As a marketing mogul, you’re probably no stranger to the importance of creating content that stands out and keeps your reader hooked. However, brainstorming ideas, crafting and editing content, and promoting it can be time consuming, overwhelming, and let’s face it: you’d rather outsource it or, at the very least, get some help. 

You may have heard of it (in reality, who hasn’t?), but let me reacquaint you with ChatGPT, everyone’s new favorite AI-powered content marketing assistant. 

How ChatGPT Works 

If you know me well enough (and if you’ve started to follow me on LinkedIn), you’ve seen me talk about ChatGPT like it’s Jarvis to Tony Stark—because, hey, it really is! 

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, uses machine learning algorithms to produce human-like text based on your prompts. It’s a game-changer for anyone creating some form of content. Just input a prompt and let ChatGPT work its magic! 

How to Maximize ChatGPT for Content Marketing 

But, like every other tool, not everyone fully understands or grasps exactly how to use it—which is why most of the time, a lot of business owners tend to give up and question why people rave about this tool so much. 

Well, take this as your Crash Course to ChatGPT  

6 Strategic Ways to Effectively Integrate AI Into Your Marketing Strategy: 

1. Identify Your Objectives  

Be clear about what you hope to achieve with ChatGPT – maybe you’re aiming for increased website traffic or social media engagement. 

Whatever it is, you need to be crystal clear about WHY you want to use ChatGPT in the first place. This’ll help you figure out what prompts to use and what type of content you’d like it to help you write. 

(Key term here is: help) 

2. Decide the Type of Content You Want to Create 

Whether it’s blog posts, social media captions, email newsletters, or video scripts, ChatGPT has got your back. Looking to captivate readers? ChatGPT generates brilliant ideas for engaging articles. (goodbye writer’s block) 

Need attention-grabbing captions? ChatGPT whips up creative wording that stops the scroll. (as long as you know what prompts to give it ) Eager to connect with subscribers? ChatGPT crafts persuasive subject lines and captivating content. 

Dreaming of visually stunning videos? ChatGPT can help you write scripts with compelling narratives and outlines captivating scenes. 

3. Set Up a Schedule for Using ChatGPT 

Plan how often you want to employ the tool in your workflow. Take control of your content creation process by setting up a schedule that works for you.  Determine the frequency of how often (or seldom) you plan to use it and integrate it seamlessly into your workflow. 

4. Experiment with Various Prompts & Settings  

ChatGPT is flexible and customizable, so don’t hesitate to test different prompts and see what brings the best results. I always tell my readers and clients: review, revise, and refine. This doesn’t just go for the content you actually write, but it also applies to the prompts you give ChatGPT.  

5. Monitor & Track Your Results  

Don’t just create content and hope for the best, take charge and monitor your results like a boss.  AKA – stop “winging it”. Your insights will serve as your content marketing compass to show you if the content you’re putting out there is working or not. 

Want to get certified in Content Marketing?

Leverage the tools and channels to predictably and profitably drive awareness, leads, sales, and referrals—EVERYTHING you need to know to become a true master of digital marketing.​ Click Here

Utilize powerful tools like Google Analytics to track and measure the impact of your ChatGPT-assisted content. Stay informed, make data-driven decisions, and watch your success skyrocket.  

6. Integrate ChatGPT Into Your Overall Marketing Strategy

Aim to make ChatGPT a core part of your comprehensive marketing plan—aka, turn it into your very own Virtual Writing Assistant. You can still have copywriters and editors and integrate ChatGPT as one of the steps in crafting your content. 

Always remember: ChatGPT + Human Element = GOLD. 

Prompting ChatGPT the Right Way  

It gets more exciting, because here are 6 types of prompts you can use to leverage ChatGPT in your content marketing, complete with detailed prompts and breakdowns  

1. Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas 

Engage ChatGPT in a brainstorming session to come up with blog post ideas. This can save you hours of guessing what to write about next (writer’s block is a normal thing, and I totally get it. When you write for a living, your creative juices run out eventually. This is where ChatGPT can definitely help!) 

ChatGPT prompt: “Generate 10 blog post ideas about digital marketing trends in 2023.” 

2. Craft Compelling Social Media Posts 

Of course, ChatGPT can help you draft your posts. (if it can help with blog posts, why not social media captions too, right?) Some additional tips: make sure you specify what platform you’re writing it for. You can even throw in the tone of voice, as well as the word count you’re aiming for.  

ChatGPT isn’t perfect, and sometimes it won’t nail these things on the first try. This is why I highly recommend being patient and going through the iterative process to eventually nail your post. 

ChatGPT prompt: “Write a LinkedIn post introducing our new online course for small business owners. Here is landing page for the course: [Add your link here]” 

3. Develop Email Marketing Campaigns 

ChatGPT can help you develop email marketing campaigns, from creating engaging subject lines to drafting the body of the email. While the prompt below isn’t as specific as you’d like it to be, you can definitely experiment and add more details.  

And if you really want to amplify your email marketing, you can use other tools in your arsenal like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, which could help you craft catchy email subject headers to boot. 

Want to get certified in Content Marketing?

Leverage the tools and channels to predictably and profitably drive awareness, leads, sales, and referrals—EVERYTHING you need to know to become a true master of digital marketing.​ Click Here

ChatGPT prompt: “Draft an email announcing a flash sale on our new product. Get details about the product here: [Add your link here]” 

4. Script Video Content 

If video content is part of your marketing strategy, ChatGPT can help write scripts or create outlines for your video content. You can also include how long your video is going to be and add an outline of what you’d like to talk about.  Again, specificity is KEY The clearer you are with your prompts, the better ChatGPT’s outputs are going to be. 

ChatGPT prompt: “Create an outline for a YouTube video on how to use our product. Here as some steps to consider: [Add your steps here]” 

5. Write Out Content for Landing Pages & Sales Pages 

You can also employ ChatGPT’s assistance to generate compelling copy for your landing pages and sales pages, improving conversion rates. 

If the product or service you’re selling deals with a lot of information (say, you’re writing a sales page for a health supplement), bear in mind that the free version of ChatGPT’s knowledge base only goes as far as September 2021. Make sure you double check the details you’re including on your landing page so that you feed readers and potential buyers accurate info! 

