3 Surprising Ways Coaches, Trainers & Mentors Can Double Their Email Open Rate - Part 2
This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on how to double your email open rate by writing better subject lines.
If you haven't read Part 1, I suggest you do that now. Take me to Part 1
If like me, you're impatient then here's a synopsis of what was in Part 1.
#1. Email is the most powerful communication vehicle for persuasion. So if you want your customers to read your blogs, listen to your podcasts, join you on webinars, and buy your courses... then you've got to get better at email.
#2. Email open rates are dropping and it's getting harder and more expensive to build an email database. This creates a huge opportunity for the creative writer who makes people want to read their emails.
#3. We all use headlines and subject lines to save time. So if the subject line does not pique our interest we will move on to something else.
#4. You must write a subject line of no more than 8 words! Ideally 5 words! This is a huge creative challenge. The writer that puts in the most effort wins the creative challenge!
#5. The first 3 ways to double your email open rate...
- Start A Story
- Show An Advantage
- Urgency
Before we dive into 3 more surprising ways to double your email open rate. I'd like to talk some more about...
The Email Subject Line Straightjacket
Writing a headline for a sales letter that forces your ideal customer to drop everything and read your message with excitement is hard.
With a headline, the only limitation is your creativity.
So, how long does it take me to write a drop everything headline?
It can take 2 minutes or it can take 2 days!
I'm not kidding when I say that I've searched for 2 days to find the right Hook and Headline.
Why?
Because once I've got the Hook and Headline, everything else flows effortlessly from there.
Let's face it, the "writing" part does not necessarily take a long time. How long would it take you to write 5,000 or 6,000 words about your course or workshop? 2 days... 4 days... 7 days... 2 weeks... or longer?
The writing part does not take me very long any more. But... it still takes me 10 days to write a sales letter. Why?
Because I spend a lot of time understanding the course or workshop. Understanding what's different and unique about it. Understanding how this helps the customer better than anything else.
So I can spend 3 or 4 days (or longer) understanding the product and the person and the offer.
Then I've got to distill all that research into a 10 or 20 or 30 word headline.
Sometimes it comes easily. Sometimes it takes a lot of work.
Work that pays off with sales!
Writing an email subject line is harder because you have a tight word limit. But that does not mean it's impossible to get your ideas across. That does not mean you should throw your hands up in defeat.
If you are willing to outwork your competition then you will win the attention of your customers.
Remember, writing a subject line is a process of distilling your ideas down to their raw essence. You are trying to take a sentence and remove the unwanted and unnecessary parts.
You need to keep grinding your ideas together until you get gun-power! Something that is going to make your ideal customer want to read your message.
I'm not going to lie. I don't spend 2 days writing an email subject line. I don't spend 2 hours writing an email subject line. But I will spend 30 minutes trying to distill my ideas into something powerful.
How much time do you spend crafting an email subject line? Be honest with yourself...
Is it less than a minute?
Is it less than 5 minutes?
I'm not asking these questions to make you feel bad. I'm asking the question so you can see the huge potential to double your email open rate!
The truth about anything you want in life is... hard work never lies.
If you put in the work, you'll soon be enjoying the results.
Now that I've got that off my chest, let's dive into...
3 Surprising Ways You Can Double Your Email Open Rate!
Here are the 3 new techniques that we'll cover in this blog:
- How To Get Better Results From What You Already Know
- Intrigue & Curiosity
- Straight Pitch
Let's look at each of these in turn.
How To Get Better Results From What You Know Email Subject Lines
This is always going to grab a lot of eyeballs because we want to know if we know everything about a subject. So, some of the clicks will be to 'confirm' that they know everything on the list.
And...
That's okay. Why? Because you've got them to open the email. The subject line has done its job.
And...
If you do have a hard-won secret that gets better results from what they know then you will hold their attention, earn their trust, and demonstrate your expertise.
Here are some examples:
50% more deals! No additional marketing...
How to get BMV deals through estate agents
6 tips to scale your Airbnb empire
Why a growing number of landlords desperately need your help!
The time-saving secret to find desperate landlords for just £4.11
As you can see, some of these subject lines break my 10 word rule. The reason why I'm sharing them with you now is that they got a sky-high open rate.
The purest form of better results from what you know is: How to get BMV deals through estate agents.
This is perfect because everybody knows that a simple way to find houses to buy is through an estate agent. And... if you're anything like me, you'll know that estate agents don't often sell houses below market value. In my experience, they will try and sell a run-down property at the price of a newly renovated house.
But... there is an art to finding BMV deals through estate agents. And if you want to build a property portfolio then you'll want to know this. Why? Because the estate agents do all the work of finding the house for you.
So, it's the perfect headline for better results from what you already know.
What does your customer know about getting the results they want? Do you know a better way? If they know 3 ways to get a result do you know 4... or 5... or more?
If so, show them the extra ways that you can help them get results. They will thank you for it. And they will want to know what else you know that can help them on their journey.
Intrigue & Curiosity Email Subject Lines
Curiosity is the itch that you have to scratch. It's the thing that plays on your mind so even if you skip the email now... you come back to it later.
Curiosity is like Napalm. No matter what you do, you can't get it off. Curiosity burns a hole in your discipline and makes you read the email even when you should be doing something else.
