Your subject line is a headline. Treat it like one.

Copywriters spend hours on a headline. Then they write the subject line in the elevator.

That's backwards. The subject line is the only sentence your subscriber is guaranteed to read. Everything you wrote after it depends on whether it worked.

Treat it like a headline

A good headline makes a promise, creates curiosity, or names a benefit. So does a good subject line. The same rules apply — you just have fewer characters.

Write thirty

The first subject line you think of is almost never the best one. Write a list of thirty. Somewhere around number eighteen, you'll find the one that actually makes you want to open the email.

Test the preview

The preheader is a second subject line. Use it. Don't let it default to "View in browser" or the first line of your footer.

Read it out loud

If it sounds like an ad, it is one. If it sounds like a note from a person, it'll get opened.

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The subject line is the door. Spend as much time on the door as you spend on the room behind it.