to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why

Over the last 10 months, I've gotten to see firsthand how well certain email subject lines perform.

That's because I've been sending out about 1-3 emails per week during that time. I track open rates. I track click-thru rates. It's easy for me to see when a subject line is a winner... or a loser.

With that in mind, I would like to share with you 3 email subject lines that have worked, and explain why they worked.

Email Subject Line #1: "instant copywriting business for [first name]"

Why does this one work?

It uses the word "instant," which appeals to people's natural desire for quick fixes. It uses your first name. And it's targeted. The word "copywriting" is a perfect match for my list of copywriters. Finally, there is a big promise of financial gain.

Adapt these techniques for your list by filling in the blanks: "instant _______ for [first name]"

Email Subject Line #2: "[first name]'s 2nd sale"

I believe this one worked so well because not only did it use personalization, it also looks like notification of an affiliate commission.

A lot of folks are "casual affiliates" and they get super excited about making a sale. Because this subject line looks like one of those notifications, it got a high open rate.

Email Subject Line #3: "secrets to full-time copywriting"

This one worked because of the word "secrets." Everyone wants to know secrets.

Again, there's a perfect "word-to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why t

ject lines that have worked, and explain why they worked.

Email Subject Line #1: "instant copywriting business for [first name]"

Why does this one work?

It uses the word "instant," which appeals to people's natural desire for quick fixes. It uses your first name. And it's targeted. The word "copywriting" is a perfect match for my list of copywriters. Finally, there is a big promise of financial gain.

Adapt these techniques for your list by filling in the blanks: "instant _______ for [first name]"

Email Subject Line #2: "[first name]'s 2nd sale"

I believe this one worked so well because not only did it use personalization, it also looks like notification of an affiliate commission.

A lot of folks are "casual affiliates" and they get super excited about making a sale. Because this subject line looks like one of those notifications, it got a high open rate.

Email Subject Line #3: "secrets to full-time copywriting"

This one worked because of the word "secrets." Everyone wants to know secrets.

Again, there's a perfect "word-to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why

ters. Finally, there is a big promise of financial gain.

Adapt these techniques for your list by filling in the blanks: "instant _______ for [first name]"

Email Subject Line #2: "[first name]'s 2nd sale"

I believe this one worked so well because not only did it use personalization, it also looks like notification of an affiliate commission.

A lot of folks are "casual affiliates" and they get super excited about making a sale. Because this subject line looks like one of those notifications, it got a high open rate.

Email Subject Line #3: "secrets to full-time copywriting"

This one worked because of the word "secrets." Everyone wants to know secrets.

Again, there's a perfect "word-to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why

p>A lot of folks are "casual affiliates" and they get super excited about making a sale. Because this subject line looks like one of those notifications, it got a high open rate.

Email Subject Line #3: "secrets to full-time copywriting"

This one worked because of the word "secrets." Everyone wants to know secrets.

Again, there's a perfect "word-to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why

to-market" match with "copywriting." And this time, it goes a step further by saying "full-time copywriting." If you are an aspiring copywriter, and would like to have enough freelance work to keep you busy full-time, you will open this email.

You can use the same structure for your list by filling in the blank: "secrets to _______"

One last note about why these subject lines worked: they all use lower-case letters.

To get your email opened, you don't want it to look or smell like it's commercial in nature. You want it to fly under the radar. You want it to look like it came from a friend.

That's why lower-case subject lines work. They look more informal and friendly. Surely a business would not violate basic principals of grammar and punctuation! By going contrary to your prospects' expectations about how commercial email looks, you can get more people to open your email.

Ultimately, for email subject lines to work, they must use powerful trigger words (like "instant" and "secrets"), appeal strongly to your readers' primary interest, and avoid looking commercial in nature (make it look like it's from a friend or like official email correspondence, like a shipping notice or affiliate commission email).

Of course, email marketing is changing all the time. It's a tough field to stay afloat in, especially with so much legitimate double opt-in email being blocked by so-called "spam" filters. Hopefully, this brief lesson in email subject lines will help you improve your open rates.