@ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com 42 PLUG -A N D -PL AY E M A I L S U BJ E C T L I N E T E M PL AT E S A swipe file for creative entrepreneurs writing & sending email marketing campaigns A N A S HLY N W R ITE S S IG N ATUR E D OW NLOA D © Copyright 2021, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com © Copyright 2021, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. C O P Y W R I T E R & S T R AT E G I S T F O R C R E AT I V E S Ashlyn S. Carter I’m thrilled to have you get your hands on this freebie! I’ve taken everything I’ve learned from working in media for a decade, starting my own creative business, writing launch copy for dozens of creatives (with some single launches clocking in over a million in total revenue), and enrolling more than 6,000+ students of my own ... channeling that into a comprehensive, step-by-step system to help you work from a place of rest over hustle. This is a snippet of the workbook from the FULL download of 150 email subject lines coming to The Copy Bar shop this spring, so you can nix the “stuck” moments that come along with writing for your business—and work to up your campaign engagement rate with new ideas to test. I can’t WAIT to dig into this guide with you. YOUTUB E I N S TA G R A M FA C E B O O K C O M M U N I T Y Ashlyn Writes @ashlynscarter Ashlyn Writes 2 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com L E T’ S G E T TO WOR K PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES R E A DY T O W R I T E A BE T T ER S U BJ E C T L I N E? I’ll come out of the gate and give the big secret: you want to make your subject line obsolete. Instead, let’s see how can you build the know, like, trust factor with your readers so much that when you send an email, they see your name and click open. BTW, hit subscribe! That’s the *chef ’s kiss* goal you’re after: they see your name in the “from” field, they say heck yes and click that open button. BUT, being able to write irresistible subject lines is critical. Why? Well, it’s actually NOT about your email open rates (I know, I know—that’s weird, but stay with me). Open rate is a super inaccurate metric—think about things like Unroll.me ... or how many emails you click oepn then immediately delete. To track open rates, email services embed an invisible image open the email. If the image displays, tracking information is sent back and recorded as a open. This sounds great in theory, but the vast majority of emails will never display the image even if the email is opened. What you should worry about more than open rate is ALWAYS click through rate (CTR) or sales tracked from that email. A typical subject line difference is between 1-15% …. But CTR can absolutely skyrocket with a different subject line. Bottom line: start worrying WAY more about your CTR than your email open rate. ONE THING TO R EMEMB ER Like anything in copywriting, TEST THESE—copywriting is an art and science and best practices are pooled ignorance if they don’t work for your people. Also, you’re probably worse at predicting subject lines than you think you are. :) Head to this blog to get a tutorial for split testing subject lines in ConvertKit ... and grab a pen and pour a cup of coffee, because we’re about to load you up with some SLs to plug in and test. PSST ... MORE OF A VISUAL LEARNER? Click here to watch the training I did on this inside my email copywriting-focused playlist on YouTube. © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 3 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com T H E T E M P L AT E S PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES 42 S U BJ E C T L I N E T E M PL AT E S CURIOSITY + BENEFIT This is the classic little black dress of subject lines. You’re not going to tick people off with it (more on that in a sec): this is the most relevant subject line to what’s inside the email. The email is a perfect fit to the subject line. There’s no bait and switch ... or even semblance of bait and switch. How I Went From [Bad Situation] To [Desirable Situation] Example: I was getting it wrong at first—how to get time blocking to FINALLY work I [Admission]—how to get [Situation] to FINALLY work Example: I was getting it wrong at first—how to get time blocking to FINALLY work Do you [Bad Situation]? This little-known secret will [Desirable Situation] Example: Do you sit WAY too much? This little-known secret will fix your posture How # [Weird Hook] will reframe [Common Task] Example: How 4 80s trends will reframe your Instagram reel batching [Too-Good-To-Be-True Claim] with [Desirable Situation] Example: <2 hours of Lightroom editing a week WITH a full client load?? OPEN LOOP Ah, open loop. This is a cousin to Curiosity + Benefit. Think about this copywriting technique as a way to open up the door to whatever topic you’ll be CLOSING the loop on when they start reading. Whereas in using Curiosity + Benefit it’s TOTALLY okay for you to use the click or the jump inside the email to be the answer to the subject line, in an Open Loop subject line, the email body copy HAS to close the loop … otherwise you’re gonna tick people off. :) That’s the rule—the copy HAS to close the loop, okay? Otherwise, this kinda could flirt with © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 27 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES being click-baity Think of this as a cliffhanger. Piques interest in and have your email subscriber or reader wanting to find out the rest of the story … which you answer inside the body of the email. This is how you [Desirable Situation] I do this every single week. This changed everything. Watch THIS today! Did you do this?? This is ridiculous. Use this or you’ll die. [Desirable Situation] with this secret ... Example: 100x your sales with this secret ... [Perceived Problem]? Try this. Example: Small list? Try this. BRAND A PHRASE If you’ve learned how to write sales pages from me, you’ve heard me talk about this: if you can come up with a sweet name for a process, method, tactic, whatever, then go ahead and “brand it” by capitalizing the name and putting quotation marks around it. Further, if you’ve been on my email list at all, you’ve seen me do this in bullet copy a lot … like a lot. Essentially, no one’s on name police and going to arrest you for making a phrase out of your own insight. So do it. Technically this is called a neologism. Once you come up with those, you can pop them into