Formula: Here’s Why We [Something Awesome]
Example: Here's why we are giving 100 Teslas away.
 
Check out these subject lines that leverage the power of curiosity:
 
1. Mary Fernandez: “? a surprise gift for you! {unwrap}”
2. Refinery29: “10 bizarre money habits making Millennials richer”
3. Manicube: “*Don’t Open This Email*”
4. Digital Marketer: “Is this you?”
5. Thrillist: “What They Eat In Prison”
6. Eat This Not That: “9 Disgusting Facts about Thanksgiving”
7. Chubbies: “Hologram Shorts?!”
8. Digital Marketer: “Check out my new “man cave” [PICS]”
9. Digital Marketer: “Is this the hottest career in marketing?”
10. Digital Marketer: “Start using this new Facebook ad type”
11. Grubhub: “Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About”
12. The Hustle: “A faster donkey
13. UX Collective: “Your fingerprints are all over the place”
14. Select All: “The Two Possible Futures of Virtual Reality”
15. Refinery29 Everywhere: “The $1,000 hair trend with a dirty little secret”
16. Book of the Month: “Our most riveting book this month.”
17. Sephora Insider: “You NEED to see this new eye treatment.”
18. Madewell: “Everyone’s gonna ask you about these”
19. Hiten from Product Habits: “2 hours before launch and we are still scrambling”
20. Instant Boss Club: “80 likes to 458 likes SAY WHAT?”
21. Intercom: “Are you making this landing page mistake?”
22. Zillow: “The truth about moving expenses”
23. LinkedIn: “This is how much working from home saves you”
24. BuzzFeed Books: “A very ~controversial~ opinion"
25. LOFT: “Just wait till you see these skirts”
26. Pocket: “How to Sleep. Sleep for Success. Why Eight Hours a Night Isn’t Enough”
27. Tory Burch: “This. Is. It.”
28. Apartment Therapy: “Why You Should Keep Your Clothes in the Freezer.”
29. Digital Marketer: “Important message (about tomorrow’s big announcement)”
30. Digital Marketer: “[POLL] Can you answer this?”

Just make sure this subject line is used for a real scarcity (not one that resets every time). Be cautious, overusing FOMO can decrease its value and result in people not taking the emails seriously.
​
Formula: [Action] Now Before It's Gone
Example: Download This for Free Now before It's Gone
 
Here are a few email subject lines that utilize FOMO:
 
31. Dollar Shave Club: “We want to give you money.”
32. J.Crew Factory: “Click it or miss it, people: Over 500 styles under $25 is ending!”
33. Charles Tyrwhitt: “Shirts for $39 ENDS MIDNIGHT”
34. Book of the Month: “May’s best books are just too good to miss.”
35. Uber: “Grab a ride pass before they’re gone”
36. Digital Marketer: “[WEEKEND ONLY] Get this NOW before it’s gone…”
37. Poshmark: “Your discounts EXPIRE SOON.”
38. Shoes of Prey: “In case you missed these…”
39. Warby Parker: “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring”
40. Airbnb: “Barnstable is in high demand for August”
41. Guess: “Tonight only: A denim lover’s dream”
42. AMC Theatres: “Hurry, Get Your Tickets to SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Fan Event!”
43. JustFab: “By Invitation Only: Exclusive Rewards Inside!” 
44. Groupon: “Starbucks – By Invite Only”
45. Killington: “Season Pass Savings Disappear Thursday”
46. Verizon Wireless: “[Name], your home is missing these easy upgrades.”
47. BaubleBar: “You’re a winner!”
48. Ibotta: “Don’t let this $5 bonus slip away!”
49. Crate and Barrel: “2x the rewards, 2 brands, 5 days only.”
50. JetBlue: “You’re missing out on points.”
51. Digital Marketer: “[URGENT] You’ve got ONE DAY to watch this…”
52. Digital Marketer: “Your 7-figure plan goes bye-bye at midnight…”
53. InstantBoss Club: “NEVER AGAIN SALE”
54. Jersey Mike’s Subs: “Mary, Earn double points today only”
55. Digital Marketer: “[LAST CHANCE] 85% off sale ends today!”

We use those pain points to bring out the pain in the reader and then offer a solution within the subject line. Know that the pain point you’re addressing must be a major one for your customer. This is where the practice of segmenting the list according to the type of customer helps.
 