ChatGPT prompt: “Write a persuasive landing page copy for our new e-book. Here are the topics discussed in the ebook: [Add in details here]”

6. Churn Out Ideas for Video Scripts & Outlines 

Like I said, as creatives and marketers, we can only churn out enough ideas for content—and that includes video. If you’re leveraging video content in your marketing, ChatGPT can generate ideas for video scripts and outlines, saving you precious brainstorming time. 

ChatGPT prompt: “Generate 10 different ideas for a video script about the benefits of our service. Here is my website: [Add your website here]” 

These 12 ChatGPT tips are literally just the tip of the iceberg. The more you use ChatGPT, the more you’ll discover how you can leverage its power and use it to boost your content marketing strategy. 

The number 1 tip I could leave you is this: The key to unlocking ChatGPT’s full potential is by being clear and specific in your prompts. The more precise you are, the better the output! 

Ready to level up your content strategy with AI?  

Stay in the know and never miss out on the latest AI-driven tips, trends, and strategies in the world of content marketing. Join my newsletter, Dopamine Dose, and get ahead of the game with artificial intelligence. Subscribe here. 

The post 12 ChatGPT Tips to Boost Your Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Do businesses email their customers too often? According to a recent article on Business Insider, the answer is yes. But not for the reason you may think.

It’s not because customers loathe getting emails from companies. Or because frequent emails are considered spam. It’s actually because most brands nowadays email like this:

They use discounts as their main strategy to persuade customers to buy. But what happens when your customer’s whole inbox looks like the picture above? The inevitable: they stop paying attention to your emails.

Because here’s the thing.

Why would they open your emails if they can already predict the content inside? Why would they buy now when they can clearly see you’ve got discounts all the time? And, most importantly, why would they pick your brand over your competitors?

If you want to stand out in someone’s crowded inbox, you need to do the one thing that everybody else avoids doing: building strong relationships with your email subscribers. Here’s how:

How Storytelling Helps Your Brand Shine Bright in a Crowded Inbox

Storytelling is the most effective way to communicate. That’s not me saying it. It’s the countless studies (such as this one, this one, and this one) that prove it, time and time again. Why?

Because storytelling helps you form positive emotional associations with you and your brand. The emotions you evoke with your stories go a long way in defining how people perceive you, creating a stronger connection in your audience’s mind between you and the problem you solve for them. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. 

The truth is, writing story-based emails makes you more than just a brand that sells a solution to their pain: it makes you an entertainer, too. And as a marketer, being able to entertain while selling is like having a superpower. People hate being sold to. But they love being entertained (ever binge-watched a Netflix show? I know I have). 

Plus, with story-based emails, you can easily add more variability to your email calendar. As a result, customers will no longer be able to predict what your next email will be about: a fun story? A new product? Maybe even a discount? Curiosity translates to increased engagement. And increased engagement translates to stronger relationships with your customers. 

So by choosing the right stories to tell in your emails (which we’ll discuss in a bit) and by writing them in an engaging way, you’re guaranteed to keep your audience hooked and excited to read your next email. As opposed to adding yet another sales email to their already crowded inbox.

Here’s How to Supercharge Your Email Strategy with Stories That Sell:

1. Pick the Right Story 

The storytelling approach will give you little to no results if the stories you’re telling are flat to begin with. No matter how engaging your writing is. 

So the first thing you need to do is to make sure you select story ideas with potential. Okay, but where do you find these ideas? And what does a good story idea look like?

If you’re anything like me, your life isn’t that exciting or eventful. And yet, you may still have a funny conversation with your next-door neighbor. Or your team may geek out about wild adaptogen mushrooms at a team-building event. Or your spouse may accidentally spill coffee on your laptop (true story!). 

Any of these can be turned into fun story-based emails that tell your audience a little bit more about who you (or your team) are as a person. Most business owners assume their customers don’t want to know what goes on in their personal and business life. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

In fact, customers want to know there are real people behind brand names. According to this report from Sprout Social, 70% of consumers report feeling more connected to a brand when its CEO is active on social media. 

And depending on how much you’re willing to share about your life, you can then select the types of personal stories to write about. When in doubt, think about what you’d want to tell your friends/family at the dinner table. More often than not, that’d make a great story for your email list too.

Related Articles

• How Standardizing Your Sales Process Boosts Overall Conversion

• 2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 2

• 2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 1

2. Write a Strong Hook

Let’s face it. 

Nowadays, attention spans are short. And no matter how good your story is, if how you write it isn’t engaging enough, your email subscribers aren’t going to read it. 

So the very first thing you want to do is to make sure the first three sentences of your story hook the reader into the action. Once someone reads that much into a story, it’s incredibly difficult for them to stop. 

So how do you do it? Any of these hooks have proven to work again and again whenever I write stories for myself or my clients:

• Start in the middle of the action (and explain the context later). For example:

“RUN!”, the police officer yelled at me.

“Okay, thank you!”, I yelled back, running out of Paddington Station and trying to find a cab.

Except, it was 4 in the morning. And I had no idea where to look for one.”

• Start with ‘x time ago’. Recalling a past event hooks people instantly into your story. For example:

“A few months ago, Joanna Wiebe (the original conversion copywriter) slid into my DMs on Slack completely out of nowhere…”

3. Segue to Your Sales Pitch Seamlessly

By the time you get to this part, your readers are entertained and primed to purchase your solution to their problems. Your brand is no longer just another brand in their busy inbox. It’s someone they now know, trust, and like. And so, buying from you feels just right.

But you can’t just end your story abruptly so you can sell your products/services. That’d feel intrusive. In the same way that, when you’re engaged in a YouTube video, an annoying ad interrupts your stream.

So you must find a way to tie your story to your product or service so seamlessly that your readers won’t even notice they’re now reading a sales pitch. Sounds difficult. But you’ll see how easy it actually is. In fact, what most people get wrong about this part is that they try to find the moral of the story and tie that to their sales pitch. 

For example, let’s say your story is about how your team went to a team-building event and someone accidentally broke a bunch of glasses. And if you’re selling a service, you might be able to spin that incident into saying something like: when you hire our software developers, your app stops breaking.

But that’s a predictable way to transition from your story to your sales pitch. Plus, not all stories will end with a moral. Most stories will be fragments of conversations you have with someone or something ridiculous that happened throughout the day (like forgetting your keys at the office). There’s no moral in that and there’s no need for one.

What you can do instead is to look back at your entire story and find one or a few phrases/words that could help you build that segway. Here’s an example of a full story-based email. Pay special attention to the part where the story ends and the sale begins.

