Your subject lines might be too clean, too correct, and too polished to actually get opened.
Jay and Daniel go through their favorite subject line tactics, and most of them break every “best practice” rule you’ve ever heard. Daniel swears by emojis, unfinished sentences that trail off with ellipses, and odd numbers like 7, 9, or 13 instead of round ones. He also calls out his audience directly in the subject line (“For Marketers who…”) and says it crushes every time he uses it.
Jay counters with what he calls “un-AI” subject lines: intentionally long subject lines (100+ characters) that fill the whole line and get cut off on purpose, ellipses at the start of a subject line instead of the end (a 15% lift in open rates), and skipping capitalization entirely. His logic: if AI would never suggest it, it probably stands out.
They also get into serialized numbering (numbering your newsletter editions so people notice when they miss one and go back to read it) and “vault content,” repackaging your best existing content as a locked offer people have to unlock.
The bigger idea: the goal isn’t to write a “correct” subject line, it’s to write one that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. If it looks like AI could’ve written it, it probably won’t get opened.
If you want subject line tactics that actually move open rates instead of just following best practices, this is the episode for YOU.
Follow Jay:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwedelson/
Podcast: Do This, Not That
Follow Daniel:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themarketingmillennials/featured
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Dmurr68
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing
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Daniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. To find out more, visit:
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