Formula: How To [Achieve Desired Result]
Example: How To Make Millions by Losing Money
 
Here are a few subject lines incorporating the pain points:
 
56. Pizza Hut: “Feed your guests without breaking the bank”
57. IKEA: “Where do all these toys go?”
58. IKEA: “Get more kitchen space with these easy fixes”
59. HP: “Stop wasting money on ink”
60. Sephora: “Your beauty issues, solved”
61. Uber: “Since we can’t all win the lottery…”
62. Thrillist: “How to Survive Your Next Overnight Flight”
63. Guess: “Wanted: Cute and affordable fashions”
64. Evernote: “Stop wasting time on mindless work”
65. Duolingo: “Learn a language with only 5 minutes per day”
66. J.Crew: “Your summer outfit dilemmas SOLVED”
67. Groupon Experiences: “Fun to Help You Survive the Holidays”
68. Terrain: “Your all-weather dining solution.”
69. Qapital: “Don’t think about saving. Save without thinking.”
70. ByRegina: “Struggling with a business decision? I made you a 1-page framework to help.”
71. Le Tote: “Monday-Friday Style Simplified”
72. Domino’s: “No address? No problem. Now Domino’s can deliver to over 150,000 Domino’s Hotspots.”
73. Adobe Stock: “Beautiful brochures made faster”
74. Verizon Wireless: “Enjoy NBA games right at your fingertips.”
75. Vidyard: “Engaging your prospects can be hard. Video makes it easy.”
76. Grubhub: “Sit back and let someone else do the cooking”
77. Yelp: “Keep From Melting With These Iced Drinks.”
78. Grubhub: “Repeat meal syndrome? We understand.”
79. Digital Marketer: “[CHECKLIST] Get up to 20% better email deliverability”
80. Digital Marketer: “The 30-Second Sales Pitch”

No matter how good of a marketer you are, you’re gonna have a few people who will stop engaging with your emails. Added to that, there will be people who will drop off your sales funnel, abandon their carts or jump off in between a webinar. In such cases, we send them emails in an attempt to grab their attention and get them back into the sales funnel. If you have an eCommerce Store, you can literally triple your sales with cart abandonment emails.
These subject lines primarily tend to overcome an objection which the customer might be facing, offer an exclusive deal which makes it easier for the customer to buy, or simply generate more FOMO.
 
Here are a few examples of retargeting/re-engagement subject lines:
 
81. Dollar Shave Club: “Hey, did you forget to open this?”
82. The Bouqs Company: “Can You Believe It’s Been a Month?”
83. Chubbies Shorts: “Lemme Teleport You Back to Your Cart. Free Of Charge.”
84. LinkedIn: “[Name], people are looking at your LinkedIn profile”
85. Groupon: “Still Interested in That Deal?”
86. ClassPass: “New things are happening!”
87. Airbnb: “Pick up where you left off”
88. DraftKings: “[Name], you have an undrafted contest entry!”
89. Vail Resorts: “Come Back This Winter With an Exclusive Deal, [Name]”
90. Glassdoor: “It’s Been A While…”
91. Marriott Rewards: “We’ve missed you, [Name]! Please come back!”
92. Nick Stephenson: “How you can afford Your First 10,000 Readers (closing tonight)”
93. Bonobos: “Hey, forget something? Here’s 20% off.”
94. Target: “The price dropped for something in your cart”
95. Syed from Envira: “Mary, your Envira account is on hold!”
96. Syed from Envira: “I’m deleting your Envira account”
97. Ugmonk: “Offering you my personal email”
98. Animoto: “Did you miss out on some of these new features?”
99. Pinterest: “Good News: Your Pin’s price dropped!”
100. Unroll.Me: “ Unroll.Me has stopped working”
101. Vivino: “We are not gonna Give Up on You!”

Even if the user doesn’t open the email, the subject line would still make you more memorable than the rest of the brands. So unless your brand has a very specific messaging that does not sit well with emojis, you definitely should try and test out emojis within your subject line.
 
Emojipedia.org is a wonderful resource. Simply search, copy and paste.
 
