subject line secrets

8/21/2019 Subject Line Secrets

1/117

i

Subject Line Secrets

How to CompelYourSubscriberstoOpen Your

Emails and

Take Action Now!

Paul B Evans


2/117

Subject Line Secrets: How to Compel Your Subscribers to Open Your EmailsAnd Take Action Now!

Page ii

Copyright List Driven Profits

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this report may be re-

produced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic,

or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by anyinformational storage or retrieval system without express

written, dated and signed permission from the author.

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:

The information presented herein represents the view of the

author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with

which conditions change, the author reserves the right to al-

ter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The

report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt

has been made to verify the information provided in this re-

port, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assumeany responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any

slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice

concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services ofa fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is

not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting ad-

vice. You should be aware of any laws which govern business

transactions or other business practices in your country and

state. Any reference to any person or business whether living

or dead is purely coincidental.


3/117

Paul Evans is the president of Info Market Results,

LLC - parent company of Nicheol-

ogy.com and ContentGoldmine.com.

He is a partner in four offline businesses and

operates four online businesses.

Paul's entrepreneurial bent started at age 20when he and a friend opened a fitness cen-

ter. They built the business for almost two

years then sold it. He registered his first website back in1998 and the site is still making money today!

Paul helps companies and individuals make more money

through email marketing.

Paul serves as the executive director of

http://www.100xmissions.org/www.100xMissions.org. A faith

based non-profit organization that assists in the building and

support of orphanages around the world.

www.ListDrivenProfits.com


4/117


Page iv

10:10Abundant Life


5/117

5

Introduction:

Were going to be talking about How to CompelYour Subscribers to Open Your Emails and

Take Action Now!

Opened ornot opened.

The results from every email mini-course, everyemail newsletter, everyautoresponder message,every solo mailing ... I.E. Any email you send...are completely at the mercy of that set of two op-tions.

Opened ornot opened.

If your mailing is notopenedby your

subscriber, then you have absolutely zerochance of getting that subscriber to respondto whatever is inside. Ouch.

If your mailing isopened, then it's up tothe message inside to get the subscriber torespond as you desire. (Hint: This is the bet-

ter of the two options :-)

Your success or failure as an email marketer is de-

pendent firstly upon getting your subscribers toopen your emails.

Don't make this more complicated than it is.


6/117


Page 6

Sidebar: Sometimes we forget that muchof marketing comes down to a simple set of

two options ...

Did a website visitor order, or not order?

Did they opt-in, or not opt-in?

Did the change in headline improve conver-

sion, or not improve conversion?

Got it?

There's a positive option, and a negative

option. I'll let you decide which is which. :-)

The magic ratio for email marketing is simple...

---------------The number of subscribers who RESPOND to yourmailings is directly proportional to the number ofsubscribers who READ your mailings.

---------------

It's a numbers game.

If you have 1,000 subscribers and 5% openyour email (50 subs) and 10% of those actu-ally take action (5 subs) you have a total of 5responses / 1,000 subscribers.

If you have 1,000 subscribers and 10% openyour email (100 subs) and the response rate


7/117


Page 7

(10%) stays the same, then you'll have 10

responses / 1,000 subscribers.

The more people who openyour emails, the more

people who respondto your emails.

Of course, getting your subscribers to open youremails can, in itself, be a bit of a tricky propositionthese days. You don't have to look very hard to re-

alize that email results ain't what they used to be.

The good news is...

You CAN Increase the Number of

Subscribers Who Open Your Email!

I've been experimenting with lists for years and amgoing to give you a first look at some of my mostsuccessful email marketing campaigns, why theyworked and - most importantly - how you can put

them to work for yourself.

This presentation, and the accompanying tran-

script, will be divided into two parts:

In part one, Ill be sharing 20 tips

with you for increasing your open rateand,

In part 2, Ill be highlighting 20 ofthe best templates that you can copyand paste for use with your opt-inlists.

Im really excited about what were going to coverduring our session here and Im convinced that this


8/117


Page 8

will become a resource that youll refer to time andtime again as you continue working with new mes-sages to broadcast to your various databases of

subscribers and customers.

So, lets go ahead and get started with Part 1, our

Tips section...


9/117


Page 9

Part 01:

Subject Line

Tips


10/117


Page 10

Subject Line Secret 01:Abide by the DOs and

DONTs

And the first Subject Line Secret is Abide by theDOs and DONTs. There are a lot of generalizedthings that list owners simply must do and mustnot do that really are almost common sense, but ifI dont mention them, then Id be doing you a dis-service.

Rather than spread them out over a bunch of dif-ferent tips, Ive just compiled them all into this onetip that were calling, Abide by the DOs andDONTs. I realize this is going to be kind of basic,

but I gotta include them anyway.

Stay away from the appearance ofSPAM.Certain subject lines just look like SPAM.

They make outrageous claims. THEY USEALL CAPS. They have exclamation marksbleeding off into the sunset!!!!!!!!! They tryto get your @ttention with symbols and soforth. Avoid looking like SPAM. The surestway to get your email deleted is to resemblethe one thing that every person who has anemail address hates SPAM.


11/117


Page 11

Avoid the use of $$$$ and @@@ andother symbols.Yes, it will draw attention to your email enough attention for your subscriber to whiskyou off into the trash quicker than you can

say Delete button.

Keep it under 50 characters.The shorter you can convey your subject linemessage, the better. Depending upon theinterface and configuration of your subscrib-ers inbox, they may miss out on anyinformation that comes after the 50 charac-ter mark. Fire your biggest gun up front andkeep it as short as possible.

Dont mislead your subscribers.Whatever you do, avoid trickery. If you haveto resort to some kind of gimmick to getthem to open your email, then (a) You ha-vent been paying attention, because youdont need to mislead, and (b) Youre gonnaruin your credibility and trust with your sub-scribers. Thats as good a way to destroy alist as anything on the planet. Dont getyour subscribers to open your email under

false pretenses. Trickery will work once, butit wont work twice because theyll nolonger be on your list!

Dont be all business.You want to avoid a boring, uninteresting,uninspiring subject line like a rabid pack ofDobermans. ! No offense intended to any-

one who uses this technique, but Bobs


12/117


Page 12

Ezine #101 doesnt make me want to openup and read it makes me want to open upand say aaah, because Im getting sick!Theres a way to brand your newsletter or

ecourse or list name in the subject line with-out being boring and well talk about it next.The important thing to remember is YOUWANT YOUR SUBSCRIBERS TO BEINTERESTED ENOUGH TO OPEN YOUR EMAILAND READ IT. Boring just doesnt make the

grade.

So, those are some basic DOs and DONTs thatyoull definitely want to keep in mind when design-

ing your email subject lines.


13/117


Page 13

Subject Line Secret 02:Create a Brand

Number two is to Create a brand. As I men-

tioned earlier, you can brand your newsletter orecourse or list name in your subject line withoutbeing boring and, in fact, if you do it correctly, itcan certainly increase the number of subscriberswho actually open your email and read on.

When I say create a brand, I mean create some1-2 word tagline that is included in every mailingyou send to your list to identify the message asbeing from YOU.

If you offer valuable content and recommendationsto your list members, then they will learn to LOOKfor your messages by looking for your brand.

I know this: When I receive anythingthat reads Sales Caffiene, I knowits from Jeffery Gitomer and I imme-diately read it because I know itsvaluable. Jeffereys been doing it foras long as I can remember.

And Ive been reading his newletterfor as long as I can remember.

The brand gets my attention, eventhough I receive about 800-1000 emailmessages per day.