Example of a Full Story-Based Email

“SUBJ: Hacker threatens to destroy my reputation in 72 hours straight

This morning, I was at my laptop reading my emails when suddenly, I came across an unread email from… 

Me.

What in the world…?

Out of confusion, I open it without reading the subject line. 

And once I go past the first sentence, it becomes pretty clear:

I’m being hacked.

“You may have noticed we are using your company’s servers to send you this email: we have hacked into your website, kaleidocopy[dot]com.”

Oh.

Okay… They did send this email from my email address. 

Still, I can’t help but wonder… could this be a hoax?

“This is not a hoax.”

Ah! Well, that settles it then.

“We are willing to forget about destroying the reputation of your site and company for a small fee. The current fee is at $2500 in bitcoin.”

I mean… at least they are nice about it, you know? Their willingness to forgive and forget says a lot about a person’s character.

In the following lines, they take me through exactly what they’re going to do to ruin my company and reputation, step by step.

Then they teach me how to buy Bitcoin (I already know how, but I appreciate their thoughtfulness!).

And finally, they assure me that my Bitcoin payment will be anonymous and that no one will know that I complied with their master plan.

Mmmmkay. 

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Now that is a bit suspicious, Mr. Hackerman (or Ms. Hackerwoman — it’s 2022, what the heck.)

I’m willing to bet the $2500 on the fact that I’m not the only person they sent this to.

So if the payment is anonymous, how will they know it was ME who sent it? It just doesn’t make sense, y’know? 

Jokes aside, I’ve got to admit: seeing that the email came from my address made me panic a bit. 

But then I checked my Sent folder and the email wasn’t there.

I also checked to see if there were any alerts or logins from different devices on my Google account. There were none.

I also checked with my hosting provider, who reassured me no one has broken into anything. 

Soooo… hoax? Hopefully, lol. 

But if it isn’t, it means you’ve got 72 hours left to get Email Story Alchemy, my mini-course on turning boring day-to-day events from your life into story-based emails that build your fandom and help you stand out. 

After that, my business will supposedly disappear from the face of the Earth. And you’ll no longer be able to buy it. Everrr.”

Conclusion

Story is a structure, not a tale. Which means that you can apply it to anything, including email. And when you do it right, amazing things happen. 

Like building strong relationships with your customers. And turning a casual customer into a die-hard fan who wants to buy from you because they just can’t get enough of your brand.

Sure, discounts work too. But they work when used strategically and in moderation. So if you’re ever unsure about what to email your customers next, consider story-based emails. They’ll make your brand shine bright in anyone’s crowded inbox.

The post Storytelling: The Secret Sauce to Making More Sales With Email Marketing appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

“Email marketing is DEAD!”
“AI is taking over the inbox!”
“Why hire a copywriter when I can just use email templates?!”
“Who needs an email list when I have a large social following?”

Um….. stop right there and listen up, because I’m going to let you in on a little secret…

THREE little secrets to be exact. 

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of misconceptions floating around the cyberspace when it comes to email marketing. So in this blog, we’re going to talk about the three biggest Email Marketing Myths & Misconceptions… 

AND I’m going to fill you in on the SECRET WEAPON that’ll give you a massive advantage and leg-up over any competition. 

Alright, now let’s get started with myth-busting. 

Myth #1 – Email Marketing Is DEAD

This is a myth that I’ve been hearing ever since I got my start in the online marketing industry… over a decade ago! And guess what?

The rumours were wrong back then and they’re STILL wrong today. 

No matter what you heard at the latest online summit you attended… Email Marketing is STILL alive and well—and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon!

In fact, Email Marketing is the single best way to market your brand or business, increase your revenue, and cash in on more conversions.

That’s right. It’s better than ads, better than social media, and better than organic traffic…

I said it.

In fact, I did my FIRST launch back in 2020 and made almost 6-figures by sending just 8 emails to my list of 2300 subscribers. Yup.

But don’t just take my word for it, here are some stats to prove it. It is estimated that there are 4 BILLION active email users right now (and that number is projected to go up, btw).

Email marketing consistently delivers the highest ROI of all marketing channels – earning on average $42 for every dollar spent… and in case you don’t want to do the math on that…

That’s an ROI of 4200%!! I don’t know of a single brand or business that wouldn’t love to see numbers like that. 

And just in case gaining a massive ROI isn’t enough to convince you… this probably will:

According to MarketingSherpa, email is STILL the most preferred marketing channel that most consumers want businesses to communicate with them through. YES, even Millennials and gen-Z-ers prefer email to social media.

And not only is email your consumer’s favorite way of communicating… it should be your favourite too! And that’s because your list is YOURS. It belongs to YOU. Not Facebook, not Instagram. YOU. 

And when you use Email as your preferred method of communication, ALL you have to do to get your message heard is make sure your emails aren’t landing in the spam folder. You’re not held captive by the algorithm Gods, “platform rules,” or having to keep up with the latest trends to get your content seen.  

When you take just a moment to step back and look at the facts, it’s crystal clear.

While I still love and use other marketing channels…

My girl Email Marketing reigns supreme.

Myth #2 – Templates Work Better

This is another myth I’ve been hearing over and over again lately.

Why hire a copywriter when I can just use email templates?! 

Now for the sake of clarity, in this context, I’m referring to fancy and impersonal emails that are all show and no substance. You know those fancy-looking HTML emails you commonly see from e-commerce sites or big corporate businesses…

Listen – they work for brands like Sephora or Apple, well, because they are Seophora and Apple…

But as a personality-based brand (or as the real PERSON behind the brand), you don’t want to get too fancy in your emails. 

Why? Well, because facts: Extensive A/B testing has shown that the overwhelming majority of consumers prefer simple, text-based emails (you know, just like those emails you send to your friends and family).

Not only do consumers prefer plain jane text-only emails, but templates come with a whole list of other cons to consider.

Downsides of Email Templates

• They take a long time to load, depending on your consumer’s internet connection.
• Customization can be difficult and unreliable. You can spend hours finicking with a template, where your time would be better spent just writing and personal, empathetic email.
• HTML templates often get all funky on mobile if not coded correctly.
• They are WAY more likely to end up in the Spam or Promotions folder because of heavy images and design features
• These kinds of emails focus on imagery, not on brand voice or actually connecting with the audience.

