to go a different route and both Furey and Settle have figured out how to do it.

The one thing I've discovered in sending out a monthly email newsletter - skip saying it's a newsletter. Don't bother. Just use a curiosity-arousing header, simple as can be. I used to send out a newsletter that would say, "January 2010 Zippity Doo Dah Newsletter: 3 Ways to Blah Blah Blah." It was too much. Plus, I think a lot of people are burnt on the word "newsletter."

My last email campaign, I used a headline like Settle's. I had a 47% open rate and a 15% click-through rate. I agree with those who said open rates can be deceiving. If someone has an email client that has a preview mode, then as soon as their cursor lands on the email itself, the preview counts as an open -- even if the person deletes it immediately.

I look for those folks who have opened the email several times. That shows engagement. But the real sweet spot is when people start clicking through your links. Then you really know they're engaged.

Another one of my favorite "email kings" is Drayton Bird. He's an older guy, but brilliant. He worked with David Ogilvy and is still cranking out copy like mad. Like Settle, he also emails every day (Mon.-Fri.) He writes funny, self-depracating stuff like, "Silly old me - an apology" and "A shameful confession."

My email inbox is really a secret email copywriting school.