Subject lines that always get opened (with proven templates & copy you can swipe)

Black Friday is coming up later this week, and you’re going to be flooded with To view this email as a web page, [click here]() {NAME}, Black Friday is coming up later this week, and you’re going to be flooded with ads. Let’s take a look at what makes great advertising. Once you see what I’m going to show you, you won’t be able to unsee it. * * * What was the subject line for one of the [highest opened and highest earning emails in history]()? “Hey.” Yep. It was that casual and straightforward. How is that possible? For starters, it came from Barack Obama, the president of the United States of America. So that explains a huge piece of its success. I mean, honestly... How often do you get an email from the president, just saying, “Hey”? And the better question is, would you open it? Compare that to all the coupons you’re going to get this week from LOFT or Macy’s. How many of those do you open? One out of every 10? Or worse, do they just sit in your spam folder? What’s the difference? And how can you write emails that always get opened? The slippery slope that gets your readers to open and keep reading One of the most famous copywriters of all time, Joseph Sugarman, said your copy should be “a slippery slope.” What he meant was, your reader should read the first line of your copy and then immediately slip down to the next line, slipping to the next line, and so on. And your subject line is the top of the slippery slope, like this: [The slippery slope of email] Needless to say, a great subject line can have a huge impact on your business or your career or your personal life. Personal subject lines dominate The emails I write to my readers are extremely personal. For example, I’ve written emails where I talk about listening to Whitney Houston in the gym or jamming to Miley Cyrus on Pandora. It’s casual and it’s fun. Even though my emails go out to hundreds of thousands of people, I always write to them like I would if I were writing directly to ONE person. That’s why I use personal subject lines. Rather than using marketing words and strange language, I write the subject lines just like I would to a close friend. Take a look at three of our top performing subject lines: - “We’re launching a new site” - “Lol, thanks for the advice” - “Ahh God, this question” What do you notice? They’re all super casual — just like how you’d write to a friend. One of my greatest joys is when I hear people say, “Ramit, sometimes I’ll be reading your emails and think, ‘Did he write this to just ME?’” So — why does this work? Nobody likes to be sold to. When was the last time you willingly and excitedly watched a commercial selling you something? But when was the last time you opened a text or an email from a friend? All the time. So the question is: How do you cut through the noise, get noticed, and eventually, sell to your readers? And the answer is: Don't try to sell them. Just get your message read. The only way to do that is to be more personal. This is the opposite of most marketers’ emails, whose writing screams of desperation. Think of the emails you LOVE reading. Are they overt sales pitches? Or are they something else? Treat your readers accordingly. The exact process we use to write subject lines that get 40%+ open rates and generate millions of dollars in sales For every subject line that gets sent to our readers, hundreds never see the light of day. Even with years of experience under your belt, you can’t expect to sit down, write one polished subject line, and send it to your list. You have to dig through mountains of dirt (bad subject lines) to find that one nugget of gold (a great subject line). We always start with at least four blank spaces to write subject lines for every email we create. So we’ll start with a blank template like this: [Blank subject line template] Then the brainstorming begins. We’ll just start writing out as many subject lines as we can think of, without stopping ourselves. When we start writing, it’s a stream of consciousness. For example, I might brainstorm up to 15 possible subject lines for an email about earning more money, like this: [Subject line brainstorm] And on and on. See why coming up with so many options is important? The first couple of subject lines sucked. But as I kept brainstorming — near the bottom of the list — some of these subject lines turned out strong. For example, I like this last one: I can’t believe people pay him to do this… It’s intriguing. And I could see myself sending that to a friend. Most of the time that’s all you need for a great subject line. Having said that, sometimes it’s tough to know what to say. You can sit around racking your brain all day long … but nothing seems to stick. If that happens to you, don’t worry. There are some proven copywriting formulas you can fall back on. Timeless subject line templates you can steal (how many are you seeing this week?) Lots of people have written about headline formulas before. As a general rule, I’m not a fan of them. They can come across as generic — if you’re not careful. I mean, how many times have you seen “7 productivity secrets” or “10 ways to reduce stress”? Headlines like this work a few times, but after a while of seeing the same old recycled headline formulas, it gets old. And it trains your readers not to engage with them. Not to mention, how robotic it is when every email starts the same way: “10 ways to…” or “9 things you…” That’s why I try to avoid formulaic headlines and subject lines when I can. But let’s get real. Sometimes you need a template to fall back on. They can help you if you get stuck or can help get you started with some fresh ideas. For that, I have three timeless templates I recommend. These templates have stood the test of time. They don’t rely on tricky structures or cheap listicle clickbait. They present the most desirable things to your reader in a way that’s (1) compelling and (2) overcomes a key objection. Timeless Formula #1“The only way to [achieve desirable thing] without [doing undesirable thing]” Examples: - The only way to wake up productive without feeling tired or losing sleep - The only way to eat healthy food without being hungry all the time - The only way to earn more money without giving up your full-time job And from that template you can mix things up. For example, you might put a twist on the first subject line to say this: - So you wanna wake up productive, huh? Or since our original desirable thing was “wake up productive,” we could make the subject line even more powerful by using a real example of what waking up productive means: - Get more done by noon than most people do all day Now that’s powerful. That’s how this template can help you refine and tweak your idea for a great subject line. Timeless Formula #2“[Do hard thing] in [short period of time], even if [shortcoming]” Examples: - Start a profitable side business in 30 days, even if you have no ideas right now - Double your business in 18 months, even if you suck at writing and sales - Prepare a delicious meal in 20 minutes or less, even if you’ve never cooked before Timeless Formula #3“[Achieve desirable thing] like [an expert] without [something expected]” Examples: - Dunk like LeBron James without being over 6ft tall - Get arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger without any training - Start a business like Mark Zuckerberg without any computer skills or special connections These are all pretty good subject lines. They speak to your readers’ needs in a clear, crisp way. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you write. But if you can come up with a memorable subject line, your readers will never forget it. Consider this memorable subject line: [Headline] It breaks all the rules and doesn’t follow any template. It got hundreds of comments and my readers LOVED it. Compare that to this subject line, which anybody could write: 4 ways that rich people meet their goals Meh… You can use the templates as a guide, but you should let your OWN voice shine through in your subject lines. Challenge for this week: Pay attention to the subject lines you receive Do they all sound alike? Do any of them follow the formulas above? Which ones really grab your attention? Which ones fail? Why? If you own your own business, run your subject lines through the tests above. How do they do? [Signature] WHAT TO DO NEXT Pay attention to the emails and ads you get this week. What do you notice about the subject lines? [SIGN UP]() Featured Products [Learn how to be your own boss, do what you love, and earn more.]() [What if you woke up EXCITED to go to work? I show you how to achieve it, step by step.]() [Ready-to-use mental frameworks for increased happiness, confidence, & success.]() [No guilt, no excuses, no BS. 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