On the other hand…. While copywriters might not be able to design a “pretty-looking email”…

They are specially trained to WRITE WORDS THAT WORK. They understand how to craft powerful subject lines that hook your reader and get them to open your email. They know how to open a loop with engaging content to get your consumers to keep reading…

And they know the psychological triggers that get people to CLICK and BUY your offer…

And when you’re a business that RELIES on having a strong, powerful, and intimate relationship with your consumers… 

These factors are absolutely essential to your Email Marketing success. 

Alright, now onto the last—and most controversial—myth on this list… 

Myth #3 – AI Is Taking Over

Look, we’ve all heard it… AI is replacing copywriters at the speed of light—and especially in the Email Marketing world. 

Because I mean, who needs to shell out a bunch of money for an experienced copywriter when they could just spend a quarter of the money on some fancy automation software that “does just as good”?

Right? NO!!! 

Listen, I know AI software and done-for-you templates are becoming more and more prevalent in the email marketing space – there’s no doubt about that. 

But with that said, there’s a whole lot more to the story than what the internet would have you believe…

I’ve said it before, and I say it again and again until the day I die…

A.I. is a tool, not a takeover. 

And as a TOOL—there are certain things A.I. CAN help us to optimize, streamline and improve…

Things like: research, ideation, email automation, personalization, and segmentation. You know, the left-brain, back-end, logistical stuff. The truth is that A.I. can actually make an Email Marketers job A LOT easier. 

But when it comes to replacing the CREATIVITY & EMPATHY that a human copywriter brings to the table…?

It’s just not going to happen anytime soon.

And while it’s true that there ARE going to be some brands and businesses that will choose to get by with A.I… Their emails will be mediocre, at best.

I mean it’s just like anything else that’s being “replaced” by technology…

If you want mediocre results, then sure – go with a plug-and-play tool. If you want exceptional results, hire an expert. 

Mediocre accountants are being replaced by do-it-yourself software like Freshbooks, Honeybook & Quickbooks… but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay a LEGIT PROFESSIONAL when it comes time to file taxes. 

Mediocre graphic designers are being replaced by tools like Canva… but that doesn’t mean we don’t pay a GREAT DESIGNER to design our websites.

And if you want to optimize your email list, increase your revenue, and cash in on more conversions… then you HIRE A COPYWRITER. 

It’s as simple as that. And it’s never going to change. 

So here’s my advice to the copywriters who are worried about A.I. takeover and the other Myths on this list… 

Don’t be mediocre. Position yourself as an expert. 

Do that, and you’ll be INVALUABLE to any brand or business that wants to optimize their Email Marketing strategies. 

THAT’S your secret weapon. 

THAT’S how you make yourself A.I. proof. 

THAT’S how you position yourself as an expert in the industry and get clients banging down the door for your talents and services. 

But now the question is… HOW?! HOW do you become a damned good copywriter and email marketer? One who understands the audience, knows the power of connection, and has mastered the art of conversion?

Well… you develop the skills, techniques, practical EXPERIENCE, and knowledge needed to make yourself an expert! 

And after months and months of listening to this community ask me question after question about email marketing… I decided it was time to do something about it. 

Now up until recently, I never really thought this was needed. Mostly because I already teach an entire module all about Email Marketing inside my 8-week Copywriting Coaching Program.

But the truth is, not everyone has the time, money, energy, or desire to invest in a two-month coaching course…

And that’s why I created a FREE email guide—to help you cut through the B.S. 

My Ultimate Email Marketing Cheatsheet will help you future-proof your biz from the throes of unpredictable algorithms and the never-ending threat of A.I. takeover by teaching how to master the art of impactful inbox messaging. 

• You’ll discover the 7 must-have emails to build and monetize your list (with real-life examples straight from the Posse’s private vault)…
• Discover the right way to build and monetize your email list, without relying on templates or standardized messaging. 
• Get the secret to sending engaging emails that won’t drive away subscribers or lose you any brand loyalty.

Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

The post Is Email Marketing Dead? appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Want to enhance your open rate and improve conversions on your next email marketing campaign? Add these five elements and find out how much better your email marketing could be.

If you’re here, we hope you’re convinced that email campaigns are still effective and are here to set out on a brand new campaign. Great! Here are the 5 essential elements of email marketing you have to implement. 

Number 1: Email Personalization and Segmentation

When possible, address your subscribers by their first name. Emails with a name in the subject line have a 26% higher open rate than one without personalization.

Getting a subscriber’s name is as easy as adding the field to your email newsletter sign-up or contact form.

The process of splitting up your master list of subscribers is called segmentation. Ultimately, the best email list strategy is to make an email group for each version of your customer avatar. You can also segment based on geographical location, age, or status as a customer. Segmentation ensures that you send emails that are relevant to what your subscribers want. 

The purpose of a segmentation campaign is to let your subscribers self-separate by declaring their interests.

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How to Segment Subscriber Lists

“How might one go about segmenting subscribers,” you ask?

Here’s an example: your company is having a webinar on how to install a new fridge. You promote it with an email campaign and send 3 marketing emails:

• Promotional email number 1: How to Tell if Your Refrigerator is Still Running
• Promotional email number 2: 4 Ways to Save Energy in the Kitchen
• Promotional email number 3: Let us Teach You to Install a Fridge

Keep an eye on which emails and internal links are being clicked. This information tells you what your subscribers are interested in. You can use that information to sort them into groups. 

In this example, subscribers who engaged with the first email are information seekers. They might be DIYers or they might be shopping for a new fridge. Or they might appreciate a good ol’ fashioned joke.

If the second email got lots of clicks, you might assume a couple things. First, those subscribers might be green consumers. They value energy efficiency, reducing their carbon footprint, and reaping the benefits of cost savings. Or they might be thrifty consumers looking for ways to reduce costs. Either way, you have enough information to help direct your efforts.

Finally, subscribers who click through email number 3 may have just purchased a new icebox. In this case, they’ll be prime candidates to watch your webinar. They might also be ready to pay someone else to install their new cooler.

Other options for your next segmentation campaign are a “still interested?” campaign or a flash sale campaign. Every click [or lack thereof] from your subscribers is a piece of information about them.

• Clicks tell you what your subscribers like and what works for them.
• If they don’t click, that tells you what they don’t like and what won’t work.

Not all customers have the same needs. So to send them all the same exact emails will inevitably hurt you. 

Number 2: Email Campaign Metric Tracking

What’s that saying? “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” I think that’s it.