Enough said.


14/117


Page 14

Thats important to mention here: yourbrand must be equated in the mind of your sub-scribers with value.

The reason Gitomers mailings get my attention(and the attention of countless others) is because Iequate Sales Caffiene with value.

It wont help you to use email brands if your sub-scribers dont recognize the importance of readingyour specific messages.

Email branding and message value must beholding hands at all times.

If not, the romance between you and your sub-scribers is going to be short-lived.

So, what does it mean to brand your subjectline? How can you do this?

Lets take a look

Branding Your Subject Line

To brand your subject line, you would use a con-sistent word or phrase in your subject line.Some examples would include...

In todays Gazette


15/117


Page 15

[PVM Members]

AMS #210

By Request

[Sales Caffiene]

[7Secrets]

Again, the point is to have some consistent word-ing to your mailings so folks can quickly and easilyidentify a message that comes from YOU.---------------------------------Important note: If you brand your sub-ject line, I still think its important toadd some kind of additional attention-grabbing headline to your subject.

For example...

In todays Gazette: How to doubleyour profits

[PVM Members] Update available for 24hours...

AMS #210: My top traffic generator

I guess the best marketer Ive ever seen do this isJim Daniels. His Bizweb Gazettenewsletterdoes this just about as well as you can do it.

His subject line usually mentions the Gazette,


16/117


Page 16

which is followed by a short, attention-grabbingstatement about what hes going to reveal in thecurrent mailing.

One of my favorites was

"Details on my #1 Traffic Source" in to-day's Gazette...

Irresistible.

And The Gazette is consistent for branding.

And the Details on my #1 Traffic Source isgoing to pull you into that mailing like the most

powerful magnet on the planet. I know I stoppedwhat I was doing to read it. !

Anyway, this is an easy thingthat anyone can dowith any list that they build. Insert some 1-2 wordtagline that your subscribers can become familiarwith and easily see among the many emails in theirinbox.


17/117


Page 17

Subject Line Secret 03:Develop a Best of Swipe

File

Moving on to #3 we have Develop a Best of

Swipe File.

In just about anything that has to do with market-ing of any kind, one of the recommendations thatyou hear over and over again is to create a swipe

file.

In other words, create a file of exam-ples and case studies and exhibits of

other successful ads, headlines, tes-timonials, guarantees, claims and soforth.

The idea is to build a file of the best examples youcan find to refer back to when creating your ownads. You would use the swipe file to generate

ideas and even modify for your own use.

Youve probably already heard this before, right?Well, what you havent heard before is what Im

about to tell you.

Revealed: Ive got a simple little technique thatyou can begin using right now and build a hugeswipe file in 48-72 hours automatically without

spending a penny.

1.In fact, youll be able to create aswipe file of the best email subject


18/117


Page 18

lines from the top marketers in theworld! Youll be able to see exactlywhat the best of the best marketersare doing with THEIR email subjectlines to learn from what they DO, notjust what they SAY.

2.You can also see how niche marketersin all walks of life are using emailsubject lines to convince non-marketers like 70 year old grandmaswho love gardening to open up theiremail messages and read.

3.Finally, you can spy on your compe-tition and see how they are using

email subject lines to tap into thesame exact target audience that youare focusing on in your own email mar-keting.

And, all the while, youll be building a large data-base of the best email subject lines on the planetto use in generating ideas and spinoffs for your

own campaigns.

Sound good? Im telling you the truth, this onesingular tip right here is worth every penny you

paid for this report and more.

Here it is: Go to Hotmail.com or Yahoo.com orGmail.com and get a free email account. You willNOT want to use your regular email address for

this.


19/117


Page 19

Sign up for a free email account and then joinDOZENS, even HUNDREDS of lists in every imagi-nable topic. Start with marketing lists. Then, joinlists in as many different niche topics as you canthink of, especially those you are interested in.

Find your competition and join their lists.

1.Join newsletters.2.Subscriber to ecourses.3.Opt-in for free reports.4.Register for free telesminars and we-

binars.5.Register for free prizes.

Of course, you can find various lists to join bysearching for Keyword + newsletter such as

marketing newsletter or dieting newsletter. Or,use the variable of ezine such as travel ezine.You can also search for lists to join at various ezinedirectories online which you can find through Goo-

gle.com

Now, after you join as many lists as you can again, using the free email address you login in afew days and youll have dozens upon dozens of

emails waiting in your inbox.

Look for the subject lines that get YOURattention.Look for the subject lines that make YOUwant toopen up and take a look inside. Look for the sub-ject lines that create curiosity and are irresistible.Store those in a folder on your computer and de-

lete everything else.

Once a week or so, log in to your free email ac-count and do the same thing again look for the


20/117


Page 20

best subject lines. In just a few days you shouldhave as many compelling subject lines as you can

possibly want for your swipe file.

Print them out, put them into a folderand youve got a tremendous resourcecompiled from the sharpest marketersin the world right there at your fin-gertips anytime you want to fire out amailing to your own list.

Use your swipe file to generate ideas and varia-tions for your forthcoming messages. Im beinghonest with you, this is THE best way to get a freeemail marketing education in the art of crafting

great subject lines by observing what other suc-cessful list owners are doing and then modeling

your own email campaigns after theirs.

Number four...


21/117


Page 21

Subject Line Secret 04:Use Personalization Differ-

entlyAnd that is, Use personalization differently.There was a time that using someones name in anemail subject line was a sure shot for getting their

attention.

After all, it wasnt a common practiceand seeing ones name certainly doesgrab our interest.

But, in many markets especially highly competi-tive ones like internet marketing, the use ofpersonalization in the subject line is so commonthat it no longer has the punch and power that it

once had.

Does that mean you shouldnt personalize? No, of

course not.

But, it does mean that you shouldnt personalize

just for the sake of personalizing.

Personalization is supposed to be personal,right? Sadly, it usually isnt. Its sent out to fivegazillion people on a list without any real regard for

the INDIVIDUALS on that list.

I mean, how personal is Frank, issue#412 of Bobs Ezine. Sure, you usedmy name, but was there any element of


22/117


Page 22

being personal in there? Not even aglimmer.

Yes, I do recommend you use personalization, but

I encourage you to use it wisely. Here are somegood examples of personalization that are uniqueand distinctly different than the standard, HeyFrank, heres an email to open. Let me give you

six of them...

1. The Possessive Personalization.The first one that I want to mentionis what I call the Possessive Person-alization.

The idea is give the subscriberOWNERSHIP of whatever you are sharingin the email.

Some examples include:

* Freds secret to losing weight fast* Sallys new migraine relief* Tracys 2 for 1 cruise discount

See how this works? Youre giving

ownership for whatever benefit youremail message promises to deliver tothe individual subscriber who is read-ing it.

The possessive form of their name.What a great way to personalize yoursubject lines in a unique, out of theordinary way, that both gives owner-ship of the benefit to your subscriber


23/117


Page 23

AND allows you to involve the readerin your email message before they ac-tually begin reading it.

2. The News Personalization. Number 2is the News Personalization. Whatyoud want to do with this type ofpersonalization is use your subjectline as if it were a breaking newsstory.

Some examples might include...

* Fred avoids the #1 affiliate mis-take...* Sally finds long-lost classmate* Tracy finally stops back pain for-

ever

This subject line sounds more likebreaking news with your subscriber inthe news story rather than yet anotherpromotional mailing. Again, its dif-ferent. It conveys the message youwant, but it a way that separatesyourself from other publishers.

3. The Intimate Personalization. The

third type of personalization that youwill want to experiment with is what Icall the Intimate Personalization.