There are 7 ways to write curiosity:
- Challenge Common Beliefs
- Open A Story Gap
- Ask A Question
- How To Benefit
- Reveal A Secret
- Numbered Lists
- Hard-Won Lessons
If you'd like to learn more about how to write curiosity then you can read my blog about it: How To Write Curiosity
How do you write curiosity in a subject line?
Let's look at some examples:
The richest investors do this... do you?
You want this in your corner...
I love getting results like these...
Doubters poking holes in your faith? This might be for you
I wanted to let you know this...
my favourite f-word...
the BIG secret behind my 7-figure success...
I never make money without doing this first...
The problem with putting your business first...
in 20+ years, this hasn't changed...
I didn't know this monster had a name...
You can quit your job with this...
There's one thing that unites all these headlines... an unanswered question!
And...
You've got to open the email if you want to know the answer.
Curiosity subject lines are P O W E R F U L !
And...
We should all use them more... myself included.
The curiosity headlines that I use often are the ones that start a story. No great surprise, right?
The one that you can use immediately is the BIG secret behind my 6-figure success!
That starts a story. It makes the reader want to know what the secret is... and how easily they can use it. So, it's a subject line that gets opens.
Similarly, if you work in the investment or make money market something as simple as You can quit your job with this...is going to get opens.
But...
Before you start cutting and pasting these winners into your next email. Remember that the BIG secret with email marketing is to get the reader to want to read your next email.
So, you must deliver on the promise in your subject line. If you 'trick' the reader into opening your email and you don't have anything valuable to share. Then they won't open your next email. Or they will unsubscribe.
So always think about the reader. If you are giving them a good experience, then you will win with email marketing.
Now let's look at the final subject line tool...
Straight Pitch Email Subject Lines
Left brain people love a straight pitch email subject lines. They just want to know the facts... and they will make their own mind up if it is right for them.
I hate to admit it (because this shatters my storytelling world) but the straight pitch subject line can work.
And...
You have to look at what works best for your list.
One of my clients has a list that loves straight pitch email subject lines.
I am totally shocked by this and don't write enough of the type of copy.
So, let the results from your database tell you what you need to do more of... and then act on that insight.
Here are some examples of Straight Pitch Email Subject Lines
Deal Souring Webinar Today @ 8pm
Act now or you'll lose 15K in bonuses!
Meet me for lunch
If your audience understands what you are talking about... and what it will do for them... then straight pitch subject lines work well.
I am terrible at writing Straight Pitch subject lines because I don't believe that the reader fully understands what the course or webinar will do for them.
How can you write a straight pitch email subject line?
You need to say "I've got this. Do you want it?"
That's the basic template. There's no finesse. That's why it's called the straight pitch.
As I've already said, let the email open rate numbers show you what works and what doesn't. Then have the discipline to act on that insight.
Now It's Your Turn
You've now got 3 more types of email subject line to double your open rates.
Your challenge is to use them.
Here's the good news: you don't need to do anything other than copy and paste the Curiosity email subject lines. They will work like magic. It's up to you to deliver the goods in the email copy.
Remember that all these techniques are ways to write a better email subject line. Using them will feel uncomfortable at first. The big secret is spending more time writing the subject line. If you spend an hour brainstorming the subject lines for your next 5 emails. You'll have a better subject line and better open rates.
Please use these 3 tools, and the 3 that I gave you last week and let me know if they have doubled your open rates.
If you've found this useful then please leave a comment below.
If this can help someone you know, then please forward this to them.
Until next time...
Carpe diem
Roland Eva
P.S. if you'd like a proven strategy to give your training and mentorship company a giant leap in sales then you should check out my book How To Turn Expertise Into Cash.
This book outlines the system that I used to make £672,989 in 9 days.
I know that sounds too good to be true and believe me I couldn't believe it when I achieved it. In the book I'll tell you the full story. As you'll learn this was the spectacular end to a 7 year journey of discovery.
I took that amazing result and transformed it into a simple system. A system that I've used to sell products and services ranging in price from £5 to £12,000. A system that I've used in industries as diverse as property investment, finance, business opportunity, entrepreneurship, weight loss, alternative health and technology.
To download your free copy. Click the link below.
Here's a taste of what's inside:
- How to find your ideal customer– those that desperately need your help and can pay for it.
- How to test your business idea for FREE!And how to scale fast with the proof of market demand.
- How to sell products and services at any price(£27 to £6,000) in any market without a sales team!
- How to make yourself unique… even in a crowded market…so you never compete on price… and easily attract your ideal customer like bees to honey!
- Remove the confusion, fear and doubt about turning your idea into a profitable business by following a proven 5-step system to make £672,989 in just 9 days!
To download your free copy. Click the link below.
About The Author
I'm a copywriter and business growth consultant, trainer and mentor that turns expertise into cash. I achieve that by telling true stories that inspire people to change their life. That’s what makes people feel good about buying.
For the last 5 years, I've helped business owners to sell products and services in many industries. The products and services have ranged in price from £5 to £12,000.
My most successful campaign made £672,989 in 9 days.
I took that result and transformed it into a simple repeatable system. A system that I use as a consultant to create a giant leap in sales.
A system that I teach to ambitious entrepreneurs that want to make money on demand without a sales team.