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Heyy, what’s up?

Me? I am almost done watching Marvel’s Iron Fist (two more episodes to go.) It’s a good one-time watch, and I recommend it if you are interested in the superhero/martial arts genre.

Anyway coming to business, I spent ninety-two minutes analysing 3221 subject lines from 47 subscriptions to understand the subject line patterns and what made me click/open.

Along with subject lines as a whole, my special interest was in what each creator/publication is doing to stand out. I have some thesis lined up for you with examples.

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Ready?

I have categorised different subject lines that you can templatise and use without a second thought. I made around 10 of them. I have a habit of keeping weird names, so please bear with it.

1. Emoji lines

Emojis in the subject lines have been a thing for some time now and different publications use them differently to get noticed among 100s of emails.

The emoji colours grab attention in the large chunk of text, yes. But the downside is not everyone has got their emoji game right. If you don’t use the right emojis, it could be the biggest turnoff and pain to the eyes.

I am sure you noticed emojis as prefixes (before the subject line starts), suffixes (after the subject line ends), or between; out of which I have found emojis as prefixes are most effective.

Because when the same emoji is used repeatedly, it becomes the brand identifier. You will notice your favourite author even before you see their name, subject line, or preview text. Massive advantage.

Here are some brands using emojis as their brand identifiers:

• Beehiiv Creator Studio: 🔴 

• Neuron: 🦊 

• Refind: ☀️ 

• Sketchplanations: ✍️ 

• UnderDog: 🐶 

• Alex and Books: 📚️ 

• Alex Garcia: 🔎 

Once you become a regular reader, it’s hard to avoid these brands as you associate their emoji with the brand.

Creators also use different emojis issue to issue contextually, but they’re more of added flair than effective strategy compared to branded emojis as prefixes.

2. The old-school numbers

There is always something special about numbers that produces specificity while grabbing attention.

Using numbers when you can is a good strategy (like I did with this issue), but I love how some publications make numbered subject lines their identifier.

It is insane how these brands use a simple template with numbers - in every issue - and BOOM, THEY STAND OUT EVERY SINGLE TIME

If Ayush’s subject lines are too simple for you, here is how GrowthX uses numbers contextually:

3. What, Why, How - The classic Trio!

I didn’t want to include them because they’re too popular, but then I thought a little revision killed nobody. Subject lines with What, Why, and How are always the safest options and never out of business.

Some favourites:

• What do AI and $480,000 have in common?

• Why good people end up in bad relationships?

• How to accelerate growth by focussing on features you already have?

You can also use When and Where sentences. They fall under the same, safe category.

4. This, That, and everything in between

Pick two distinct words, throw a conjunction or a symbol between them, and tadaaa, you have a short, eye-catching subject line.

I was surprised by how often this technique is used (trust me, I went through 3221 emails), and hardly anyone talks about it.

Here are some basic structures with examples:

• From [This] to [That]: From newsletter operator to beach club winner

• [This] and [That]: Time and Curiosity

• [This] or [That]: Would you rather be right or happy?

• [This] + [That]: Growing your audience + FREE ebook

• [This] = [That]: B2B SaaS = Money Making Machine

• [This] ≠ [That]: More clients ≠ Good business

• [This] vs. [That]: Motivation vs. Discipline

These look simple but could be powerful when combined with the right emoji, authoritative name, and preview text.

5. The Singular Theme

I am surprised how many effective subject line types boil down to identifiers. One pattern I have noticed is creators stay consistent with one theme for subject lines—for months! or even all the time if it clicks.

You remember how Ayush and GrowthX play within their MRR or revenue theme? Basically numbers. That’s only one way of doing it.

Katelyn Bourgoin uses the psychological effect names in all her subject lines:

James Clear uses the same sentence structure in every subject line: [Topic 1], [Topic 2], and [Topic 3].

These are often not connected, which suits perfectly to his newsletter.

I believe this is a good place to park this issue. I have saved a couple of interesting findings for Part 2, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Our next sponsored slot is booked on 20th July, so you can expect me ± 2 days around that date.

ONE MORE THING:

Before we leave, I want to tell you we have downgraded the referral program, which means you only need to refer Cognition to one person instead of three to get free access to Vickypedia.

It is a database of all the best content I consume: books, movies/shows, YouTube videos, and podcasts. I hope you get your hands on it (see footer for more.)

See ya! 🫡