The idea here is to have an air ofone-on-one to it, as if it were in-tended for one person, rather than toan entire list...

How about some examples?


24/117


Page 24

* Patti ... Ryan here 2 questions* Patti ... a quick heads up* Patti ... got an idea to run pastyou

While you always want to craft yoursubject line with one person in mind a single recipient on the other end ofyour email there are occasions whenyou want to use a more intimate ap-proach which appears more one-on-onethan it does some mass broadcast.

And, if you can continue that inti-mate, one-on-one feel inside the email

itself, youll get a great result fromyour mailings.

4. The Reverse Personalization. Nextup we have the reverse personaliza-tion. That is, instead of using theSUBSCRIBER name in the subject line,you use YOUR name in the subject line.

Here are some examples

* Paul Evans here with a quick ques-tion* Paul Evans wants you to join his in-ner circle* Paul Evans is trying to reach you

Despite the fact that Im using myname in each of these examples, do yousee that the focus is not on PaulEvans but rather on the subscriber?


25/117


Page 25

Paul Evans here with a quick ques-tion its not about me, its abouta question for the SUBSCRIBER.

Paul Evans wants you to join his in-ner circle is about the SUBSCRIBERbeing asked to do something.

Paul Evans is trying to reach you is about reaching the SUBSCRIBER.

Certainly including your name in thesubject line especially if you arewell known to your subscribers canbe a powerful way to grab the atten-tion ... IF you dont lose sight ofthe fact that the FOCUS needs to be onyour subscriber and not on you.

Your name draws the attention TO theemail, but the emphasis on your sub-scriber is what draws them in TO READyour email.

5. The Delayed Personalization. Num-ber five we have the DelayedPersonalization. The idea here is to

include the subscribers name in themiddle or end of the subject line in-stead of the beginning.

Some examples include:

* 2 free passes for you, Lucy* The information Paul requested* Username and password for: NicoleWhite


26/117


Page 26

* Sorry, Ryan I gotta disagree

Now, I do want to mention if youregoing to use the subscribers name atthe end of your subject line, thenkeep it short. You dont want to cutoff their name by having a long sub-ject line.

But, again, youre using their name,but its in a slightly different posi-tion, making it stand out from themass majority of others who have thestandard Joe, heres blah, blah,blah.

6. The Partnership Personalization.The final type of personalization thatI want to mention that you can use inyour subject line is the PartnershipPersonalization.

What youd do with this type is tomerge both your first name and thesubscribers first name into the sub-ject line.

Examples:

* Jimmy and Joe write an ebook to-gether* Jimmy and Joe have lunch at the BigSeminar* Jimmy answers Joes travel questions* Jimmy trains Joe to write subjectlines


27/117


Page 27

Again, the idea is to create a sort ofpartnership effect in the subjectline. This is a GREAT subject linefor a coaching offer or a survey offeror for some kind of incentive offer.

So, there you have six unique ways to make per-sonalization pay off for you. All of these make YOUdifferent than most of your competition.

You always want to look for an edge over others,some way to stand out from others. Take whatworks and change it to make it better. Use per-sonalization but use it differently.


28/117


Page 28

Subject Line Secret 05:Mention an Update, Upgrade

or Upsell

That brings us up to tip #5 which is to Mentionan update, upgrade or upsell in your subjectline. The idea here is to reference any existingsoftware, ebook, report, ecourse, etc. that yoursubscribers have a copy of and let them knowthat there is either an update, upgrade or upsell

available for them to access.

This can be used in combination with both free and

paid versions of existing products your subscribersmay have obtained, and both lite or full versions.

Lets suppose you have an eBook that you releasedin 2006 entitled The Art of Dieting.

How about this for an attention-grabbing headline

for all of your previous owners of the product...

80% Discount for 2007 Edition of TheArt of Dieting

You could go on to explain in your email that pre-vious owners receive the discount on buying thenewly released edition of the course, explainingwhat the 2007 edition includes over its predeces-

sor.


29/117


Page 29

Or, lets suppose you sell a software program enti-tled eBook Creator. And version 2 was the most

recent release. How about...

Last chance to upgrade to Version 3.0

of eBook Creator

In this email you could mention that a discount isavailable only if they upgrade in the next 24 hoursand this is their last chance to get the upgrade be-

fore the regular price is enforced.

Maybe you offer a lite version of your softwareand want those who have obtained a copy of it to

upgrade to the full version...

Heres how you password protect yourebooks with eBook Creator...

In that email you could actually explain the processof password protecting ebooks using the full ver-sion of the software and mentioning how toupgrade from lite to the version that allows use

of the feature.

Lets suppose you sell ANY kind of informationproduct, how about sending this to your custom-

ers...

Supplement report for your order isNOW available

Obviously, you could point out how the supplemen-tal report enhances or expands upon informationdirectly related to the topic of the product theyve

already purchased.


30/117


Page 30

Again, the purpose is to get folks to open upyour email and take a look at your message.

Anytime you can mention an updated version or an

additional supplement to something that your sub-scribers already have in their possession, then theyare most likely going to open your email to find outhow to get their hands on the latest improvements

or additions to that product.


31/117


Page 31

Subject Line Secret 06:Be Provocative

Up next, tip #6 is Be provocative. In some

cases, it works well to use controversy or shock tograb the attention of your subscribers.

Now, let me preface this by sayingthat I dont endorse, recommend orteach that you should be immoral ordeceitful. Certainly the idea of be-ing provocative can be taken too farand I just dont agree with that prac-tice at all.

When I say be provocative I am primarily sug-gesting that you use subject lines that startleyour subscribers without frightening or offend-ing them.

Let me give you a couple of examples that Iveused.

Example 01: Your account has beenterminated.

A lot of membership sites use thistactic. The owner would receive noti-fications from time to time thatsubscribers had cancelled their pay-ment through Paypal. Now, sometimesmembers had requested this and some-times there was a mistake somewhere inthe billing process at Paypal.

Either way, when the owner received


32/117


Page 32

the cancellation, the member was auto-matically sent an email with thesubject line, Your account has beenterminated. This email let them knowthat their payment had not been re-ceived and their account would beremoved if they didnt update theirpayment within 72 hours.

As you can imagine, this was one ofthe best most effective email cam-paigns of all-time.

Think about it: Wouldnt YOU open anemail that read Your account has beenterminated? Youd wonder WHAT

ACCOUNT?

The email went on to explain whatbenefits theyd be missing out on ifthey discontinued and offered them abribe to rejoin. And it works verywell.

Example 02: Your email list may notbe working.

Again, this is provocative. Itsstartling. Whats wrong with mylist?

When subscribers opened the email, themessage explained how SPAM filterswere preventing their list membersfrom getting their mailings and howhis product could help them avoid thespam filters.


33/117


Page 33

Now, I dont recommend that you bully people intoopening your emails or you try to be offensive you gotta maintain your integrity. And certainly

you want your subject line to be appropriate.

But, there ARE occasions when using a startlingsubject line really goes well with the nature of yourmessage and it certainly will grab the attention ofyour subscribers and get them to open up and in-

vestigate your mailing.


34/117


Page 34

Subject Line Secret 07:Work in the News

Lets see, were up to number 7. Number 7 isWork in the News. That is, make reference tosome current or recent event that made a bigsplash in the news.

This is especially effective when its industrynews news that is relevant, interesting and well

known to your market.