While we cannot tell you which emoji would work the best for your subject line, here are the most popular emojis used in subject lines:
 
102. JustFly.com: “✈ SEAT SALE: Boston to Las Vegas!”
103. Digital Marketer: “🔨Let’s fix your offer together”
104. Digital Marketer: “🔥New Facebook Group features – this is BIG”
105. Wayfair: “😳 JUNE CLEARANCE ENDS TONIGHT.”
106. Dunkin Donuts: “🍦We’re screaming…”
107. Product Hunt Daily: “World’s first flying car 🏎️👀”
108. Yummly: “🍓Berry impressive summer recipes”
109. BuzzFeed News: “Instagram will let you mute your friends’ baby pics  ”
110. Instacart: “🍝🍞🌽 Market Basket: Save $10 off your next order”
111. IMPACT Branding & Design: “IMPACT Live: Last week to save  ”
112. Hotjar: “Customise your visitor feedback experience 😠😀😍”
113. Crate and Barrel: “Up to 40% off  ️+ 30% off 🍹+ 15% off 🛍️ + Free 🚚 “
114. Wish: “90% off store prices… Today’s top 5 discounts on summer sunglasses 😎”
115. Nordstrom Rack: “🌙Up to 75% OFF ends tonight 🌙”
116. ClassPass: “Go from 🌱 to 🌳 for just $4”
117. Gary Vaynerchuk: “New tshirts, a new movie, and episode 100 of #AskGaryVee✴️✴️★”
118. StubHub: “🚨 Great deal alert! Zac Brown Band at Fenway Park for a steal.”
119. Gary Vaynerchuk: “Tell me what you want to get out of this email service⚠️”
120. Digital Marketer: “Sales ⬆︎, Refunds ⬇︎, Retention ⬆︎”
121. Digital Marketer: “①⓪① ways to boost email open rates”
122. Digital Marketer:  “ ⏰ FINAL NOTICE: “Perfect Offer Mini-Class”
123. Digital Marketer: “  Claim your free heat map!”
124. Digital Marketer: "🚀 Your perfect product launch for $7”
125. Digital Marketer: "⚡[FLASH SALE] My 11-step business launch plan (and templates)"
126. Digital Marketer: "Does your landing page suck?… or is it ‘perfect’? 😊"
127. Digital Marketer: "⏰ LAST CHANCE: T&C closes tonight"
128. Digital Marketer: "❄️Turn ice cold prospects into buyers 🔥"
129. Digital Marketer: "🎯Facebook Targeting Expansion: The Test (and the results…)"

​In a large crowd, a genuinely funny person automatically grabs our attention. The same thing applies to our crowded inboxes. Answer this honestly: When has it ever happened that you found a genuinely funny subject line in your inbox and you didn’t open it? Probably never. While funny email subject lines are a great way to grab attention and get opens, you need to make sure they will resonate with your audience and not go on the offensive side. Doing that can result in an immediate backlash and a loss of subscribers.
 
Here are some examples of funny email subject lines:
 
130. Groupon: “Hey… Were You Gonna Delete This?”
131. Red Sox Ticketing: “Come to Fenway May 2 - we won’t tell your boss!”
132. The Muse: “We Like Being Used”
133. Dollar Shave Club: “Open up and say wowie zowie!”
134. Eater Boston: “Where to Drink Beer Right Now” (Sent at 6:45am on a Wednesday.)
135. Travelocity: “Need a day at the beach? Just scratch n’ sniff your way to paradise…”
136. Brooks Brothers: “Up to 40% off trousers & sport coats. It’s a tailor-made sale.”
137. Thrillist: “Try To Avoid These 27 People On New Year’s Eve”
138. Free People: “‘Can I PLEASE borrow?!’ - everyone you know”
139. Baby Bump: “Yes, I’m Pregnant. You Can Stop Staring At My Belly Now.”
140. Gozengo: “NEW! Vacation on Mars”
141. The Bouqs Company: “Pow-pop-boom-crackfsss” (Note: This was for a 4th of July sale.)
142. The Hustle: “Look what you did, you little jerk…” (this one is a hybrid of curiosity and humour)
143. TicTail: “Boom shakalak! Let’s get started.”
144. OpenTable: “Licking your phone never tasted so good”
145. Funny or DIe: “Revised policy regarding jean shorts at work”
146. UncommonGoods: “As You Wish” (This is a reference to the movie The Princess Bride.)
147. Grubhub: “Breaking chews! We found new restaurants near you!”
148. Warby Parker: “Pairs nicely with spreadsheets”
149. NextDraft: “OMGodfather” 
150. Dollar Shave Club: “What to Do When You’re the Sweaty, Smelly Guy at the Gym”
151. Groupon: “Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”
152. Nordstrom Rack: “Ray-Ban up to 50% off. Get in a new frame of mind.”
153. Crate and Barrel: “New planters? Oh, kale yeah.”
154. OpenTable:  "Licking your phone never tasted so good"
155. Move Loot:  "Seat Your Heart Out"
156. Overstock: "Seriously. We’d like to thank you."
157. Grubhub: "Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About"
158. Refinery29:  "10 bizarre money habits making Millennials richer"
159. Fabletics: "Your Butt Will Look Great in These Workout Pants"
160. Edgevale: "Get In Our Pants"
161. UrbanDaddy: "You’ve Changed"
162. Influitive: "So I’ll pick you up at 7?"
163. BloomThat: "Better than a pumpkin spice latte!"
164. Gap: "Mondays are suddenly AWESOME"
165. The Bold Italic: "Just Pho You: Where to Eat SF’s Best PhoPop"
166. Physique: "Get Ready. Keep the Pie Off Your Thighs Returns."
167. BuzzFeed: "Yes, We’re Still Talking About Kim Kardashian’s Butt"
168. Groupon: "There are no deals in this email"
169. Sublime Stitching: "Bummed you missed out? Console yourself…"
170. NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences: "Show Us Yours and We’ll Show You Ours"
171. Benefit Cosmetics: "Do you like to watch?"

