Why should they 'open' your mail?

This report is written for internet marketers wanting to develop a relationship with their subscriber list. While this is its primary intention, many of the key points can be applied to any marketing campaign. Good headlines make all the difference.

If you haven't started building your subscriber list yet, we highly recommend using Leads Leap – full reasons for this are explained here
 

Sending emails to a subscriber list (or even a safelist for that matter) matter, is no guarantee of anything in fact it can be an extreme exercise in futility unless the recipient actually wants to receive your email.

Don’t tell me they want to because they opted into your email address – let’s be honest they wanted something you offered and frankly, unless you over-deliver from day one you’re going to get what I call the dump treatment.

Don’t tell me they're breathlessly waiting for a brand new business opportunity via some random stranger in a safelist – that’s not the way it works,

Think about it.

How many times have you deleted an email without even bothering to open it? I do it all the time... and I bet you do too. Most email senders make the same mistake - they send me 'marketing spam' with an obvious commercial message that gives me no reason to want to open them.

And, whether you realise it or not, you go through the same mental process with your emails. Your eyes scan the 'Subject' lines, your brain makes an instant (often-subconscious) decision, and you delete anything that screams 'Spam' at you...

--$5,000 EVERY FIVE DAYS!!!!
-- $250 weekly or you don't pay anything!!!
-- A MILLION-DOLLAR OPPORTUNITY - ACT NOW
– If you can mail two envelopes, you can make a fortune!
-- New and most important, FREE! - Sign up today and secure your place
-- MAKE $55,000 EVERY WEEK GUARANTEED!
-- Friend, THIS IS NOT SPAM!
-- Blah, blah, blah, blah Yaddah Yaddah Yaddah !!

And then there’s all those inane

- Call Your Bank ASAP
- Notice of Payment Received -Commission Check Waiting For You
- I need your Paypal address

Admit it now.

They’re screaming 'WASTE OF TIME' and actually encouraging me and you to delete and/or unsubscribe. So please understand this vital lesson now...

YOUR 'SUBJECT' IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR EMAIL, SPLASH PAGE OR SQUEEZE PAGE

Because your email campaign is doomed if people delete your message without ever reading it! Your subscribers aren’t waiting for your email. They will also have an in-box full of legitimate messages like yours, as well as business-related e-mail, plus personal messages from friends and family, plus the usual collection of spam.

With so many messages to sort through, they're going to do exactly the same as you and me and delete anything that doesn't catch their eye and appeal to them personally.

Effective subject lines do not “SHOUT" at you. They address you personally and offer a clear benefit that makes you want to read the email.

Now look at your own efforts and try to be honest with yourself...

• How many of your own e-mails and newsletters have your subscribers deleted because they saw nothing in the subject line that convinced them it was in THEIR interests to read what you had to say?

• How many of your emails have been trashed because the recipient assumed it was spam?

• How many of your emails have been trashed because the reader didn't recognise who they were from?

• How many of your emails could you have saved simply by rewriting the subject line? Probably a lot more than you think!

• Does your subject line force the reader to open and read your message? • Is it impossible to ignore?

• Does the recipient think, "I've just got to read this?"

• Does your subject line answer the question, "What's in it for me?" And yet there is a fairly simple 'set of rules' that will almost 'guarantee' a meteoric increase in the number of emails that get opened...
 

1. Where you can, use your subscribers' real names
 

Personalised emails are 65% more likely to be opened than those that aren't. There is no other single technique that will boost your response rate as much as this, and that's why every e-mail campaign you send should include a personalised subject line whenever possible.

Use the name occasionally in the body of the email, too. Using someone's name makes them feel as though they have a relationship with you. And nothing gets a person's attention faster than 'hearing' their own name!

This way, instead of having a subject line that says (for example),

"The secret is just a click away", you can place the variable before the subject

~firstname~ the secret is just a click away

so that each and every subscriber will read their own name like,

Graham, the secret is just a click away or

Angela, the secret is just a click away etc.

