Earlier this week, I saw one of the greatest “live email demonstrations.”
Daniel Throssel — arguably the best email marketer in the world right now — sent an email to his list with the subject line:
“Why [FNAME] Will Die Today!”
An email with such a controversial subject line that he got SOOO many hate replies… which demonstrated a lesson he wanted to teach.
Most people view marketing in a linear way.
If all things stay the same…
When I increase the “open rate,” I get more sales.
BUT THIS ASSUMPTION IS WRONG FROM THE GET-GO
Because people are opening the emails with a different mindset.
With a curiosity-baiting subject line (such as “Why [FNAME] Will Die Today!”)…
No one cares about the content anymore.
“100% of the engagement — replies, unsubscribes, etc. — came from the subject line.
THIS WAS THE POINT
I WAS MAKING YESTERDAY.
That subject line did a great job at capturing attention and getting opens…
…but it did it too well.
The subject line never let go of the attention that it grabbed.
It never allowed the emotion it created to be forgotten.
Instead, it ‘framed’ the entire email — with all its valuable content and entertainment and sales pitches — inside an emotionally-charged frame dictated by your response to the subject line.
Which means it was a very BAD subject line … despite getting a lot of ‘opens’.”
(Quoting directly from Daniel’s email. If you are an email marketer, you should really hop on his list. Daniel has the most wonderful outside-the-box thinking.)
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see in businesses… and the main reason why I insist Klaviyo is NOT an expert in email marketing.
When you’re running an email marketing program –
WHAT Are you optimizing for?
Do you simply want higher open rates? Click rates?
Or…
Do you want more happy, repeat customers who keep buying from you month after month?
It’s your choice.
But be careful what you optimize for… because you just might get it.
To be continued…
– WYH