Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened

In this post, I’m going to share some of my BEST performing subject lines from 2025 so far.

Including WHY they work and HOW you can replicate them in your own email  marketing initiatives. 

And don’t worry about taking notes because my team and I updated our subject line split test report – for a total of 100 proven subject line winners. 

Grab your free copy of that report at the end of this post.

Coming at ya this week with another post to help you improve your email marketing results. 

So whether you’re a business owner trying to get better open rates, engagement, clicks and conversions from your emails.

Or you’re a copywriter getting paid to do that for your clients.

THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE. 

So go ahead and subscribe to my newsletter so you know when my next tutorial goes LIVE. 

Now subject lines are arguably the MOST IMPORTANT part of your entire email.

Because 43% of people open emails based on the subject line alone.

That means that almost HALF of the people on your list are deciding whether to read your email or not based on just a few words.

And if no one is opening your email because the subject line sucks then nothing else really matters. 

So optimizing your subject lines SHOULD be something you are always, always, always working on improving. 

Because the more people you get to open your emails.

The more likely you are to increase your clicks and ultimately – conversions. 

We’ve been split testing ALL of our email subject lines for a while now and by now – we’ve compiled a pretty big list of winners. 

In this post, I’m going to share FIVE of those winners with you.

Including how YOU can tweak them to work with YOUR email marketing initiatives. AND why we believe these subject lines work. 

Alright, here’s the first subject line winner.

#1: “Forget _________. Do THIS Instead.”

We split-tested these subject lines:

A: “Do you really need a niche in 2025? 😬”

vs

B: “Forget your niche (do THIS instead 👀)”

And forget your niche was the winner – with an open rate of 36.7%. 

This subject line works because it’s invoking a bit of controversy.

We’re challenging the status quo a bit here and telling people to NOT do something they’ve been told they NEED to do.

In our case, we’re saying: “Hey – everyone says you need a niche. But you actually don’t. This thing is actually way more important.”

The goal of this subject line is to make people stop and think. Wait, what?!

I need to see what this is all about.

You can customize this subject line and make it work for literally ANYTHING. 

This is a great subject line to challenge any belief, standard, or way of thinking that your audience has heard a million times.

And give them something NEW or DIFFERENT to ponder instead. 

Alright on to the next one.

#2: “X things that _______.”

We split tested these subject lines:

A: “4 stories that attract clients”

Vs

B: “4 types of stories you should share online”

And the winner was “4 stories that attract clients” – with an open rate of 36.1%. 

Now there are a few reasons I think this subject line was the winner.

For one thing – it’s shorter than the other version and shorter subject lines TEND to do better than longer ones.

This isn’t always the case – and we have had winning subject lines that are longer.

But for the most part, short ones tend to perform better because so many people are viewing email on their phones.

The BIG reason I think this subject line was the winner is because it’s implying a result or benefit my audience is looking for – which is: attracting clients. 

The other subject line doesn’t communicate a benefit. 

4 types of stories you should share online.

Okay, cool. But WHY? WHY should I share these stories? Oh, so I can attract more clients. Got it. 

So the winning subject line not only gives a preview of what they’ll learn in the email but also gives the WHY behind it. And that’s why this works. 

You can replicate this subject line by filling in the BLANK with a benefit or result that your audience wants to achieve.

Alright now, on to number 3.

#3: “Big news to share.”

We split tested these subject lines:

A: “Big news to share 😏”

Vs

B: “Let’s mastermind together NAME? 😏”

And big news to share was the winner – with an open rate of 38.4%. 

This subject line works because it opens a giant “blind” loop and communicates excitement, curiosity and exclusivity.

Because I have built a lot of trust with my audience, I can use an open loop like this without it seeming “clickbaity”.

It’s like a test you’d send your best friend.

And everyone wants to feel like they’re the FIRST to know about something.

We want to feel included and like we’re getting insider information.

This is a great subject line to use anytime you’re sharing a big announcement, launching a product or releasing something new. It’s important to not OVERUSE it though, because this kind of open loop can get a little tired if you use it too much.

Up next:

#4: “No _______? Start here.”

We split tested these subject lines:

A: “No clients? No experience? Start here.”

Vs

B: “If I had to start from scratch”

The winning subject line was No clients? No experience? Start here with an open rate of 36.5%. 

So this works because we are directly calling out something that our audience DESIRES.

But doesn’t have.

In this case – it’s clients. 

And then we go even further by directly calling out a ROADBLOCK or OBSTACLE that might be getting in the way of achieving what they desire.

And THEN we say “start here” – which communicates that a solution is waiting inside the email.

This subject line isn’t really that long – but it packs a big punch. 

To replicate this subject line, fill in the BLANK with something that your audience is either seeking OR something that is holding them back. 

And then say “start here” – which again, implies that you’re going to give them the steps to either overcome that obstacle or reach their desired results. 

Alright, and last but not least.

#5: “You’ve been _______ wrong.”

We split tested the subject lines:

A: “You’ve Been Using ChatGPT Wrong 😬”

vs

B: “8 Genius ChatGPT Hacks (Most People Miss #4)”

And the winner was you’ve been using ChatGPT wrong – with an open rate of 36%

This one works because it’s challenging our ego.

No one wants to be doing something WRONG. 

Especially if it’s something that’s important to their identity or the work that they do.

In this case, my audience consists of mostly digital marketers – a lot of freelancers and small business owners. 

These people are very likely using AI and ChatGPT on a daily or weekly basis.

So being told they’re using it wrong is very likely to strike a nerve – or at the very least make them curious to learn about the “right” way to use it. 

You can replicate this subject line by calling out  a COMMON practice, skill or strategy in your industry or niche that you see people often misusing or misunderstanding.

Now if you want to learn the eleven key insights and takeaways we learned from our hundreds of split-tests and see all 100 winning subject lines,

Make sure to grab a copy of my free report that REVEALS ALL our split test data and results.

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