It really is as easy as that. With any decent autoresponder and most pro safelist memberships, You can personalise your mailing... it's an awesome feature and, if you have it, you should USE IT! If you cannot personalise your mailings, start with the word "Hi", or "Hello" or something like that. I prefer to use G’day – its almost part of my brand. This is just polite. Remember you are always dealing with a person
 

2. Keep the subject short

Remember, you have but a split second to catch your reader's attention, so KEEP IT SHORT. As well as that, most e-mail clients have a maximum length of about 50 characters, and even the greatest subject line on earth will be wasted if it gets cut off!

Try to limit your subject lines to 40 characters (about 4 or 5 words) or less. And remember, the average first name is already about 8 characters long, so your 'message' needs to be no more than about 30-35 characters (including spaces). The key here is to say enough to make the reader curious without disclosing too much information. Make them want to open it.
 

3. Don't use CAPITALS!!

In addition to non-personalisation, there are three sure signs that an e-mail is commercial or even spam...

1. A SUBJECT LINE THAT'S ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
2. A Subject Line With Capitalised First Letters
3. A Subject Line With Lots Of Exclamation Marks!!!!!!

Spammers 'love' capital letters and exclamation points. If you do the same, I can guarantee that (rightly or wrongly) people will assume your message is spam...

Not only do capital letters and exclamations give out 'bad vibes' by making subscribers feel that you're shouting at them, but they also make the subject harder to read. So why do it?

The more your subject line reads like personal e-mail from a friend, the more chance your message will be opened. Not only that, exclamation marks and dollar signs substantially increased the chances of your mail being flagged as spam by the filters. And, for sure, they are going to set off warning bells in the minds of the recipients.
 

4. The four sure-fire attention grabbers
 

There are four ways in which you can make your subject line grab your reader's attention...

1. Make the reader curious
2. Create a sense of urgency
3. Share some news or make an announcement
4. Clearly demonstrate a benefit to the reader

Make the reader curious

You can write subject lines that arouse the reader's curiosity, but the first paragraph of your email MUST make it clear what the connection is between the subject and the body text. Otherwise, your reader will feel cheated and will not respond to your mail the way you want him or her to.

DON'T CHEAT! Don't be tempted, for example, to write "Congratulations, you've just won first prize", and then write an email about joining your downline in some program or other. That's a spammer's trick, and people are wise to it. The easiest way to make a reader curious is to suggest that they are missing out on something important...

• ~firstname~, this one's my favourite
• ~firstname~, are you making this common mistake?
• ~firstname~, did you miss out before?
• ~firstname~, rattle my cage and see what happens
• ~firstname~, here's my response It's important when using this technique to leave something to the imagination by posing a question (real or imaginary) that the reader simply can't answer.

Create a sense of urgency

You'd better believe this... URGENCY is the best way to get people to react spontaneously. And you can create urgency in your subject lines either by limiting time or quantity.

• ~firstname~, only 24 hours left
• ~firstname~, it's now or never
• ~firstname~, there are just 20 copies left
• ~firstname~, I'm only releasing 10 copies
• ~firstname~, only for the next ten people to read this email

Urgency is especially effective if you have already promoted a product, and decide to do a follow-up

• ~firstname~, we have only two places left
• ~firstname~, there are now only eight left (But use this one sparingly, because you can easily overdo it.)

Share some news or make an announcement

People are intrigued by new things and generally want to have something before anybody else.

• ~firstname~, see it first
• ~firstname~, a new program just launched
• ~firstname~, important news just in
• ~firstname~, here's a new income-generator
• ~firstname~, be the first to see this

Clearly demonstrate a benefit to the reader

Please note the difference between a 'feature' and a 'benefit'

"Our grass cutter is twice the size" is a feature
"Our grass cutter will save you time" is a benefit

"This car uses less gas" is a feature
"This car saves you money" is a benefit

A benefit is something very specific that is good for the reader... saving money, saving time, making their life easier, etc. The key when writing subject lines that emphasise benefits is to consider your product or service from your customer's point of view...

