The exact formula to boost your email opens

Yesterday, I talked about how copywriting is the ultimate freedom skill. To view this email as a web page, [click here]() {NAME}, Yesterday, I talked about how copywriting is the ultimate freedom skill. Business owners can learn to tweak a few words to boost their revenue. And people who learn copywriting can help other businesses grow and will always be in demand. But one of the big barriers that hold people back is knowing where to start. [Blinking cursor] Staring at the blinking cursor for hours on end. The worst! I used to agonize over writing. For years, I wanted the perfect subject line, the perfect intro, and every sentence afterwards to be perfect. I would type something out. Delete. Then stare at the blinking cursor on the blank page for what seemed like hours thinking of what to write. Now? I know the process is messy and doesn’t need to result in a perfect piece. I know I can write effective copy without worrying about making mistakes. None of this would’ve been possible without all of the testing I’ve done over the years. (Not to mention the countless all-night copywriting cram sessions.) And I want to share one of my biggest insights with you. Boost your open rates with “subject line formulas” You don’t have to spend endless hours looking on the blank screen wondering what to write. Or waste valuable time and money experimenting on your dime — or your clients’. Sure, you can go down the rabbit hole of copywriting blogs and books and get all kinds of formulas. Some are very sophisticated, and some are complete garbage (to put it politely). But these two formulas simplify everything and work well across the board consistently. [Winning subject line formulas] A benefit-driven subject line simply offers a big benefit to the reader for clicking. A curiosity-driven subject line provokes an interest or urge to want to know something, and the only way to satisfy that urge is to click and read. Both of them can be used effectively, depending on the type of email you’re writing. That’s why I tested these two subject lines against each other: Benefit-driven: “Exactly what to do to start an online business” Curiosity-driven: “Behind the scenes of my ‘online business playbook’” The benefit driven-subject line resulted in 3,000 more opens! Anybody who has been thinking about this for a while would love to know exactly what to do. That’s a HUGE benefit. In the curiosity-driven subject line, “behind the scenes” implies I’m going to reveal something. “My online business playbook” is unique in that it’s mine (Ramit Sethi’s) not anyone else’s. So right away, a reader knows it won’t be generic, start-an-online-business advice. The benefit-driven subject line had better results on this email, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes a curiosity-driven headline will win by a landslide. And sometimes, it’s a neck-and-neck race with no clear winner. That’s why we test. Now that you have these two formulas in your pocket, you’ll never have to agonize over the perfect subject line ever again. These two formulas have served me well over the last two decades, and they still produce results. (In fact, I used them to write the subject line of this very email. Can you name which formula I used?) My students use them all the time with great results, too. [Joshua Lisec testimonial]() What to do next Take a look at the subject lines you wrote yesterday. Are any of them driven by a strong benefit? Do they trigger curiosity? If so, great! If not, rework them. Come up with one strong benefit-driven version. It helps if you focus on one benefit at a time and what’s in it for the reader. In other words, answer the question: Why should I spend my valuable time clicking and reading this? Once you’ve done that, come up with a strong curiosity-driven version. It should be like an itch the reader just has to scratch. If you have a business with an email list, you have two new subject lines to use. If you’re looking to become a copywriter as a side hustle, hold onto these. You can use the before-and-after examples to start your portfolio. [Signature] P.S. If you liked this week’s emails, keep an eye out for next week. I have an entire arsenal of proven copywriting techniques that I’m going to give you access to. You may be new to IWT. Here's all the stuff we offer [Programs]() [Podcast]() [Netflix show]() [Books]() [Check out our website for more]() Follow Ramit [ig]() [fb]() [tw]() [yt]() [pc]() Was this forwarded to you? Sign up [here](). This email was sent to [{EMAIL}](). If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may [unsubscribe]( at any time. 548 Market St #89946 San Francisco, CA 94104-5401