Trying something new can feel like a shot in the dark. Trust us. We’ve made our fair share of email marketing mistakes. The key is to start tracking metrics as soon as possible. 

By tracking metrics starting with the very first email blast you send, you can…

• Know how many people opened it
• Figure out how many people clicked on the links
• Determine whether or not they bought anything.

These metrics will be invaluable to your next email campaign (or even just your next email!). 

Here are the main ones you definitely want to keep an eye on: 

• Email deliverability: Is your email marketing campaign making it to their inbox, or is it getting flagged as junk? 
• Email open rate: Is your email list opening their emails, or are they getting deleted? 
• Click-through rate: If they open it, did they read the email content and check out your links? 
• Disengagement rate: Did this email make them unsubscribe? 

Most email marketing software solutions have a built-in campaign monitor to keep track of all the important information. Knowing these statistics can help you adjust your game plan moving forward. 

Number 3: Scheduling Emails

Your email marketing strategy, like your content marketing strategy, should be consistent and well-thought-out. The timing of your email blasts can make a difference in your performance metrics. 

Here’s one way to think about it: Do you want to get business emails during dinner? Anytime you like to be unplugged and/or away from work, your clients probably do too.

We recommend emailing from 8 am- 5 pm. Research shows that Thursdays are the most effective days to send emails, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays falling right behind. The weekends and Mondays tend to yield lower open rates. 

That said, there is not a singular best time to send your emails. Just let your metrics lead the way. 

Number 4: Send A Welcome Email

Do you remember that guy you met at the grocery store? About a month ago? Brown hair, rather tall, funny shirt?… No? Well, that makes sense because 3 weeks after you meet someone, you forget them [unless there is some other connection]. And just like you don’t remember that fictional man, your clients won’t remember you. 

It’s important to buy yourself some inbox real estate while you are fresh on the recipient’s mind. The best thing to do is send a welcome email.

The welcome email does a few things for you and your business.

First, it builds brand awareness. In it, let subscribers know what to expect from you, the newsletter, your business, etc. Set the tone and expectations for them. If they like what you have to offer, they’ll keep opening. If they don’t like it, they’ll unsubscribe and your list will be better for it.

Second, it drives traffic to your social media. Some people (yours truly) would rather casually engage on social media than read through a thousand emails. Give your subscribers options for engaging with you. They’ll be better engaged when it comes time to ask for the sale.

Well-written welcome email copy is worth the effort. Here are 10 key elements to include in your welcome email:

• Welcome and Thank You
• Set Expectations
• Encourage Whitelisting
• Restate Benefits
• Introduce the Brand
• “Best Of”
• Bounce Them Around
• Next Steps
• Open a Loop
• Start a Conversation

We have a playbook that describes each element of this list, plus gives detailed instructions and examples. The playbook is included in our Lab membership.

This welcome email can double as the first email in your campaign. Knock it outta the park and you’ll set a solid foundation for every campaign after. 

Related Articles

• How Standardizing Your Sales Process Boosts Overall Conversion

• 2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 2

• 2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 1

Number 5: Email Marketing Strategy 

If you’ve come this far, you probably already know this one. The main idea is: be purposeful. You’re in the big leagues now! Only focusing on your campaign when you have extra time is not a good strategy. Doing so won’t yield the kind of ROI that email marketing can achieve for your business. 

Here’s a simple outline of one aspect of the DigitalMarketer strategy, our Customer Journey: 

1. Aware
2. Subscribe
3. Engage 
4. Convert
5. Excite
6. Ascend 
7. Advocate 
8. Promote

Knowing that our job is to successfully walk our customers through these 8 steps changes the way we approach each and every step of our email campaigns. 

We hope that wasn’t overwhelming! Just by reading this article, you are taking a step towards better email marketing campaigns. If you’re still unsure where to start, we have plenty of resources available by searching “email” in our blog. Or if you want to dive in and become an expert, consider investing in our email marketing course. 

The post The 5 Most Common Missing Elements of Email Campaigns appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Creating an email strategy feels like you’ll need a whiteboard, 5 different colored pens, your entire team, and 4 cups of coffee each.

It feels like a *big* task—something that your team needs to work on at *just* the right moment. 

We have some news for you…it’s actually the opposite. An email marketing strategy is less about an over-the-top, “started from the bottom now we’re here,” type of strategy and more about taking one step forward. Then, another. And, another.

There are 5 steps to creating an email strategy that encompasses your organic, newsletter content (that isn’t overly promotional), and your promotional content (that sells products).

And each one can be situated within a week (maximum!).

Your email marketing strategy doesn’t have to wait until things slow down, you “know more,” or you’re finally ready. It just requires taking the first step…choosing your type of newsletter.

Step 1: Choose Your Type of Newsletter

Our favorite part of email marketing is the relationship we can build with our audience without selling them anything. Using a weekly newsletter, we can create 52 touchpoints a year with our subscribers with the goal of giving them useful marketing information that helps their launches, campaigns, and business endeavors.

There are 4 types of newsletters to choose from:

#1: “Letter-from-the-editor” or “Featured Article” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for: 

• Brands with something to say and/or points to make
• Companies wanting to take a stance on something happening in their industry (have an opinion, provide tactical advice, etc.)
• Businesses willing to dedicate more resources and time to create a valuable newsletter

#2: “Link” or “Curated Content” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for: 

• Brands and businesses who want to provide quick value to their customers
• Companies strapped for time and people power

#3: “Blog” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for: 

• Brands with a dedicated blog and/or content repository
• Companies that want to drive A LOT of traffic to their content

#4: “Hustle” Style

This type of newsletter is best suited for: 

• Brands with a dedicated content team that can really put pen to paper
• Companies that are big on the affiliate side of marketing
• Businesses that want to establish themselves as THE AUTHORITY in their industry

Action: Choose the type of newsletter you’ll send out on a regular basis (1-3x per week). If you’re having trouble deciding what your audience would like most, ask them!

Step 2: Create an Editorial Calendar for Promotional Content

Your promotional calendar is a big part of your email marketing strategy. We’re not saying you need to have your entire year planned out without any room for flexibility. You just need at least 3 months of a *decently* solid idea of what you’ll be promoting. Of course, as those weeks play out and if anything needs to shift, you can. But, your promotional calendar shows you what you have coming up and where your organic content can help you with campaigns.

Not only will our promotional content (email campaigns with copy specific to purchasing the Digital Mastery Certification) cover the offer, but we can also add it into our organic content.

