Hey Reader,

There are two kinds of subject lines. The kind that tell you what's inside, and the kind that make you want to find out.

One gets opened WAY more often than the other.

"New single out now" answers the question immediately. You already know what's inside. No need to open the email at all.

A subject line like "the voicemail that changed this whole record" however, doesn't answer anything... It makes you curious about that voicemail though, doesn't it? This example creates something called an "open loop." An unresolved question your brain can't help but seek out the answer for in order to close it.

A few ways to build the loop:

• Reference something specific without explaining it. "the note I found in my guitar case"
• Phrase it like a question and ask it directly. "why did we almost cancel the nashville show?"
• Give them a cliffhanger. "what happened backstage in Ohio"

However you approach it, make sure you write like you're texting a friend. Casual. Intimate. This creates a sense of familiarity and helps build trust.

Preview text is another thing you can leverage to drive up those open rates.

Preview text usually defaults to the first line of text in the email, but that's a wasted opportunity. You want to use every bit of inbox real estate at your disposal to create more tension or curiosity. Here's an example of how to build it:

Subject: "the voicemail after the Ohio show"
Preview: "it changed how we play this song."

None of this needs to be clever. It just needs to be relevant to the email copy and create an emotional payoff for your subscribers when they open.

Because if you can create that emotional payoff, you're going to train your subscribers to believe that opening your emails is fun.

And that will make them want to open the next email too.

Hope that helps,

P.S. subject lines aren't the only way to increase your open rates. Next week, let's talk about how keeping your list healthy can help.