What the Can-Spam Act means to YOU... What I learned at the Big Seminar

How to lose weight during the Oscars Applying the Passion of the Christ to

Your Life 5 Lessons Learned from Barry Bonds Survivor tactics for financial plan-

ners Branding Lessons Learned from the

Presidential Election Debates

If it was a big enough news story to get our atten-tion in the first place, its very likely to get our

attention again when it applies to whatever interestgot us to opt-in to your list.

Note: Obviously, the message of your mailingshould coincide with your subject line and have

relevance to the news story you are referencing.

I know for a fact that this worked onme NUMEROUS times back when the Can-


35/117


Page 35

Spam act first hit. Every time I gotan email from anyone that included areference to Can-Spam in it, I auto-matically read it, because it wassomething important to me and my busi-ness.

Work the news into your subject line wheneverrelevant especially news that is specific to thetopic and focus of your list and you should see aspike in your email open rate.


36/117


Page 36

Subject Line Secret 08:

Check Your Magazine StandIn one of the earlier tips, I mentioned how to cre-ate a swipe file by getting a free email account andjoining a variety of lists to watch how others are

using subject lines.

Well, tip #8 provides you with another source forfinding ideas for your subject lines and that is toCheck Your Magazine Stand. If there is onething that magazine publishers have absolutely

mastered is the art of getting our attention withshort, eyeball-locking headlines.

I mean, they know how to pull us over to take acloser look, dont they?

Get Organized! 24 great ideas... Walk off the pounds! 84 great tips... Are you headed for a heart attack? 6 secrets of staying young 5 steps to staying sane with a stub-

born child 28 tax-slashing moves you cant afford

to miss

I mean, magazine publishers are good. Real good.And, with a gazillion magazines all cluttered to-gether, all wanting to find a new home at our

place, theyve got to be good.


37/117


Page 37

The idea is simple: Look for magazines that arerelated to the general topic of your list and youroffer and scan their covers for ideas you can usefor subject lines.

And, if you think this only works forbusiness related lists, think again.I was at the magazine rack today andpurchased the current issue of a maga-zine called Birds and Blooms.

Now, I dont know how you could findanything more NON-business than gar-dening.

And let me read from the front cover,

because this is a perfect example offinding great, attention-grabbingheadlines you can use for email sub-ject lines.

There are four headlines on this par-ticular cover. Here they are...

* Pull-Out Planner: Create Your DreamGarden* 37 Secrets for a Blooming Backyard* Tomatoes: Double The Yield, HalfThe Work* 21 Ways to Attract Birds and Butter-flies

Honestly, how much more non-businesscan you get than tomatoes and butter-flies? And yet, here is greatmarketing at work. These headlinesjust seem to pull your eyes in their


38/117


Page 38

direction, which is exactly what youwant to do with your subject line.

Its all about getting attention. That rings a bell

somewhere, doesnt it? !

Spending an hour in front of the magazine sectionof your bookstore or newsstand is a great way to

brainstorm ideas for your subject lines.


39/117


Page 39

Subject Line Secret 09:Remember Headline Rules

Apply

Tip #9, Remember headline rules apply.That is, most of what youve been taught for yearsabout writing headlines for salesletters, whether

online or offline, apply to subject lines as well.

Lets talk about a few of those rules for a fewminutes. There are seven that I want to quickly

mention...

Write to one person at a time.

Firstly, write to one person at a time. Howmany subscribers read your mailings? Oneperson at a time. Dont ever forget that.When you craft your subject line, dont writeit to a list, write it to an individual on thatlist. Dont say anyone, say you. Thebest subject lines are the ones that speak tothe one person at his computer on the otherend of the line.

Be 100% specific.Secondly, be specific. The more specificyour subject line can be, the better. Its notincrease your profit, its increase yourprofit by 300%. Its not lose weight fast,its lose 10 pounds fast. Its not housebreak your dog, its house break your dogin 48 hours. Be specific.


40/117


Page 40

Write a dozen or more before making adecision.Thirdly, write a dozen or more before mak-ing a decision. You never, ever, ever want

to take your first draft of a subject line anduse it. I dont care how great it sounds orhow perfect it feels, put it aside and write 11more versions of it and then choose whichone is best. Better still, have someone elsechoose for you.

Keep it in harmony with your message.Whatever subject line you choose absolutelymust be relevant to the message of yourmailing itself, preferably with the openingparagraph of your message.

Test, test, test.Next, test, test, test. As with anything elserelated to marketing, you gotta test to seewhat works best. Even slight improvementscan mean a substantial amount of extraprofit. With email messages, test severalversions of your subject lines on smaller por-tions of your list before you broadcast your

mailing to the entire list.

Dont forget emotion.Next up, dont forget emotion. It is emo-tion that drives us to take action. It is thatwhich stirs our emotion which grabs our at-tention. It is emotion that will ultimately getus to open your email. What pain are yougoing to eliminate? What pleasure will you


41/117


Page 41

increase? What shocking revelation will youshare? What sentiment will you stir up?What gratifying result will you promise?Emotion produces response. Got it?

Write from your subscribers point ofview.And, finally, write from your subscriberspoint of view. It doesnt matter what youwant or what you think or what interests youor what is most important to you. It onlymatters what your subscribers think. Thebetter you know your list, the better youll beable to push their hot buttons in your subjectline. Get to know your subscribers, theirwants and needs, their interests and desires.And create subject lines that come from

THEIR point of view, not yours.

So, again, remember that traditional headline

rules apply to subject lines as well.


42/117


Page 42

Subject Line Secret 10:Intentionally Be Negative

That brings us to tip number ten, and that is, In-tentionally be negative.

Anyone whos been involved in marketing at all, orwho has done any research about marketing,knows that there are two universal, immutable(that means they apply to everyone and they dontever change !) there are two universal, immuta-

ble motivators that are behind virtually every

buying decision we make in life.

All marketing comes down to focusing on the twogreat desires of mankind, which are...

Increase pleasure. Decrease pain.

In a nutshell, thats what all human beings basi-cally want in life: we want to increase pleasure

and decrease pain.

Now, the majority of email subjectlines tend to focus on increasingpleasure. They generally focus onwhat TO do as opposed to what NOT todo; they generally focus on the posi-tive instead of on the negative.

Now, I know without a doubt that its NOT becausespeaking of decreasing pain isnt effective, be-cause it is. Its been a hallmark of effective


43/117


Page 43

marketing for far longer than you and I have beenaround and it will be effective long after weve

gone.

And, Ive even tested it in my own email cam-

paigns with VERY good results, so it works in emailas well.

And Im not the only one. Im on about a gazillionlists Ive already told you about one of my se-crets of getting a hotmail account and justsubscribing to all kinds of lists to study their habits and what Ive noticed is that those marketerswho Ive generally categorized as the brightest ofthe bunch DO in fact use the negative conse-quence approach to email marketing focusing ondecreasing pain.

None of us want to miss out. None of us want tobe unprepared. None of us want to walk into abrick wall. None of us want to experience delays

or setbacks or any other painful result.

So, when an email subject line comes along that insome way warns us or empowers us or equips usto avoid failure, were probably going to take a

closer look.


The 1 mistake most gardeners make

Checklist: Are you overstressed?

Heres the bad news about college


44/117


Page 44

5 Ways to Avoid Bankruptcy

The scary truth about carbs

Spyware may have infected your PC

Obviously, in your email youll want to POINT TOA SOLUTION.

You get to be the knight in shining armor. You getto be the hero. Its one of the classic marketingscenarios: point out a problem and point to yoursolution.

No one wants pain and if youve got the right rem-

edy, youll be the one to profit.


