How to write impactful subject lines to boost your engagement
The Behavioral Science question - What do your clients really want?
It is as basic as this. Once you answer this question, you are on your way to securing more buyers for your business.
According to Dr. Eric Whitman, author of the phenomenal book Cashvertising, humans and therefore, your clients, have nine learned desires, namely
To be informed
Curiosity
Cleanliness of body and surroundings
Efficiency
Convenience
Dependability/quality
Expression of beauty and style
Economy/profit
Bargains
At any given point in time, your clients or prospective clients are looking for ways to satisfy one or more of the above nine learned desires. Your content must answer to one or more of the above desires by evoking emotions.
An easy way to get started is through Power Words.
Power Words are persuasive words that can evoke an emotional response in the reader.
Power Words have the power to influence.
They are best used in titles, headings, email subject lines and call-to-action button text.
Leverage Behavioral Science and Power Words to give your clients what they want
Here are some examples of Power Words that you can use to address the learned desires that Dr. Eric Whitman mentions.
To be informed
New
For most people, New means Better. New clothes, new house, new course, new video - all these get the reader take notice of something better and unknown to them. They will get excited to know more.
People are constantly looking for something new. They want to be ahead of the curve and their peers. They want to be the first ones to know things and share it within their network.
New is best used in headlines and subject lines.
Curiosity
Imagine
Imagine captures a dream, an aspiration.
It answers the questions ‘is it possible?’, ‘can it be done?’. It transports the reader from reality into a dream zone where they are able to achieve what they want to.
Imagine is a powerful word when used to offer a solution to a problem.
Secret
If you have seen the Kung-Fu Panda series, you would know that Po’s father had a secret ingredient to his noodles recipe. His restaurant was a huge hit since everyone wanted to eat his noodles.
He later reveals - there is NO secret ingredient!
The word ‘secret’ triggers curiosity and the desire to immediately satisfy it by getting to know What is the secret. People want to know the secret ingredient, the secret trick to higher search ranking, the secret to smoother skin, the secret to losing weight fast, the secret to… virtually anything.
Secret is best used when you are educating people about a product, service, tool or sharing ideas or stratgeies that they do not know yet.
Best used in headlines, email subject lines and CTA button text.
Yes
Like Imagine, Yes is an affirmation of possibilities. It strongly answers the question, ‘Yes, it can be done’.
What can be done? Tasks that the reader may be struggling with - a new tool, course, skill, software or an event.
Yes is best used when the reader may be unsure or undecided about something, especially around learning.
Efficiency
More
Everybody wants more bang for their buck. They want more options, more money, more ideas, more colors, more time, more flexibility, more opportunity, more…., more…
You get the picture.
We want to extract the maximum value from what is available to us. It makes us happy when we think that we got more than what we were going to get. We want to get more help, more time, more understanding, more ideas and more insights.
Best used in headlines, email subject lines, and CTA button text, or email subject lines.
Convenience
Instant
Instant gratification - most of us want immediate rewards. This is true even when the rewards from the delay are bigger and better than immediate ones.
Instant is a power word that promises instant gratification leading to a higher engagement. If you have valuable advise or information to share, ‘instant’ is a great promise to include in your title or email subject lines.
For CTA buttons, text such as ‘get instant access’ is preferable over Download Now.
Easy
It is well known among psychologists and behavioral scientists that our brain is a lazy machine!
It is prone to taking short-cuts as compared to spending time mulling over a problem and coming up with a solution.
So, making it ‘easy’ for the brain will reap rewards because no effort is involved.
If you are sharing content which solves a problem. simplifies a complicated topic or a strategy where there is benefit of time, cost or effort; the word easy is a good choice. Because, you are making your customer’s life easy.
Dependability/quality
Proven
Proven gives a sense of safety and less risk to the reader. Someone has tested and tried out what you are talking about and has evidence to support it; therefore, there is less risk to accepting your product /service.
It builds trust and positions you as a trustworthy partner.
Best used in subject lines and headlines. Use it in body copy when you have supporting facts or examples to show.
The
‘The’ is definitive. It seems to denote something specific. Think of it as pointing a finger at something to make your point.
It is best used when you are talking about a single product, service or strategy.
Economy/profit
More
Everybody wants more bang for their buck. They want more options, more money, more ideas, more colors, more time, more flexibility, more opportunity, more…., more…
You get the picture.
We want to extract the maximum value from what is available to us. It makes us happy when we think that we got more than what we were going to get. We want to get more help, more time, more understanding, more ideas and more insights.
Best used in headlines, email subject lines, and CTA button text, or email subject lines.
Bargains
Free
In Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Dan Ariely, the renowned Behavioral Economist says, The word “free” “… gives us such an emotional charge that we perceive what is being offered as immensely more valuable than it really is.
Free is risk-free. People can forego a better-valued item for one that is free.
Best used in email subject lines and headlines.
Power Words are meant to be impactful and get the reader to click / buy / register / contact / save / download by appealing to their innate desire and needs. As a content writer who is also a marketer, I suggest that you include power words to craft multiple subject line options to test for A/B campaigns.
Here are more examples of Power Words
Did you know?
Human beings are known to remember and retain negative experience more than positive ones.
This is called Negativity Bias
We recall an experience that evoked negative emotions within us more readily than a positive experience.
Negative emotions causes the brain to sound the alarm bells in preparation for an oncoming danger. It is a survival tactic. When this happens, the negative experience quickly gets registered and stored in the memory. Unlike positive experiences which must be consciously remembered for a longer time to be stored into long-term memory.
To put it mildly, human beings and therefore your clients are wired to remember and respond to negative stimuli.
When used cleverly and in the right context, negative power words can leave a lasting impact on the reader. These are best used when
you are making an announcement
you are evoking curiosity
when you are sharing a solution
Power Words that convert negative emotions such as fear and anger
Fear of missing out or Fear of losing or Fear of being left out of the group
Members only
Invitation only
Become an insider
Get it before everyone else
Caution
Stop
Immediate Action
Alert
When using negative power words, make sure that you are sharing a solution to address that emotion. Negative power words can backfire if they do not resolve the customer’s pain point (that has been evoked through the subject line).
I have been writing email communication for B2B firms throughout my career. One thing is for sure - no one has time to read every single email. Subject lines get judged for a millisecond before which it is either open or delete. I can write email copies for you that your reader will open and take action on.