Morning, Inbox Hackers. I took it easy this weekend and hope you did too. A good hammock cures a lot of work worries. Cheaper than a therapist too.

Rolling on now, I’m gonna show off the top ten list of the best headlines in my inbox from the past 30 days. Feel free to disagree in a nasty email reply. I’ll brace myself.

Then, stick around for Monday’s Marketing News. There’s some how-tos in there and ad tips also. 

BTW…

Top 10 Subject Lines in My Inbox (past 30 days): 

After the list, I’ll highlight three of the best and tell you why — in my opinion — they got me to open them.

In no particular order…

#1 Why comedian "crowd work" videos are filling up your social media feeds (Simon Owens)

#2 💰You just received money! (Rocket Money) 

#3  16-Bullet Friday — Favorite Software, Supplements, Apps, Tools, and More (Tim Ferris)

#4 How to profit from tonight's Trump v Kamala debate (Ben Settle)

#5 💛The $400,000 Fundraising Challenge is well underway! 💛 (St. Jude’s)

#6  Art + Science = Profit (Charles Miller)

#7 Returning From Europe (Peter Santenello)

#8 Japan gears up for self-driving trains (Nice News)

#9 Reminder – we found your info in another company's data breach (Credit Karma)

#10 Founder Finds #0110: 🦥 What are the Benefits of Procrastination? (Trends.vc)

Examples of Why They Worked on Me

• I don’t really use the Rocket Money service but they keep sending me email updates. I only open the ones saying I just got money if I’m not expecting money to be deposited or if I forget what day it is (no lol). Point is, it’s a hooktastic subject line and proves “spam words” won’t always land your email in spam jail.

• 16-bullet Friday is a switcheroo, as Tim Ferris always sends a 5-bullet email on Fridays. A good change-up, especially with a number, is slick. Not that Tim needs slick tactics, but most emailers do on occasion.

• Using the same emoji as bookends on the subject line is something I do not see regularly. Nor do I see golden hearts. Nice attention-grabber by the good folks at St. Jude’s.

One bonus explanation and it isn’t the subject line that stood out. Peter Santenello has an amazing YouTube Channel and I like getting updates on his videos that are coming up. This shows how true it is that recognizing the sender is still the number one reason any email gets opened.

Ok, one more, and I’m moving on. Trends uses an episodic opening to the subject line. “Founder Finds #0110.” It’s more familiar every time I see it. Sorta like an album cover on Spotify or an FM station (i.e., 101.1) on car radios. I’ll get deeper on this kind of “email branding” in a near-future edition of Inbox Hacking.

Now chew on these subject line tips / factoids in case you been cave diving and missed ‘em.

Level Up Email Subject Lines w/ These Facts

• Subject lines with 6-10 words tend to have the highest open rates.

• Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.

• Subject lines that create a sense of urgency can increase open rates by up to 22%.

• Using a question in the subject line can increase open rates by 10-15%.

• Subject lines with numbers have a 45% higher open rate than the average.

• Emojis in subject lines can increase open rates by 56%.

• Subject lines that pique curiosity without giving everything away perform well.

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Thanks for reading Inbox Hacking. Please share it with a friend. It’s read by marketers at Mastercard and Red Wing Shoes. Bigfoot would too, if not for his illiteracy.

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

Last swipeable subject line: “We Each Had $100 To Spend on Prime Big Deal Days.” It’s from Living in Yellow - I only signed up for the research, folks😁.