45/117


Page 45

Subject Line Secret 11:Be Casual

Moving on to tip #11, which is Be casual. Let

me ask you a question which do you usually readfirst something that obviously looks like its apromotional mailing, or something that appears to

come from a friend or relative?

Unless youve got issues with your Cousin Jenny oryour little sister is getting too smart for her owngood, youll almost always go for the messages

that are more intimate.

You should write that word down and

circle it. Intimate.

Intimate isnt business-like. Intimate isnt forceful.Intimate isnt marketing mumbo-jumbo. Intimateisnt stiff and stuffy and rehearsed.

Intimate is closeness and closeness is casual.

(Most of us would never apply for a bankloan in our pajamas, but we would lounge

around with our spouse clad in our favorite t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. Closeness is

casual.)

Sometimes the best approach to a subject line is tobe very casual. Again, lets look at some exam-ples...

Just checking in


46/117


Page 46

Im back

Quick question for you

When I get to the office

When you get a few minutes

Its been a while

Sorry I forgot about you

A quick message from

What do you think?

Ooops!

I need your help

I hope you noticed two things about these particu-

lar subject lines as I read them:

(1) Firstly, they were all very brief, werent

they? They werent long and drawn out.

They were very concise. Isnt that how you

usually communicate with close friends andrelatives?

(2) Secondly, they were all very intimate,

werent they? They were casual. Not inyour face. They sound like something that

was sent to you and you alone and that,my friend, is the ultimate tactic for getting

people to open your emails and take a look


47/117


Page 47

when they are convinced you are talking to

them, theyll read.

Be casual. This aint an executive board meeting.Its a simple communication between you and the

guy or gal on their other end of the line. Not anameless, faceless number on your list, but a reallive human being who trusts you enough to staysubscribed to see what youve got to say to him.Not what youve got to say to a gazillion otherpeople, but what youve got to say to him.


48/117


Page 48

Subject Line Secret 12:Be Cryptic

Tip #12 which is to be cryptic. Now, when Isay be cryptic Im not suggesting that you en-code your emails so your recipient will need somekind of special viewing glasses or a code book tocipher what youre sending her.

Nor am I suggesting that you use symbolism thatonly a person who realized Animal Farm wasntreally about about animals or a farm would under-stand what youre saying. By the way, if you dontknow what the reference to Animal Farm means,then Ive been too cryptic. !

No, when I say be cryptic I mean this: say what

you want to say in a unique, original way.

Heres the thing: Its unlikely that youll eversend out an email to your list members that some-one else hasnt already sent out in one form oranother. In fact, MANY, MANY people have likely

already sent out similar messages.

If its a promotional mailing for anew product, do you think youre thefirst to do it? Of course not.

If its an affiliate program yourepromoting, do you think youre thefirst to promote it? Of course not.


49/117


Page 49

If its a free article, do you thinkyoure first to offer a free article?Nope.

If its a joint venture request, do

you think youre the first to requesta JV? Not on your life.

We do very, very little that hasnt been done be-fore. And we do very, very little that isnt being

done at the same time we are doing it right now.

Those things we cant control. But, what we can

control is the manner in which we do what we do.

Thats where the be cryptic idea enters the room.

Say what you want to say in a unique, original

way.

Let me give you a real life example, again, that I

learned from Jimmy D. Brown.

He wanted to find new joint venture partners for aspecial promotion that he was putting together forhis email marketing home study course. Hehad a database of ezine publishers for quite some

time and decided that it would be a great place tofind joint venture partners for the project.

So, instead of doing what everyone else was doing,(name), would you JV with me (name), howabout a 50/50 split, (name), heres yet anotherjoint venture request, he decided to do something

different.


50/117


Page 50

Here it is in his own words

My subject line read, About buying asolo mailing to your list.

In my email I opened up explainingthat I was about to conduct a specialpromotion for my course and that I wasinterested in sending a mailing totheir list. I enquired about pricingand availability and then, I made myoffer.

I pointed out that another option wasfor them to run my ad as an affiliateand keep 50% of all of the earnings,which would likely be much more thantheir ad fees. I further explainedthat I would customize a sales pagewith their name, hard-coded orderlink, etc.

Now, I FULLY INTENDED to buy advertis-ing in the newsletters that had themavailable and were compatible with myneeds and I DID buy. So, I wasntlying or misleading. But, at the same

time, more than 3/4ths of those whoresponded took me up on my joint ven-ture proposal and we launched asuccessful campaign.

Its all about doing what youre going to do anyway and what others are doing even as you do it but doing it in such a way that it is masked assomething different. Its cryptic. Dont be mis-


51/117


Page 51

leading, mind you, or dishonest, but certainly you

can not be transparent either.

The idea is to present your message in a way thatdoesnt automatically put the reader on the offen-

sive because theyve seen it all before, and, at thesame time, once again separate yourself from yourcompetition and grab the attention of your sub-

scribers.

Which makes it a big-time winner.


52/117


Page 52

Subject Line Secret 13:Write It Early

Lets move on to lucky number 13. Now, what Imabout to tell you isnt going to be sexy. When Ifirst say it, its going to sound like something thatyou wouldnt give a second thought to, but if youjust take a few seconds to ponder this and let itsink into your head, youll see why it isABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to your success with sub-

ject lines.

Tip #13 is to write it early. And what I meanby that is to write your subject line BEFORE youwrite the message itself. Pay attention here, be-

cause this is absolutely critical.

Write your subject line BEFORE you write the email

message itself.

What tends to happen is this: Folks spend 90%of their time carefully crafting their email messageand theyve got it all just perfect and then mo-ments before they blast it out to their list, they

spend 30 seconds writing a subject line.

What a monumental mistake!

Your subject line is your HEADLINE. You wouldntspend days crafting a salesletter and then throw in

just any ol headline at the top would you?

Of course not.


53/117


Page 53

Your subject line is your headline. Write it first.Spend as much if not more time on it than on

your email message itself. Its that important.

In fact listen closely in fact, if

your subject line isnt a winner thenyour subscribers wont even read thatcarefully crafted email message ofyours!

Do you see what Im saying here? Are you hearingme? You are absolutely wasting money if you spitand polish your email message until it shines andthen throw out some penny ante subject line.

Its like serving a filet mignon on a garbage can lid.

Nobodys gonna take a bite.

If you dont write it first, at least, at least spend anample amount of time on it. However long youspend on the copy of the email message itself,

spend at least that long on the subject line.


54/117


Page 54

Subject Line Secret 14:Make The Most Of

Your Welcome Message

Pop quiz: Out of ALL of the emails your sub-scriber will EVER receive from you, which one arethey most likely to read? Come on, think about it

for just a minute.

Out of all of the emails your subscriber will EVERreceive from you, which one are they most likely to

read?

You guessed it your VERY FIRST message. Thatbrings us to tip #14, which is to Make the most

of your welcome message.

If there is ONE email that you can almost guaran-tee subscribers will read, it is that initial messagethey receive upon joining your list. You know theone, Hey Henry, thanks for joining My list hereis the information you requested, here is lesson

one, blah, blah, blah.

Your subscribers are their hottest to-wards you right then. They areexcited about you. Theyve made theconscious decision to join your listand they are anticipating that firstemail from you.

Dont waste that moment!


55/117


Page 55

While you certainly dont want to scare off yoursubscribers by immediately bombarding them witha bunch of in your face offers, it IS a perfect timeto coax them towards your most desired result.

Offer them a discount.

Invite them to join your affiliateprogram.

Give them an article to distribute.

Ask them to answer a survey.

Gather additional information aboutthem.

Offer them an affiliate incentive.