your Curiosity + Benefit headline. That’s going to super-power your curiosity + benefit. © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 27 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES [Neologism of Choice] changes EVERYTHING Example: The 88% Rule of content changes EVERYTHING [Neologism of Choice] - how to [What’s Already on Their To-do List] in a day Example: The “Champagne Campaign” - how to strategize your annual launches in a day The [Neologism of Choice] Drill The “Work to Rest Wind-down” Drill (Video #2) How the [Neologism of Choice] [Desirable Situation] How the A.R.T.I.S.T. About Page Template brings more clients to the yard THE CHALLENGER Now this subject line goes a leeetle bit more for the “shock and awe” factor—nothing TOO crazy, but we’re going to challenge whatever’s going on in your reader’s head with this one. To write this, think of what you WOULD say in the subject line, and write a riff on the opposite. Don’t buy [Product You’re Trying to Sell] Example: Don’t buy Copywriting for Creatives ... Yeah, but will [Product You’re Trying to Sell] help you? Example: Yeah, but will the Full-Focus Planner actually help YOU? You don’t have all the answers. Why aren’t you doing these things? It’s not your fault—until it is. This is NOT about [What Everyone’s Emailing About Right Now] © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 27 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com Example: This is NOT about Black Friday PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES It’s OK if [Reason for Not Buying] [Product You’re Trying to Sell] Example: It’s OK if you’re “not ready” for B-School ... THE CALL-OUT We’re asking your readers to self-select with this one. These subject lines are a natural qualifier and a great segmenter if you need to find out who falls into a certain category on your list, or make a new segment, etc. Watch THIS if [Call-Out] Example: Watch THIS if you struggle with meal-planning. [Only] Open this if you [Call-Out] Example: Only open this if you have a business [Call-Out 1] Read if [Call-Out 2] Example: [Copywriters ONLY] Read if you’ve got a sales call coming up THE NO-SURPRISE-INSIDE Unlike an Open Loop subject line, this email subject line lets you know EXACTLY what you’re going to get when you open the email. This is one you need to keep back pocket—it’s what you need to use this when you’re not messing around—when you’re giving a delivery email, a welcome email, a weekly status report, or inviting someone to a hype piece, for example. Anything that could get lost in the inbox we’ll want to get super clear on with one of these subject lines. [Time-Sensitive Offer] Closes in X Hours Example: Last Call: Shelf Styling 101 Closes In 6 Hours © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 27 The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter— ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning. -MARK TWAIN © Copyright 2019, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES [Case Study] [Offer Your Audience Relates to You] Client [Success Story] Example: [Case Study] CfC Student Makes $15K Per Month Join me LIVE for [Hype Piece] Example: Join me LIVE for Day 3 of the Challenge! [$X Price Point] [Offer] Now Open Example: [$100 off!] Early Bird Enrollment now open [PREVIEW] [Hype Piece] Starts Tomorrow Example: [PREVIEW] Challenge starts tomorrow Want Me/Us to [To-do On Their List] for You? Example: Want us to create your Facebook ads for you? T H E F R A M I LY L E A D For this one, you’ll go get good ol’ inspiration from your own personal inbox—don’t overthink it, just try to keep it fairly short! It’s good to test against one of the ones above that’s a complete opposite and drastically different. Appointment/meeting/etc. with [Name] Example: Appointment with Will Bikes? #goals Supper club Up for fun? heads up! perfect © Copyright 2020, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 27 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com PLUG-AND-PLAY EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TEMPLATES M A K E YOUR P L A N . Systems trump intentions all day, e’ry day. When are you *actually* going to give this a whirl? Make note below when you can have a week to test fly & pilot your next subject line split test. I booked it! CHECK THIS BOX WHEN YOU’VE BLOCKED OFF SENDING YOUR NEXT EMAIL CAMPAIGN © Copyright 2019, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. 4 @ashlynscarter hello@ashlynwrites.com © Copyright 2021, Ashlyn Writes. All rights reserved. Y O U ’ R E O N Y O U R W A Y, B O S S . There’s so much more to prepping for a launch than I could ever fit into this guide. But hey, if you roll up your sleeves and get to work on what I’ve outlined in here, you’ll be off to a dang good start. As you’ve likely heard me say, you can’t outsource your pushups. Remember how I’ve told you no one cares about your launch—whether it’s for a website, a product line, a course, or a workshop—unless you give them a REASON to care? If you really want to prepare well for your upcoming marketing campaign (and entire annual promo calendar), then I’d invite you to check out my Primed to Launch™ collection. You can get started with the DIY version, the Playbook, and get the option jump inside the full masterclass series after that, if you’d like. YOU’ L L L E A R N ... • How to map out your Quarterly Champagne Campaign System, so you can map the first steps to take to launch successfully and plot • 3 Sample Launch Calendar Timeline Templates—Let’s launch without the I’m-sick-of-talking-about-this-and-it-hasn’t-even-started- • 3 Types of Weekly Content Planning Templates—Pulling that editorial strategy into a weekly roadmap won’t be a struggle with these • How to set REALISTIC expectations for a launch with my Metrics & Tracker Pack: With a combo of my dynamic spreadsheet launch your pre-launch pillar content pieces—whether you’re prepping for a mini-launch of your next collection or your signature course launch. yet hangover headaches: swipe road maps to schedule messaging in advance without feeling salesy, from waitlist page to pillar content. templates: find options for Asana, Trello, and good ol’ pen and paper (my fave!) to implement your overall annual goals. calculator and paper printable pre- and post-launch stats tracker, you can monitor your success. And so much more. :) CL ICK TO E X PLOR E PR IMED TO L AUNCH, S TA R T I N G AT $ 3 7 !