How will they benefit from taking the time to read your e-mail? What will they learn? What will be their gain?
 

A list of winners.

Here are some excellent, proven subject line 'starters':

• Unlock...
• Open...
• How To...
• Learn...
• Discover...
• Uncover...
• ...Exposed.
• ...Revealed.
• ...Explained.
• What You...
• Profit...
• Save...
• Breaking News!...
• Special Alert!...
• Special Report!...
• Our Latest Article!...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Ways...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Tips...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Strategies...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Techniques...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Tactics...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Secrets...
• Make.
• Secrets Of...
• Top (No.) ...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Ideas...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Benefits...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Reasons...
• ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Questions... • ( No. ) ( Adjective ) Steps...

You can generate headlines quickly and effectively by using adjectives from this list and adding them to your product or service description.
 

• announcing	• astonishing	• at last
• exciting	• exclusive	• fantastic
• fascinating	• first	• guaranteed
• incredible	• initial	• improved
• love	• limited offer	• powerful
• phenomenal	• revealing	• revolutionary
• special	• successful	• super
• time-sensitive	• unique	• urgent
• wonderful	• you	• breakthrough
• introducing	• new	• how-to

And finally, a list of ready-made subject lines for you to swipe as you want. (Don't forget to make sure that they are appropriate to your message, though)

• ~firstname~, did you know about this?
• ~firstname~, do you know anything about this?
• ~firstname~, what's my secret weapon?
• ~firstname~, here's my secret weapon.
• ~firstname~, a gift to help you [insert benefit]
• ~firstname~, a hot tip to help you [insert benefit]
• ~firstname~, can we make this work?
• ~firstname~, can you help?
• ~firstname~, I think you can help me
• ~firstname~, question about project
• ~firstname~, question about my last email
• ~firstname~, something for you to think about
• ~firstname~, have you got this yet?
• ~firstname~, I need your help
• ~firstname~, are you making this mistake?
• ~firstname~, are you making the same mistake?
• ~firstname~, have you made any of these critical mistakes?
• ~firstname~, what your colleagues won't tell you
• ~firstname~, the secret that only I will tell you
• ~firstname~, this one is my favourite
• ~firstname~, which one do you prefer?
• ~firstname~, here's what I found
• ~firstname~, here's what I discovered
• ~firstname~, are you ready?
• ~firstname~, are you missing out?
• ~firstname~, are they stealing your business?
• ~firstname~, are you losing business to them?
• ~firstname~, how many customers will you lose today?
• ~firstname~, pay less than your neighbours did
• ~firstname~, pay less than your competitors did
• ~firstname~, you've waited long enough
• ~firstname~, here’s your gift
• ~firstname~, here’s the gift I promised
• ~firstname~, which do you like better?
• ~firstname~, which do you prefer?
• ~firstname~, a unique idea
• ~firstname~, I created this for you
• ~firstname~, some news about [insert description]
• ~firstname~, I thought you would like to know
• ~firstname~, be the first on your block
• ~firstname~, be the first to get this
• ~firstname~, the tool that will make or break your business
• ~firstname~, have your competitors heard?
• ~firstname~, don't miss out
• ~firstname~, you don't want to miss this
• ~firstname~, only a few left!
• ~firstname~, your last chance to get this
• ~firstname~, only 3 more days
• ~firstname~, this offer is about to expire
• ~firstname~, there's only [#] left
• ~firstname~, there's only [#] days left
• ~firstname~, I don't know how much longer I can offer this
• ~firstname~, Version [#] has just been released
• ~firstname~, here's a brand-new version
• ~firstname~, are you current?
• ~firstname~, this is the latest edition
• ~firstname~, are you using the latest edition?
• ~firstname~, is your [product description] outdated?
• ~firstname~, did you miss out last time?
• ~firstname~, before you forget
 

Thanks for reading