Give them an additional freebie.

Invite them into your mastermindgroup.

Give them a 24 hour only offer.

There are lots of things you can do right there in

that welcome message. Fire away. They arewarm towards you. They are most likely to dosomething that is beneficial to you (and them)

right there at that moment.

Dont let them cool off. Take action. Get them to

take action.


56/117


Page 56

Subject Line Secret 15:Ask A Revealing Question

Up next, tip #15, is to ask a curiosity-buildingquestion. That is, use your subject line to ask aquestion that can only be answered by readingyour email.

The question should pique your subscribers curios-ity while at the same time pointing them to the

body of your email for more details.

Some examples include...

Have you been blacklisted? Checkhere...

Are you using this traffic tool?

Is your computer safe? Check this...

How physically fit are you? Take thetest...

Did you forget to renew your insur-

ance?

Vacation Checklist: Done all 22things?

Questions have long been a mainstay in headlines,and they serve as great subject lines IF you strate-gically use them to l-e-a-d your subscriber to r-e-

a-d your emails.


57/117


Page 57

There are four simple keys...

Key 01: Answered only upon investiga-tion. Your subscriber must berequired to open your email and actu-

ally read your message in order toanswer the question asked.

Key 02: Targeted for subscriber in-terest. Go after those things thatMOST interest your subscribers.Again, survey them to determine whatthey most want and then structure yourquestion to push that hot button. IfI have a marketing list, I could useAre you using this traffic tool,are you using this email tool, areyou using this affiliate tool or areyou using this keyword tool amongmany others. Knowing which of thosemy subscribers most want makes it muchmore effective in using the question.

Key 03: Hinted at a solution inside.If you ask a question, you should al-ways hint at a solution that youll berevealing in the text of your emailmessage. Include short endings like:

Check this...Take the test ...Details...Checklist inside...Find Out...

Key 04: Related to the content ofyour message. Whatever you do, makecertain that what you include in your


58/117


Page 58

email message MATCHES up with the sub-ject line. If you ask a question,offer a way for them to determine ananswer. Use tests, checklists, re-search, lists, and so forth to allowsubscribers the opportunity to answeryour question ...and, of course, pro-vide them with some offer that ties inso you can make a profit.

Again, a great way to get folks to OPEN YOUREMAILS and investigate further.


59/117


Page 59

Subject Line Secret 16:Understand The Purpose

Well, we have tip #16 and that is to Understand

the purpose. Let me ask you another question what is the purpose of your subject line?

Now, youll almost certainly answer back some-

thing like this...

The purpose of my subject line is to get the recipi-

ent

to open up my email and read the message inside.

And, if you said that, youd be HALFWAY correct.

Getting your subscribers to open the email andread the message inside is HALF of its purpose, thefirst half. But, thats certainly not all of it.

The purpose of your subject line is(a) to get the recipient to open upand read the message inside, and (b)to remain open to taking action.

Most people forget that second part. They dowhatever they can do to get subscribers to open upand take a look and, in doing so, they oftentimesruin their opportunity to produce an action, and inmany cases, they lose a subscriber forever.

If you simply get your subscriber to open an emailat any cost, youll ruin your reputation, youll de-stroy trust and you can even get into legal

problems by using deception.


60/117


Page 60

Avoid trickery. Avoid false claims. Avoid hype.

Those things may get your subscriber to open youremail once, but not twice.

And once youve lost them, they aint coming back.

Understand the purpose of your subject line ismore than to get folks to open up no matter what it should also keep your subscribers in the right

frame of mind to take action on the item inside.


61/117


Page 61

Subject Line Secret 17:Use Tips Lists

Up next we have tip #17 tip #17 is to use tips

lists.

While there are some occasional exceptions to thisrule, the number one, overwhelming top dog rea-son why subscribers opted in to any of your lists is

this: they want information.

They didnt join your list for ads. They didnt joinyour list so you could convince them to buy some-thing. They didnt join your list so you could

become chummy with their credit card.

They joined your lists because they want to ac-

quire some kind of informationfrom you.

Now, having said that, do ya thinktheres the possibility that theyllopen up your email if it appears thatsome desired piece of information isawaiting them inside?

Do you think your subscribers will

open up and read your message if yoursubject line indicates that some formof the very information they are try-ing to glean from you IS actuallybeing revealed inside?

Short answer is: of course they will!


62/117


Page 62

So, heres how you hint at or even shout at thefact that some kind of desirable information is in-

side your email:

Use a specific, targeted tips list in your sub-ject line.

This is the easiest way to push your subscribershot button and get them to open your email for

two reasons...

1.Subscribers are excited about obtain-ing information that is near and dearto their hearts. Nothing attracts usmore than something we already have an

attraction for. Let me say thatagain. Nothing attracts us more thansomething we already have an attrac-tion for. Just the other day we weredriving in Atlanta looking for a placeto eat and there were a LOT of differ-ent options awaiting us and they alllooked good. And, then, we spotted aRuby Tuesday and almost at the sametime my wife, my little boy and I allshouted out, Ruby Tuesday, lets eat

there. Nothing attracts us more thansomething we already have an attrac-tion for. They joined your list forspecific information and when yoursubject line references it, youllhave folks saying, Lets eat there.Lets open up and see whats on themenu, especially when you consider thesecond reason and that is...


63/117


Page 63

2.Subscribers are excited about thethump value of multiple ideas. Peo-ple LOVE lots of ideas. Each one ofthem represents potential results. Doyou get that? Each idea representspotential results. If I see 27 waysto lose weight I naturally think thatthere must be at least 1 or 2 of themthat will work for me. The more ideasare available, the more likely thatIll be able to actually see some kindof results in my life which is all Iwant anyway which means Ill be morelikely to open your email and take alook inside. There is something in-credibly alluring about bulk aboutvolume about the thump value of

getting a lot of stuff. Why do youthink Ginsu was so successful? Why doyou think buffets are so successful?The same principle applies to subjectlines.

Use a tips list in your subject line and youll defi-nitely see a lot of action from your subscribers.


27 simple ways to drop 5 pounds16 shortcuts for wedding plannersTop 10 tips for babys first month101 ways to save money at the gas pump55 keys to public speaking

Now, I dont want to state the obvious, but I willanyway obviously, your email message must in-


64/117


Page 64

clude details on what you mention in your subjectline.

The good news is: it doesnt necessarily have to

be content. Of course, you could include an articleor a report or something in your email that reveals27 simple ways to drop 5 pounds or whateverand then use that free content to point your sub-scribers towards an offer. And, in many cases,

thats certainly a winner.

But, you arent limited to that.

This strategy also works great for solo mailings to

promote an offer.

Marketing Exhibit: Get Messages Read

When Paul Evans released Get Messages Readfrom ListDrivenProfits.com, some of his affiliatesused this very type of subject line with tremendousresults.

In the book, I share 24 ways to get your emailmessages past the spam filters into the inboxes of

your subscribers.

Guess what made a great subject line?

24 ways to get your emails read

If youre on an internet marketing list or an emailmarketing list or an ezine publisher list or any kind


65/117


Page 65

of list related to marketing via a list do you thinkyou could resist opening that message up for a

closer look?

Of course not.

Inside, you would have read a solo mailing explain-ing that he had released a new product that shared24 ways to get your emails read. Nothing but apromotional mailing. And, if you were like mostwho got that email, youd have clicked on a linkand went to his site, which is all anyone could hopeto accomplish with a solo mailing.

You can use this tip for ANY type of mailing thatinvolves multiple ideas, whether its a content mail-

ing or a promotional mailing.