​As a marketer, you’re probably no stranger to the fact that social proof is a huge booster for engagement and sales. People like to do what other people are doing. It makes the brand more relatable and improves trust. This same principle when incorporated within the email subject line can make a huge impact to your opens. Try to highlight a major objection and how a customer is overcoming it using your product.
 
Formula: How Lessons [I/We] Learned [Action You Took]
Example: How I Grew My Business to 10k/mo in 90 days
 
172. Patagonia: “Top reviewed styles from customers like you”
173. HelloFresh: “Pssst… your friends are cooking up a storm!”
174. GolfNow: “You deserve some golf this week (top picks inside)”
175. Yummly: “Most Popular Recipes this Week”
176. Airbnb: “Make it a good night with John Legend and Airbnb”
177. Yummly: “Simple recipes from popular chefs”
178. Zillow: “5 homes that are trending right now”
179. Lenny: “Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz on the Female Gaze”
180. Inc: “18 Habits Highly Successful People Have (And the Rest of Us Probably Don’t)”
181. Adobe: "Adobe named a Leader in customer analytics"
182. Instant Boss Club: “See what our clients are saying…”
183. Sephora: “The people have spoken: these are their faves”
184. Target: “Moms are loving these fave maternity looks.”
185. Wish: “Whoa… These are the most wanted handbags this year.”
186. Digital Marketer: "This, friends, is how you sell with email…"
187. Digital Marketer: "[Case Study] $25,865/mo in recurring revenue"
188. Digital Marketer: "Case Study: 7-figure eCommerce Funnel"
189. Digital Marketer: "This guy makes 6 figures per month?"
190. Digital Marketer: "28,507 leads in 45 days"
191. Digital Marketer: "Tim Ferriss says “Hi”"

​A part of what makes us human is our desire for love and acceptance by other fellow humans. Everybody takes a little too excessive pride in ourselves and our abilities from time to time. We can use this human tendency to our advantage and capitalize on our audience’s vanity. Be sure that you don’t go overboard with this. A little too much and people consider it spammy. Your job in this one is to provide something that makes the reader look better or look worse than her peers.
 
192. Pop Physique: “Get Ready. Keep the Pie Off Your Thighs Returns.”
193. Guess: “Don’t wear last year’s styles.”
194. Rapha: “Gift inspiration for the discerning cyclist”
195. La Mer: “Age-defying beauty tricks”
196. Jeremy Gitomer: “How Have You Progressed Since the Third Grade?”
197. Rapha: “As worn in the World Tour”
198. Fabletics: “Your Butt Will Look Great in These Workout Pants”
199. Sephora: “Products the celebs are wearing”

Additionally, these types of emails get higher CTRs as well. This is because the people who are interested enough to open them email are highly likely to be interested in the actual offer as well.
 
