The day I found out my email subject lines were killing open rates

I spent like 6 months writing what I thought were clever subject lines for our weekly newsletter. Cute puns, wordplay, all that stuff. Then last Tuesday I ran an A/B test on a whim with 500 subscribers. The boring subject line that just said the core benefit got 40 percent more opens. My coworker literally laughed when I showed her the results. Now I'm second guessing every subject line I've ever written. Has anyone else found that simple and direct wins over clever every time?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thomas1mo agoRising Star

That's an interesting take @owens.anthony but I gotta push back a little. The thing about brand personality is that it only works if people actually open the email in the first place. You can have the most charming tone in the world but it doesn't matter if your clever subject line gets buried in an inbox or deleted on sight. My own testing with different lists showed that direct subject lines consistently brought better click-through rates down the line too, not just opens. A boring headline that gets opened and read beats a fun one that gets ignored every single time.

owens.anthony1mo ago

Hold on, you're drawing the wrong lesson here. Clever subject lines build brand personality and anticipation over time, even if they don't win every single A/B test in a vacuum. People who already like your tone will click because they know your emails are fun, not just transactional. Getting 40 percent more opens on a boring line might just mean you got a bunch of tire-kickers who won't actually read past the first sentence. If you chase short-term open rates with dry benefits, you'll end up training your audience to only expect utility from you and nothing memorable.

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leo_black761mo ago

owens.anthony I get what you're saying about building brand personality over time but is it really that serious? I mean, if someone isn't opening your emails because they think your subject lines are too cute or confusing, then you've lost them before you even had a chance. Like the other guy said, a boring opener that works is better than a clever one that flops. And honestly, are people really sitting there thinking "wow this brand has such a fun tone" or are they just skimming for a deal or info? I've seen companies waste months trying to be quirky and all they got was a bunch of deleted emails.