The DigitalMarketer Insider newsletter can support this promotion by talking about the importance of being a T-Shaped marketer and linking out to our article explaining what it is and why marketers should care.

Action: Create a promotional calendar, so you know when offers and products are launching. Then, use that calendar to correlate your organic content with those offers and products to help support your campaigns.

Step 3: Schedule When Your Emails Will Go Live

Remember, your email marketing strategy is just as much about nurturing your audience as it is about selling your products. Here’s the rule of thumb we like to follow: publish a newsletter consistently (1-3x/week) and only run 3x promotional offers per month. If you run more than that, you’ll “fatigue” your email audience. This means they’re so bombarded with promotions and offers that they start to delete your emails the second they show up in their inbox.

Your open rates decrease, your click-through rates are minuscule, and your profits suffer. 

Since this is the worst-case scenario in email marketing, you need a plan to avoid it. That’s why you’ll schedule when your emails go live for your newsletter and promotional content.

For example, let’s say you have a weekly newsletter that goes out every Monday. You have 3 offers you’ll promote between November 29th-December 31st, and you have 3 emails per offer for a total of 9 promotion emails. 

These are general numbers, though. You can send more (or less) promotional emails depending on how many promotions you’re selling, when the final purchase date is, and how your campaign is doing (poorly = send more emails).

Action: Create an email calendar that shows when each email you plan to send each month will go live. You can also use this calendar to figure out when to have newsletter content, and promotional copy written, edited, and uploaded to your email platform.

Bonus Tip: Make sure you have someone on your team dedicated to email. It’ll be their job to make sure newsletters go out on time and promotional copy is written and scheduled for campaigns. This is the *only* way to avoid email falling through the cracks and reaching Q3 of 2022 and wondering what happened.

Step 4: Use Email for Market Research

In 2021, we lost a lot of data thanks to Apple’s iOS 14 privacy changes. This isn’t a bad thing (people should be aware and able to choose where their data is shared), but it did require a pivot in marketing. Instead of relying on third-parties to capture and use data in our campaigns for us—we need to start doing it ourselves.

And email marketing is the perfect place to start. Your email audience is more than hot leads. They’re a direct connection to your customer avatar and what they’re thinking, feeling, and looking for when it comes to your brand and products. They can tell you what type of newsletter they’re looking for, the products they want you to create, and how they feel about your current email strategy.

But, you have to ask them first.

Use your email platform to ask your subscribers market research questions. Now, here’s where we create an email marketing strategy out of this. Tag the subscribers based on their answers, build funnels for your specific products related to their interests, and send subscribers down funnels for products they actually care about. 

Or, as your promotional calendar starts rolling out, you now have lists of subscribers interested in those products or topics. Let’s say we surveyed our email subscribers and asked what they were struggling with the most and one of the answers was SEO. Every subscriber who answered SEO could be sent a DigitalMarketer Insider personalized to help them learn more about SEO, with content like this:

Action: Personalize your email strategy by surveying your audience to see what they’re most interested in and sending topic/product-specific content and funnels based on their answers.

Step 5: Test, Optimize, and Stay Flexible

If there’s one piece of overarching marketing advice that any business could take and apply, this is it. Marketing is all about testing, optimizing, and staying flexible. Great marketing plans aren’t written in stone. They’re adapted as needed based on the story the metrics tell them.

For example, if you start sending out an email newsletter with 4 curated links every week and your open rate goes from 30% to 10%—there’s a problem. Your audience doesn’t want curated links…they’re looking for something else. This is your sign to ask them what they’d like to see more of and integrate that into your upcoming emails.

Every year we take a look at our best performing email subject lines to figure out where we could do better and which subject lines to leave behind in the new year.

Action (Test): Try out different sections in your newsletter to see what your audience loves the most (keep tabs by looking at open rates and click-through rates on links in that specific section).

Action (Optimize): Ask your subscribers what they’d like to see more of through market research and tags, and pay attention to what topics get the most opens and clicks.

Action (Stay Flexible): Don’t take it personally if the marketing strategy you created doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped. Stay flexible and change it based on the new data you have. 

Email Strategy is a ‘One Step at a Time’ Game

Each step of creating your email strategy takes a week—maximum. That assumes your team is completely bogged down with other work and only has a minimum amount of time to put towards it. 

If your team has remotely a decent amount of time to allocate to your email marketing strategy, you’ll have it live in less than a month. And you don’t even have to feel overwhelmed by the process, because email strategy is a ‘one step at a time’ game. 

Step 1: Choose Your Type of Newsletter

Step 2: Create an Editorial Calendar for Promotional Content

Step 3: Schedule When Your Emails Will Go Live

Step 4: Use Email for Market Research

Step 5: Test, Optimize, and Stay Flexible

Once you’ve gone through these 5 steps, the next step is creating an Email Indoctrination Series that introduces your brand to your subscribers, tells them what to expect from your emails, and gives them a free gift. 

Ryan Deiss, CEO of DigitalMarketer, teaches the 10-Point Indoctrination Email Playbook: How to Welcome New Email Subscribers inside of DigitalMarketer Lab. Get access to the 10-Point Indoctrination Email Playbook, and Insider Trainings, Workshops, and Playbooks covering marketing topics like:

• Email marketing
• Building out your agency
• Copywriting
• And more…

The post How to Create An Email Strategy appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Welcome to the 8th annual installment of DigitalMarketer’s 101 Best Email Subject Lines!

Within this post, I’ve got 101 PROVEN, swipeable email subject lines that are yours for the taking. And if you’re one of our email subscribers, there’s at least a 20% chance that you played a role in determining what made the list. If that applies to you, please prepare for a little déjà vu.

Though you’re currently reading one of the most aptly titled blog posts of all time, you’ll find more here than just subject lines. I’m going to break down the 8 components of every good subject line AND you’ll get an analysis of our top 10 performing subject lines of 2020.
That way, when you’re finished with this post, you can:

1. Start deconstructing and reproducing the elements of YOUR best-performing subject lines…

…or…2.  Completely steal ours, if you haven’t already.

(NOTE: Looking for the subject lines from previous years? We’ve collected all 700+ top-performing email subject lines since 2013—and all the amazing analysis that comes with them—into The Ultimate Email Subject Line Swipe File! Create your FREE DM Insider account here to get instant access!)