66/117


Page 66

Subject Line Secret 18:Use The Results & Time

Formula

Three more tips to go and then well get to someemail subject line templates that you can basicallycopy and paste to use in your own email promo-tions. Tip #18 is to use the results and timeformula.

1. Nothing grabs our attention more than an-

ticipated results.

2. Actually, there is one thing that grabs ourattention more than anticipated results andthat is anticipated results in an agreeable

amount of time.

3. Actually, there is one thing that grabs ourattention even more than that and that is an-ticipated results in an agreeable amount of

timewith no risk involved.

That is, when you can promise results that we

want to achieve and promise them in a time framethat is acceptable to us and remove anyrisk...youll not only get our attention, youll get

our business.

One of the easiest ways to convince your subscrib-ers to open up your email and read whats inside is

to use the results and time formula.


67/117


Page 67

Here are some examples...

Stop smoking in 30 days or pay nothingLose 10 pounds in 10 days or its freeFind a date for Valentines Day or get

a refundGrow a beautiful lawn in 30 days oryour money backAdd 500 subs next month or Ill buildyou a list

What a winning combination...

Anticipated Results+Agreeable Amount of Time+No Risk Involved

= Open Your Email And Take Action

Now, before we move on to our next tip, sincewere talking about using time in your subject line,let me briefly mention that using a time deadline ora time limit is also a good idea.

Phrases like these are great to use in your subjectline...

Next 24 hours

First 12 to respond

Looking for 5 qualified

Read this before Sunday


68/117


Page 68

Ends on April 21

Use this to lose 10 pounds by Easter

Last chance today

Tonights the preview call

Only 3 spots left

So, dont forget to use deadlines and limits as well.If you are honest in your deadlines and limits andyou dont use them all of the time and your offer is

desirable, then youre going to see positive results.


69/117


Page 69

Subject Line Secret 19:Never Forget To Follow-Up

Lets move on to our 19thtip which is to never

forget to follow-up. One of the biggest mis-takes in email marketing is not following up.

Customers get on a list and that cus-tomer list is never or seldom used.

Affiliates join your affiliate programand join your affiliate list and everyonce in a while they are sent somepromotional stuff for your latestproduct, but thats about it.

Leads are run through an eCourse, aseries of lessons, and then once theycomplete the series they are inactive.

The lists grow stagnant and the profits dry up andthey just sit there waiting to be mined.

Now, youd probably agree with me and youd beright, of course !- but, what does any of that

have to do with subject lines?

Good question. And, as always, Ive got a goodanswer. !

The answer is this: Follow-up subject lines notonly get stagnant lists active and producing profitagain, but they are also among the highest openrates of any type of subject line Ive ever tested.


70/117


Page 70

Let me give you some examples for all three: cus-tomers, affiliates and leads, which are your three

primary types of lists.

Follow-Up With Customers. First, lets talkabout following-up with customers. A customerbuys your product and 24 hours later they receivean email from your autoresponder with one of

these subject lines...

About your gigdet order yesterday

Do you have any questions about yourorder?

Do ya think theres any chance theyll open thatemail and take a look? Of course they will.

So, heres your chance to not only give them somecustomer support by providing answers to the mostfrequently asked questions, but you also haveTHEIR ATTENTION, which means you can pointthem to another offer.

What about 3 or 4 days later after that email?What if they received an email from you that con-

tains one of these subject lines...

5 Bonus Ways to Use Your New Gidget

How to Make The Most of Your Gidget

Free video for your Gidget


71/117


Page 71

Is there any chance theyd open them up? Youbetcha. And, again, youd have their attention tomake them an offer or get them to take some ac-tion that will ultimately allow you to expand your

bottom line.

And, you could continue to repeat that processover and over again. Follow-up emails almost al-

ways get opened.

Follow-Up With Affiliates. It doesnt just workwith customers either. What about following-upwith affiliates? Works great. An affiliate joins youraffiliate program, they get the standard welcomemessage with their affiliate details and other in-

structions.

What if 24 hours later they got an email from your

autoresponder with one of these subject lines...

Lynn here wanted to help you getyour first sale

Heres the quickest way to get an af-filiate sale

I forgot to tell you this about youraffiliate link

Again, theyll most certainly open up and take alook. Continue to follow up with them with emails

like these...

Have you tried this simple affiliatetrick...


72/117


Page 72

$50 more on your next affiliate check.

Follow-Up With Leads. Not only does itwork with customers and affiliates, but also

with leads. In addition to your standardemail follow-up sequences, why not add

these into the mix...

1. In response to yesterdays__________ tip...

This would be a FOLLOW-UP message 24hours after your first message to getthem to go back and READ your firstmessage. Jack, in yesterdays email

lesson I revealed the easiest way tolose 5 pounds did you read it yet?

If not, blah,blah,blah Getting leadsto READ your emails is critical togetting leads to RESPOND to youremails.

2. I forgot to mention this in todayslesson...

You could mention just about anything

in this email, an extra tip, an incen-tive, a deadline, just about anything.Theyll open it because it appearsthat something important was left out and they wont want to miss out.

3. I missed your response to Fridayslesson


73/117


Page 73

In Fridays lesson, you could haveasked the lead for the main reason whythey havent purchased your product,or what their most needed asset is, orwhat question theyd like to see youcover or any kind of question thatneeds them to respond. Again, thisfollow-up email will almost certainlyget opened and youve got an opportu-nity to continue educating yoursubscriber and leading them to somecourse of action.

I hope you can see how important this is, how easythis is, and how profitable this is. Folks WILL openyour follow-up messages because its ADDING TO

something theyve already expressed or demon-strated an interest in.


74/117


Page 74

Subject Line Secret 20:Gather & Embed Other Per-

sonal Details

And the final tip that I want to mention is togather and embed other personal details.

We talked a lot about personalization earlier. Well,here is a twist to personalization that almost NOONE is using that is another great way to grab theattention of your subscribers and get them to open

up and take a look.

The idea is to customize your subject line with per-sonal details OTHER THAN your subscribers name.

If youve got a list for marketers orezine publishers, get the name oftheir newsletter into your database.

If youve got a list for pet owners,get the name of their pet into yourdatabase.

If youve got a list for car owners,get the type of car they own into yourdatabase.

Then what can you do? How about these subject

lines...

Need 2,000 subscribers for AdvantageMarketing Strategies?


75/117


Page 75

Try this obedience trick on Duke...

Heres how to improve your Camrys gasmileage...

What a tremendous, tremendous tool for improvingyour email open rates. Mark my words more andmore people are going to see how powerful thistechnique is and it wont be long until your com-petitors will be exploiting this to its fullest

potential.

For now you can have the advantage in using

this. For now.

Now, of course, youll need to gather

this information. Obviously, theeasiest way to gather it is on youroptin box. So, thats the first thingyoull want to do, add additional en-try points on your optin form. Now, Irecommend that you only add 1 or 2additional fields, otherwise youllpush many people away who might see abunch of questions as too time-consuming or some kind of invasion.

So, keep it simple your 1 or 2 most importantbits of data the 1 or 2 things that would be mostvaluable to your marketing. And thats going todepend completely upon the theme of your list and

the target audience your list caters to.

Another way to gather the information assuming youve already got a nicelist, is to survey them. Give themsome incentive for submitting the in-


76/117


Page 76

formation and then merge their detailsinto your existing database.

Note: For those list members that dont submit the

additional fields, you can always insert a fixed ge-neric placeholder in your mailings so yourmessages make sense. Instead of Try this obedi-ence trick on Duke it would simply read Try this

obedience trick on your dog.

