Crafting fantastic newsletter subject lines | examples & tips

Are your newsletters gathering dust in your subscribers’ inboxes, unopened and ignored? Or, even worse, landing up in spam folders never to be seen? From witty one-liners to personalized messages, crafting good newsletter subject lines is a lot like coming up with an opening line in a bar—it’s important to get it right.  

We’ll give you some pointers and examples of great email subject lines that capture attention, pique interest, and leave a lasting impression—as well as some top tips on how to write newsletter subject lines that won’t be ignored. Ready to create a spark?

A great subject can be a lot of things. It can be simple and to the point, but it can also be mysterious and funny, or get people thinking. It all depends on the strategy and style you go for. The most important element is finding the right hook for your audience. 

When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with these tips: 

Once your subject line is on point, make sure the newsletter is too. Check out these tips to up your newsletter header game.

Here’s a fun experiment: scroll through your inbox for a while to look for the best email subject lines. After reading a few, you’ll be able to notice some clear patterns in subject lines for newsletters—wordy, repetitive, lacking important information…boring. We’ve gathered expert advice to shake things up a little with open-worthy subject lines.

Let yourself be inspired for your next update with the examples below. 

This type of subject line works by referencing the recipient’s pain points or interests. It’s a typical ‘what you see is what you get’ subject line. 

Here are a few examples:

To make this type of subject line work for you, start by segmenting your email list based on interests or pain points, and write content that is directly linked to what they want to know about. 

You’ll hit two birds with one stone here: it’ll be easier to find a topic for your newsletter, and you can tailor your subject lines accordingly.

Sometimes less is more. A short and simple subject line can be just as effective as a longer one. 

Why say in 10 words what you can say in 5? Get to the point quickly so that readers know exactly what they’re in for. 

Check out these examples:

To make this type of subject line work for you, focus on creating a sense of curiosity or intrigue with just a few words. Look at the absolute essence of your newsletter and condense it into a snappy subject line. 

Don’t worry about being super clear in these types of newsletter subject lines, a little mystery will only help to get more people to open your newsletters.

This type of subject line works by creating a sense of urgency or scarcity. It’s most suitable for emails for ecommerce businesses, or content creators who have limited-edition products or services on offer. 

Instead of trying to trick people to open a newsletter, be upfront about having a great offer for something you’re trying to sell. 

Here are a few subject line examples that trigger people to act fast :

To make this type of subject line work for you, you’ll have to be running time-limited promotions or offer limited quantities of a product or service. 

These types of email campaigns work best if you don’t do them too often—you want to catch your reader’s attention with truly valuable offers, so keep it limited.  It typically works best to go straight to the benefit in the subject line

With these types of email subject lines, it’s especially important to check whether you’re using spam words. 

We’ve all got a crowded inbox, mostly with email subject lines that don’t spark any joy. So if you want to get people excited about your content coming in, try making them laugh right from the first time they see your newsletter pop up. 

There are many ways to let your brand’s personality shine through and pique curiosity with humor-packed newsletter subject lines—even if you’re not a seasoned comedian.

Here are some ideas:

It’s a very fine line between cringe and funny, but it pays off to explore it anyway. If you don’t have a knack for writing humorous copy, just keep some tactics in mind:

If you’re looking for more material, have a look at this post from Dave Harland, aka The Word Man, in which he gives some more ideas on how to write a great email subject line.

Don’t want to be like all other businesses? Consider getting weird with your email subject lines. Really weird. 

This, of course, only works if it matches your brand, but especially if you have a very creative newsletter, it could be the trick to boosting those click-through rates. 

Check out these examples for inspo:

These subject lines, of course, have to tie in with the rest of the newsletter. It requires storytelling—you’ll need to make the subject line match some other part of the story. Use anecdotes or metaphors in your newsletter to make this easier.

These types of subject lines are best used for a specific audience that appreciates humor and creative thinking. If you’re uncertain if your audience would respond well to this style, test it out with a small group first. 

A nifty subject line trick is to include the newsletter time investment in hard numbers.

That way, people immediately know what they’re getting themselves into, and more often than not that means quick and easy-to-read newsletters that are packed with wisdom.

By telling people up front what the time investment will be for reading your email, you increase the chances of them opening your newsletter. 

Here are some examples of newsletter subject lines that incorporate this trick:

These email subject lines work great if you make these quick newsletters part of your brand and content strategy. That’s what James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, does. He sends out newsletters that he calls 3-2-1’s (which he also mentions in the subject line, making it easy to recognize his content). 

The more you do this, the easier it becomes for people to know what to expect from you. They’ll feel confident that they can quickly open your newsletter and get a good nugget of info. 

You can hint at being a quick read that’s packed with knowledge right from the signup moment. Check out these newsletter signup examples for more ideas to attract more readers.

Every so often the answer to writing great subject lines is asking questions.

With questions, you spark an interaction instead of just pushing content onto your readers. Many content creators experiment with using questions in their newsletter subject lines, and if you use them right, they can certainly up your email marketing game. 

Here are some questions you could use as inspiration:

It’s important to ask questions that are directly related to the content of the email and get your subscribers thinking. Make sure your questions are to the point and simple. You don’t want to overwhelm readers before even opening your newsletter, or alienate a large chunk of them by asking questions that are too specific. 

This format requires some storytelling skills, but it’s a great way to interact with your audience, instead of just driving down that one-way lane. Check out our tips on how to write a great newsletter to learn all about engaging newsletters. 

Last on the list: playing into people’s emotions in your newsletter subject lines. Do this with care—you want to be genuine and kind, and positive, above all else. These newsletter subject lines intend to show your audience that you understand them and their pain points and needs. 

Here are some examples:

First up: Take the time to understand what makes your audience tick. What are their pain points, desires, and goals? This will help you craft subject lines that resonate with them emotionally.

Certain words in email subject lines trigger emotions more than others. Try to go for synonyms of the words you would quickly jump to. Moreover: stay authentic. 

This is not a tactic to manipulate your audience’s emotions with false promises or sensationalized headlines.

Using storytelling is great here again. You can tie these types of email subject lines into 

story-style newsletters that make it easier to talk about certain emotions. 

Looking for inspiration that goes beyond the subject line? Make sure to check out these newsletter examples.

What’s a killer newsletter subject line without a newsletter that lives up to the hype? Your readers deserve engaging emails and stunning designs. 

Enter Flodesk—with our beautiful and customizable templates, intuitive drag-and-drop builder, and in-depth analytics, we make crafting engaging and effective newsletters lines a breeze. 

Plus, as a Flodesker, you’ll join a supportive community of email marketers on Facebook, sharing tips and information to take your email game to the next level. Try it for free for 30 days, no credit card required.