200. Rip Curl: “Two for two”
201. Rapha: “Complimentary gift wrap on all purchases”
202. Guess: “25% off your favorites”
203. HP: “New must-haves for your office”
204. Seafolly: “A new product you won’t pass on”
205. Topshop: “Meet your new jeans”
206. La Mer: “A little luxury at a great price”
207. Topshop: “Get a head start on summer”
208. The Black Tux: “Get priority access.”
209. Digital Marketer: "Google Display Network (Your one page cheat sheet)"
210. HP: “Flash. Sale. Alert.”
211. Digital Marketer: “[Flash Sale] 85% off our Podcast Launch Plan”
212. Digital Marketer: “Your Content Campaign Planner (Google doc)”
213. Digital Marketer: “[EMAIL TEMPLATE] Fix your company’s biggest marketing issue”
214. Digital Marketer: “[CHECKLIST] Get up to 20% better email deliverability”
215. Digital Marketer: “Swipe these 5 killer traffic campaigns”
216. Digital Marketer: “Paid traffic not converting? Download this… ”
217. Digital Marketer: “Digital Marketing Mastery is open!”

​Humans, we’re a lazy bunch - even the workaholics among us. We love saving time through a quick hack or a shortcut that helps us get what we want faster. You can use this to your advantage. You can offer a quick cheat sheet or a resource that will help your subscribers get some result really fast. And frame the subject line accordingly that makes the user want to check out the resource.
 
If you're giving a step-by-step guide to achieve a result, you can use this formula:
​[Ebook] Step by Step guide to [achieving a result]
 
218. Digital Marketer: “[Free PDF Download] Claim our Social Media Swipe File”
219. Digital Marketer: “Steal these email templates…”
220. OptinMonster: “63-Point Checklist for Creating the Ultimate Optin Form”
221. Digital Marketer: “A Native Ad in 60 Minutes or Less”
222. Digital Marketer: “212 blog post ideas”
223. Digital Marketer: “[EMAIL TEMPLATE] Fix your company’s biggest marketing issue”
224. Ramit Sethi: “How to email a busy person (including a word-for-word script)”
225. Digital Marketer: “Brand NEW (and free) Training: 3 Steps To a Perfect Offer ”
226. Digital Marketer: “[85% Off] 3 Proven Facebook Campaigns to Run Today…”
227. OptinMonster: “Grow your email list 10X faster with these 30 content upgrade ideas”

But don’t worry, you don’t have to use your subscriber’s names to personalize the subject line. The person’s location, time zone reference, events in the area work too! Additionally, you can also use casual language or share something personal to better relate with your audience.
 
228. John Lee Dumas: “Are you coming?”
229. UrbanDaddy: “You’ve Changed”
230. Bonnie Fahy: “Mary, do you remember me?”
231. Influitive: “So I’ll pick you up at 7?”
232. Kimra Luna: “I didn’t see your name in the comments!?”
233. OptinMonster: “300% increase in revenue with a single optin + a neat growth trick from my mastermind!”
234. Guess: “Mary, check out these hand-picked looks”
235. Mary Fernandez: “you free this Thurs at 12PM PST? [guest blogging class]”
236. James Malinchak: “Crazy Invitation, I am Going to Buy You Lunch…”
237. Brooklinen: “Vanilla or Chocolate?”
238. Sam from The Hustle: “I love you”
239. Revolution Tea: “Thanks for helping us”
240. Ryan Levesque: “Seriously, Who DOES This?”
241. Rent the Runway: “Happy Birthday Mary – Surprise Inside!”
242. Jon Morrow: “Quick favor?”
243. Mary Fernandez: “? your detailed results…”
244. Harry’s: “Two razors for your friends (on us)”
245. Digital Marketer: “Did you get your book yet?”
246. Digital Marketer: “G + L + F = 2X Your Sales”
247. Digital Marketer: “You’re Invited”
248. Digital Marketer: “Is this you?”
249. Digital Marketer: “What happens when you’re approved?”

Respectfully blunt works. Analysis of 40 million marketing emails found that descriptive and to-the-point email subject lines had the highest open rates.
Yes, simple subject lines that are perceived as “boring” in the industry tend to get really high opens. So why do we all not just send straightforward emails? What was the point of the whole article above? The thing is, these straightforward subject lines are only to be used once in a while. And your other emails have to be a value bomb. This will make your subscriber used to opening your emails, thanks to the awesome value inside them. And when the to-the-point subject line arrives, they would be so happy with your content already that they would gladly open your emails.
 
Formula: [Number] Lessons [I/We] Learned by [Action You Took]
Example: 100 lessons I learned by Vlogging for 3 years
 
250. Barack Obama: “Hey”
251. AYR: “Best coat ever”
252. Al Franken: “Yes, this is a fundraising email”
253. “Thanks for Joining – Here’s What’s on Sale”
254. “Top 10 under $10”
255. “212 Blog Post Ideas”