GET CERTIFIED. Discover the proven plan for effortless, automated email marketing. Click Here

If you’re new to the post (or email marketing in general), take a minute to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of email subject lines.

These are 8 different components I found again and again in our top-performing email subject lines…

1. Self-Interest

These are your bread and butter subject lines—you should be using them most frequently.

They are usually direct and speak to a specific benefit your audience will gain by opening the email.

Self-interest subject lines also help pre-qualify openers by giving them a clue about your email’s body content.

2. Curiosity

If self-interest subject lines work because they communicate a direct benefit, curiosity-based ones succeed for the exact opposite reason.

They pique the interest of subscribers without giving away too much information, leading to higher opens.

Be careful though, because curiosity-based subject lines can get old fast and are the most likely to miss their mark.

3. Offer

Do you like free stuff? Do you like to buy things when they’re on sale?

So does your email list.

When you are giving something away or selling something your subscribers would be interested in, directly stating that in your subject line is a great way to convince them to open the email and learn more.

4. Urgency/Scarcity

This is the most powerful type of subject line you have at your disposal.

Subject lines that communicate urgency and scarcity tell readers they must act now.

But too many of these can lead to list exhaustion, so use sparingly and, of course, only when there is truly a deadline, limited quantity, or limited availability.

5. Humanity

Don’t forget to remind your list about the person or people behind your products.

Sometimes you need to thank your subscribers, tell them a story about yourself, or make a human appeal for their attention.

6. News

Keeping your audience informed about new developments in your field builds authority and keeps your open rates high.

These subject lines often work well when combined with a curiosity element.

7. Social Proof

A fundamental characteristic of humans is that we look to the behavior of others when making decisions.

You can leverage this in your email subject lines by mentioning individual’s success stories, familiar names, or highlighting how many people are already using a product or service.

8. Story

Telling a story, or at least teasing the beginning of one in your subject line is a unique way to highlight benefit and get the open rate you’re looking for.

As for our best subject lines of the year… here they are.

The 10 Best Email Subject Lines of 2020

10. How to keep up with digital marketing…
CONTENT: T&C Early Bird Discount
OPEN RATE: 15.80%
ANALYSIS: We’ve seen that the use of “How to” in subject lines establishes authority, and draws readers in. Your subscribers want to learn something they fear they might not know yet, but believe may be helpful to them. In this instance, digital marketing is something that seems like it changes every day. Keeping up with the changes in the industry can be pretty daunting, so content that shows you how to keep up is incredibly valuable and attention-grabbing.

9. Why my first business failed
CONTENT: Tony Robbins Event Follow-Up
OPEN RATE: 15.92%
ANALYSIS: While maintaining flavors of curiosity, I got declarative with this one. Seeing as how the bulk of our email list identifies as a “marketer” in one form or another, and Content is something that virtually all marketers need nowadays… I knew that if I took one of THE keystone levers of the industry and used the well-known Bill Gates idiom, “Content is King,” as a departure statement that would separate us as an authority on the subject, I’d both deliver valuable information to our subscribers and get a few opens.

8. Something BIG is coming
CONTENT: April Accelerator Flash Sale
OPEN RATE: 16.08%
ANALYSIS: We all love a good teaser. In this subject line, the tease is on full display. You want to grab the reader’s attention, AND get them interested in following your message at the same time. Just make sure the body copy in your message pays off too—you don’t want to be the boy or girl who cried wolf or you’ll lose trust from your readers (and future opens).

GET CERTIFIED. Discover the proven plan for effortless, automated email marketing. Click Here

7. Holy crap… 21,601?!?!
CONTENT: Lab Open Access
OPEN RATE: 17.35%
ANALYSIS: There’s a couple of wins in this subject line. Namely, profanity is like salt: using just the right amount can be a great thing, but too much will ruin the experience. And while we’re not necessarily advocating for  “profanity” all the time, we will use a dash of it when we need to get our point across.

You’ll also score points with your reader by using a number in your subject lines, which is proven to increase open rates—bonus points if it’s a very specific number. And finally, like #8, the curiosity factor is strong in this one. 

6. 3 Rules for Marketing During a Crisis
CONTENT: Newsletter for March 21, 2020
OPEN RATE: 19.9%
ANALYSIS: Let’s face it. This year sucked. Millions of businesses were left trying to navigate the global pandemic crisis, and the marketing industry was no exception. It makes sense that guiding principles were popular fodder for subject lines. Our big takeaway on this one is to make sure you “read the room.” Note that this subject line was used in March, when the pandemic was newly on peoples’ minds and more likely to get clicked on. There have been ebbs and flows to when audiences felt like discussing crises this year, and this was the right time to talk about it. It might not have worked so well in the summertime.

5. 80% off gone in 3…2…1…
CONTENT: Content Marketing Mastery Sale
OPEN RATE: 22.54%
ANALYSIS: Scarcity is one of Cialdini’s principles of persuasion, and in my opinion, it’s the best. There’s no better way to stir someone to action than telling them they’ll miss out on something great if they don’t. (NOTE: This mail is a “closer” mail, the last in a week-long promotion meant to catch folks who missed earlier mails. Closers don’t typically get many clicks, but in this case the use of this simple square emoji gave it a boost because it looks like the content didn’t load. In fact, it grabs inbox attention more than the use of an actual emoji—just be sure NOT to lean on this tactic too much. Like crying wolf, it loses efficacy.)

4. BYE?
CONTENT: T&C 2020 Close
OPEN RATE: 25.12%
ANALYSIS: The ultimate goal of a subject line is to get the recipient to open the email, and sometimes less is more. With a simple, 3-letter question this subject line is able to stand out in the inbox among other generic, longer subject lines.

3. Get Certified in Content Marketing for $195?
CONTENT: Content Marketing Mastery Sale
OPEN RATE: 25.27%
ANALYSIS: That question mark is no accident. The Content Marketing Mastery certification course is one of our most popular, and it’s always a big draw for our subscribers when we put it on sale. At 61% off the normal price of $495, a lot of people were interested in this promotion. To warm audiences, a discount of that size begs the question: “Why now?” They know they want it. They’re looking for a reason to get it, it’s why they clicked. Cold audiences click to do the comparison. Hence the question in the subject line mark feeding both needs.

2. CLOSING down in 3…2…1…?
CONTENT: 1-Minute Facebook Video Ad Playbook
OPEN RATE: 28.08%
ANALYSIS: Again, scarcity is a powerful motivator here. The 1-Minute Facebook Video Ad Playbook is one of our most popular playbooks EVER, but when we say we’re closing a sale down, we mean it.

