Just watched a simple but on point video from Ben Angel called How to Get Your Emails Opened.

He asks, “if email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook and drives more conversion than any other marketing channel, then why are so many not seeing these kinds of results?”

Simple –

Email Subject Lines

Ben gives 4 different types of email subject lines that will instantly increase your open rate.

1. OUTCOME
   Outcome focused subject lines tell you what you get when you take action. These short lines are direct call-to-actions with an immediate outcome.
2. MYSTERY
   Mystery driven subject lines satisfy human curiosity. Write something that makes the reader have to know what the rest of the email say. Use this type of subject line sparingly, though.
3. SENSE OF URGENCY
   Sense of urgency subject lines work because of the fear of scarcity. If you are made to believe that an offer is limited in some way, quantity or time of availability, people will take action.
4. SOCIAL PROOF
   Subject lines written as social proof not only given validation or credibility but also speak to the fear of missing out, to which most humans are prone.

My favorite portion of this video is toward the end when Ben begins to speak to the process of using these types of subject lines.

First, he talks about mixing it up, using a variety of these choices. He takes it further by challenging email marketers to not only mix it up but combine two different types of subject lines into one.

Second, he discusses the amount of time it takes to develop result producing subject lines. Marketers need to spend time diverging on subject lines, at least 10-20 minutes without pause or judgment. Then the subject lines must be evaluated for impact and share-ability.  This can be done with your own internal metrics or with a variety of online headline analyzers.

I would add –

Email Preview Text

Often overlooked this snippet can be controlled by marketers. It is the second set of text email viewers see and is visible without opening the email.

As an extra, because this set of text is often not used by marketers, it is a great way to stand out from your competition.

Next time you are preparing the body of your email consider asking yourself, how I might say this same thing in 100 characters or less…
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In conclusion, inbox appearance needs to be on every marketer’s email content check list. Inbox appearance includes; from name, subject line and preview text. Allot time in your email creation process to thoroughly develop email subject line and preview text and your emails will actually be opened.