She’s a doozie of a post today.
I’m going to share with you three subject lines that got high open rates and the psychology behind why they worked.
Here’s why you should care:
One client, a fitness boot camp, saw their average open rate go from 14% to 25% when I took over. On a 3K subscriber list, that’s 300+ additional peeps reading your offers – without any new marketing.
No time to waste then…
- Is Your Health Preventing You From Losing Fat?
I’ve used this one twice now and both times it was money. Whenever you can put contrasting ideas together it provokes a lot of curiosity. And curiosity is one of the marketer’s most jealously guarded tools.
(If you look carefully, you’ll notice ALL of my examples today have an element of curiosity to them.)
Back to contrast for a second. Jay Abraham likes to say, “Paradoxes excite interest.”
In this case I certainly mean ‘lack of health’. But at a glance the phrase still does its job.
How could health prevent you from losing fat?
Read on…
- Try this unusual health tip
Again, curiosity: what’s so unusual about it? Also, anytime you can say ‘try this’ or hint at a tip of some kind, by implication there’s actionable content inside.
It’s therefore perceived to be valuable.
Once you have a proven winner, rip off or recycle that sucker with gluttonous zeal, as I did this one.
“Try this unusual healing method” is a variation which also pulled an above average open rate for the client.
- PRIVATE PHOTO: How to feel beautiful, right now
This one is admittedly tactical.
And stealthy.
People are voyeurs. And we naturally yearn to be on the inside. That’s one reason tabloids sell so well even though they’re light on substance.
Anything with the words *private* or *personal* will generally outperform most openers.
So will adding *do not share* or *for your eyes only*.
I wouldn’t use these types of subject lines very often. And make sure whatever the hook is, it’s paid off early in the body of the email. Don’t leave ‘em hanging, wondering where that dang private pic is. That’ll erode trust. Other things being equal, sprinkling in a tactic here and there spices things up and keeps the interest high.
Alright, a lot of meat here.
Go back and read this one a second time to let it sink in.
There’s a lesson to be found between the lines.
Did you catch it?
What am I doing here? I’m sharing valuable content, to be sure. But while doing so, am I demonstrating my expertise? Yes siree Bob. And by using client examples I’m invoking proof of my wordsmithing prowess. Unconsciously, you’ve accepted (a) that I have clients I do this for (which makes me credible) and (b) that they’ve gotten results, notably the instant, profit-boosting hit of more eyeballs on their emails.
I know, very “meta”.
The lesson inside the lesson.
Model what I’ve done here, Grasshopper.
Happy Enticing,
Conor “Sensei” Kelly
a.k.a The Muscle @ Marketing Muscle
P.S. I’m looking for one more case study to add to the collection. If you’d like me to do all this marketing stuff for you, reply with “Case Study” in the comments, and I’ll get you the details. 🙂