1. FINAL Chance for free access!
CONTENT: Lab Open Access
OPEN RATE: 34.53%
ANALYSIS: Combine scarcity, the use of a powerful emoji, and the promise of free access to one of our core products, and you have a recipe for the highest open rate we saw in all of 2020.

Now that you know what made the top 10 the most opened, here are the other 91 top-of-the-line email subject lines that round us out to an even 101.

91 More Email Subject Lines to Swipe

• ISSUE #26: A match made in…?
• A note to our community
• Really…really!!
• 10 things every marketer should know
• 60 seconds to sales?
• How DM nearly TRIPLED its open rates
• [T&C2020 KEYNOTE] Marcus Lemonis!
• Level up your marketing IRL
• PUPPIES!!
• Sales are slipping through your fingers
• Are you skipping T&C 2020?
• Smartest investment ever?
• Stop it.
• Lab is now free through the end of March
• It’s like 7 conferences in 1
• The Terminator Is Coming To T&C 2020
• 1.4 billion views?
• [GRAPHIC] Lessons from Quarantine
• IMPOSSIBLE
• Issue #40: pick 3…
• [VIDEO] My full Traffic & Conversion Summit 2019 Keynote
• New workshop turns your email list into an
• CLOSING down soon?
• [LAST CHANCE] 68% off sale ends today
• 5-day marketing challenge (starts today)
• 95% of product launches fail, says Harvard (here’s why)
• We found “hidden pots of cash” in your business
• The CRAZIEST marketing statistic I’ve ever heard
• YOU a certified marketing specialist? (FOR FREE??)
• READ: Our 11 Copywriting Book Recommendations
• People really hate THIS
• why your email open rates are slipping…
• Email Newsletter Workshop closing tonight?
• REMINDER: $1000 Off T&C tickets gone at midnight
• [EMAIL MARKETERS] Build a Sequence that Primes & Converts Subscribers
• [Low Ticket Alert] T&C 2020 “Early Bird” Tickets Almost GONE
• 2-3x you email open rates?
• You’ll be paying $700 more on Friday
• Will you also 2x your business at T&C?
• Last chance to try Lab for FREE!
• No marketer should miss this…
• [LIMITED TIME] The $7 plan for Facebook ads that convert
• Are you losing ground to competitors?
• open rates in the toilet? (we’ve been there)
• [VIDEO] Want help selling your “boring” product?
• %FIRSTNAME% – Your 8-Step Email Conversion Templates are waiting…
• [FLASH SALE] The 1-Minute Video Ad Playbook
• Insider #51: our glossiest issue yet
• %FIRSTNAME% – THANK YOU!
• %FIRSTNAME% – Don’t Miss Out!
• [READ] How we’re going back to “business as usual”…
• ????
• got 39 bucks?
• whoops!
• Get Lab FREE (No Trial, No Credit Card, No Upsell)
• Let’s work on your marketing…together!
• [CLOSING] No time to write sales emails?
• The napkin that cleaned up a $248k mess
• 73% OFF gone in 3…2…1…
• %FIRSTNAME%’s (less than) 10-hour warning
• The lowest price EVER for Copywriting Mastery
• Email Newsletter Workshop closing soon?
• $55 today, $997 tomorrow
• [CLOSING SOON] $7 for my Sales Boosting Bullets Playbook
• Our Greatest Hits of Copywriting
• Stop binge watching our trainings!
• How to slip past your prospect’s “promo-dar”
• ICYMI – your refund
• Free Training: 2x Your Sales In 6 Months?
• READ: 100 Books Every Marketer Should Read
• Feeling or ?
• You’re about to miss out…
• Vacation, all we ever wanted
• I’m closing the doors…
• STOP blogging. Start splintering.
• Stop binge watching our trainings!
• [SWIPE] Our 2020 Holiday Marketing Plan
• The “Post-COVID” reboot?
• %FIRSTNAME% – Last day to SAVE
• [GRAPH] Ready for your sales to look like this?
• Free access expiring SOON
• This REALLY ticks me off
• SWIPE: 15 tools & templates for video ads that SELL
• Bad news
• RSVP: Free training this time tomorrow?
• HATE writing your own emails?
• You gotta see this, %FIRSTNAME%
• no such thing as a “failed” video ad?
• I’m getting rid of my 11 mastery courses TONIGHT
• (Ctrl)+C & (Ctrl) + V
• Too many good ideas? STOP.

Aaaand…

THAT. IS. IT.

If you’re tired of reading “NAME” and seeing “[BRACKETS WITH WORDS IN ALL CAPS],” it’s for a good reason:

GET CERTIFIED. Discover the proven plan for effortless, automated email marketing. Click Here

Last year, those were [REALLY POPULAR FOR US, NAME].

In fact, out of our 101 best email subject lines of 2020, 23 used the [CAPS BRACKET] and 15 used the first name field.

Another cool find?

While our average subject line was 6 words, our TOP 3 of 2020 were all less than 5 words.

REMEMBER: AGAIN: Brevity is the soul of wit and pattern interrupts WORK.

My thoughts?

There will never be a “golden subject line formula.”

And that’s GOOD news, because formulas lead to stagnation. And stagnation leads to your subject lines (and as a result, your email marketing strategy) being white noise.

For all I know, last year’s [CAPS BRACKETS] and sub-5-word email subject lines could be this year’s “all emoji” or “5 en-dashes and an ampersand” subject lines (whatever that is).

That being said, I won’t chalk it up to “who knows,” because there are CERTAINLY guidelines and best practices to follow.

And if you can combine said best practices, a little creativity, the power of split-testing, and the application of the scientific method…

…you’ve got yourself a pretty solid formula for consistently pumping out winning subject lines.

Huh. Maybe some formulas do work.

Food for thought.

Anyway, if the contents of this post can act as a staple for the best practices and creativity portion of my little spiel up ^ there, it’ll’ve done its job.

Now get to work.

(NOTE: Want to see what subject lines made the list last year? What about the year before? You can get the last 7 YEARS of top-ranking email subject lines—that’s more than 700 subject lines—in The Ultimate Email Subject Line Swipe File. Sign up for a FREE DM Insider account here to get instant access!)

The post 101 Best Email Subject Lines appeared first on DigitalMarketer.