Again, just a powerful, powerful way to get folks toread your emails. Personalization works and

here is a very unique way to use it.

So, there you have it, twenty tips for crafting sub-

ject lines that compel your subscribers to openyour emails and take action now.

And, speaking of now now its time to move onto our second part, which I promise you will bedramatically quicker than our first part, its time tomove on to our second part where Ill be givingyou twenty fill-in-the-blanks, copy and paste emailsubject line templates that you can begin usingwith your own email campaigns.

So, lets go ahead and just jump right in...


77/117


Page 77

Part 02:

Subject Line

TemplatesWhat Im going to do is very simple. Im going to

announce the subject line template itself, then giveyou a brief explanation of how to use it, and thenjust give you a handful of quick examples thatwere created by plugging in some specifics to thetemplate.


78/117


Page 78

Subject Line Template 01:For _______, This Works Like

Crazy

Template: For ___________, this works like

crazy

Overview: This is a great results-driven subjectline that is certain to get your subscribers to openup and take a closer look. The idea here is to usethe classic combination of Desirable result + driv-

ing mechanism. Ive already included the drivingmechanism this works like crazy. Thats whatproduces the desirable result, the basis of whatyour message is about. Your job is to provide thedesirable result in the provided blank. For__________ - you would insert your desirable re-

sult right there this works like crazy.

Examples:

For losing weight, this works like

crazy...

For longer tee shots, this works likecrazy...

For relieving headaches, this workslike crazy...

For saving a marriage, this works likecrazy...

For avoiding bankruptcy, this workslike crazy...


79/117


Page 79

Obviously, you want this desirable result to besomething that (a) is highly sought after or highlyinteresting to your subscribers, and (b) is directlyrelated to what you are going to share in the emailitself. This subject line is great for just about any

kind of mailing, whether it is a content mailing or apromotional mailing.

People open it for one reason and one reason only:it promises to reveal something that produces

a result they want to achieve.


80/117


Page 80

Subject Line Template 02:Why Your ________ Wont

_______

Template: Why Your ____________ Wont

_____________

Overview: One of the basic human motivationsfor response is driven by a fear of failure. Thissubject line is the exact opposite of the first one welooked at which hinted at producing results this

one hints at NOT producing results. The idea is toplug in a desirable result and then an appropriatenegative statement at the end after the word

wont.

Examples:

Why your diet wont work Why your business wont succeed Why your list wont make you money Why your vacation wont be fun Why your credit wont be restored

Who could resist opening up to see WHY? Notmany of us, I can tell you that. If your result issomething that we WANT to achieve, then certainlywed want to read your email to find out whatmight prevent us from achieving the result. Its agreat time to reveal a mistake or a problem or a


81/117


Page 81

hindrance and then offer your product or service

as a solution, which will produce profit for you.


82/117


Page 82

Subject Line Template 03:How to Survive __________

Template: How to survive _______________

Overview: The thrust of this subject line is tohelp relieve the pain or discomfort of a situationthat the subscriber is either already going throughor is facing the possibility of going through. Re-member we talked about earlier two things we allwant in life increase pleasure and decrease pain.If your subject line promises to minimize or elimi-

nate some source of pain or discomfort in our lives,then certainly well read what you have to say onthe subject. How to survive __________ you

just supply the hardship in that blank.

Examples:

How to survive divorce How to survive bankruptcy How to survive a heart attack How to survive with the Can Spam law How to survive menopause

Alternatives: Some alternative ideas would beHow to deal with, How to overcome, Howto get past Same idea.

As with any other subject line, its important thatyou get to know your list. What are the hardshipsand difficulties that they most face? Build sublists


83/117


Page 83

where your main subscribers can opt in for special-ized information on very precise topics and youllbe able to really skyrocket your open rate with thisparticular subject line.


84/117


Page 84

Subject Line Template 04:This _________ Tip Is Al-

most Too Easy

Template: This _____________ tip is almost too

easy

Overview: In addition to being motivated by theresults that we desire our passions and pursuitsin life one thing that catches our eye is the wordeasy. Now, Ill be the first to admit that the word

easy is grossly overused in internet marketinglanguage, but its still relatively minimal in mostother markets. And, regardless of what marketyour list is focused upon, when used in conjunctionwith the word tip it doesnt have anywhere nearthe same sense of hype as the its so easy tomake a million dollars next week garbage that

many people are promising.

Examples:

This pick-up tip is almost too easy This dieting tip is almost too easy This homeschooling tip is almost too

easy This allergy tip is almost too easy This stress relief tip is almost too

easy


85/117


Page 85

This is one of my all-time most effective subjectlines. People want things that they can easily ap-ply to whatever pursuit they are interested in. Itconsistently ranks up there at the top among myemail messages that produce results and it is uni-

versally applicable to any niche, so theres noreason why you shouldnt begin profiting from ittoo.


86/117


Page 86

Subject Line Template 05:The Biggest Mistake_________ Make

Template: The biggest mistake

______________ make

Overview: Again, here is a subject line that fo-cuses on the negative or adverse result thingsyour subscriber wants to avoid if he is going toachieve the desirable results he is after. The dif-

ference with this subject line and others that offera sort of warning or caution is the emphasis here ison the word biggest. This isnt just a mistake,its the BIGGEST mistake. Its the number one,most common error that folks make regarding aparticular topic and curiosity alone will get yoursubscribers to open up JUST TO SEE WHAT IT IS.Yes, theyll certainly be concerned about whetheror not they are making this particular mistake, buteven more than that, theyll want to know WHATthis particular mistake is. What IS the biggest

mistake?

Examples:

The biggest mistake wives / husbandsmake

The biggest mistake first-time parentsmake

The biggest mistake dieters make


87/117


Page 87

The biggest mistake car buyers make The biggest mistake ferret owners make

Obviously, the biggest mistake would be a matterof your opinion, so its open to your own objective

perspective, which makes this one an easy subjectline to work into your mix. And, it definitely is ef-

fective.


88/117


Page 88

Subject Line Template 06:The Real Secret To

__________

Template: The real secret to ______________

Overview: This is a great subject line for reveal-ing some little known fact or resource, someseldom used strategy, some personal insight thatmost people dont know or think about. While,again, the word secret is oftentimes grossly

overused in marketing mumbo-jumbo, that is actu-ally what makes this subject line so effective. Itplays on the fact that so-called secrets are adime-a-dozen by stating that whats contained inthis email is the REAL secret to achieving success

with the provided topic.

Examples:

The real secret to fundraising The real secret to planning a wedding

The real secret to beating a speedingticket

The real secret to teeth whitening The real secret to acing any interview

Its the positive version of the biggest mistakesubject line that we talked about previously, againfocusing on the curiosity factor. What is theREAL secret to success in this area? Enquiring


89/117


Page 89

minds want to know. And that is good news foryou, because well click on your email to find out

what you have listed as that real secret.


90/117


Page 90

Subject Line Template 07:The Fastest Way To

____________

Template: The fastest way to

________________

Overview: Whereas earlier we looked at the keyof being easy, now we focus on being fast. Weall want results and, lets face it we all wantthem as quickly as possible. We live in a fast food

world that promises instant results and thats whatwe want. So, the key here is that word fastest.This isnt just a way to success with a particulartopic, its the FASTEST way to success with a par-ticular topic. Additionally, Ive found that if youcan plug in SPECIFIC results it makes this one so

much more effective.

Examples:

The fastest way to make $500 online

The fastest way to lose 5 pounds The fastest way to play guitar chords The fastest

subject line secrets

Documents