Have you ever spent time crafting the perfect subject line for your email newsletter?

Maybe you've pulled out your journal, doodled a word cloud, or took a walk to get your creative juices flowing.

I know I have.

There's plenty of research out there that will tell you how many emails people get and how important it is to come up with ways for them to open your email.

And, there’s no shortage of marketing gurus telling you what you need to do to write a powerful subject line. The advice runs the gamut from simple to downright icky. To increase open rates, they say:

• Use numbers (odd ones perform better than even).

• Or amp up your emoji use (apparently the 👉 is one of the most popular).

• Or even…add exclamation points to make your subject lines more exciting!

And, while it's true your audience's attention, like everyone else's, is finite, your email (and its subject line) are only one part of your overall marketing strategy.

Much more important than manufacturing a subject line to try to get people to open your email is finding a way for your words to convey what you want to share and be in alignment with who you really are.

In other words, your email subject lines should be authentic.

What Did She Say?

I popped open my email the other day to find an email from Marie Kondo about her new project, a children's book about tidying.

The subject of the email was "For the Kiddos"

Now, I'm a huge Marie Kondo fan. I've gotten into many deep, nuanced discussions about her approach to creating an ideal home in which I find a lot of common threads to marketing (that's a post for another day!) But when I saw this email in my inbox, I groaned.

Why?

Because it wasn't on brand, at least not in the way I define brand. In other words, because it just didn’t sound like Marie Kondo.

Your Brand and Staying True to You

Brand is simply a fancy marketing way of saying how people perceive your company. In my approach to authentic marketing, there isn't a separation between you and your company's marketing. In my Six Principles of Effective Marketing Messages, I state - authenticity is magic. In fact, a cornerstone of success is that you show up in your marketing as you, the real you. You don't try to pretend to be something or someone you're not.

I’ve been following Marie Kondo for years, and have seen her in video, on television shows, in articles and in conversation with clients. And, I am pretty confident she doesn't go around asking people about "the kiddos."

That's such an Americanism.

One of the reasons Marie Kondo has been so successful is she freely brings her Japanese culture and point of view into her work. It's part of what makes her 'her'.

And this subject line just isn’t her.

Look, I know Marie Kondo doesn't write her own emails. Her Instagram account has 3.9M followers, and her organization, KonMari Media, is a global lifestyle brand with its own marketing team that no doubt wrote that email, along with the subject line.

But I point it out to you in part because it’s an easy, clear example of a dissonant message. One that doesn’t fit the business owner. This may be an anomaly for Marie Kondo’s company, but I see it often with some coaches, healers and other creatives as they try to market their business.

As you work to grow and nurture an audience of readers and potential customers, it’s important to stay true to who you are. To your own personal brand of you-ness. And doing that in your subject lines is just as important as it is in the rest of your marketing.

A Subject Line Mini -Checklist

Before focusing on email marketing subject lines, make sure you have content that your readers find valuable. Once you’re creating content that's valuable, accessible and readable, here are a few ideas to help you make sure your email subject line is as authentic and effective as possible,

Keep it simple

Part of the magic of Marie Kondo’s tidying method is its simplicity. There’s no complicated formula or criteria for decluttering. She simply asks clients to ask “Does this spark joy?” and from there the action is clear.

The same simplicity works well in email marketing too.

The subject of your email can easily be the title of your blog. If you have an offer, say so. If registration to your course is closing Friday, make that the subject line.

If you enjoy playing with words, like I do, go ahead and have fun creating subject lines. Remember, they are just one part of your overall marketing strategy. And simple and straightforward is ok too.

Most important is making sure they sound like you, the real you.

Check Your Words

I’ve written more about this here. Look at each word in your subject line and ask yourself “Is this something I’d really say?” Do you envision myself saying this over coffee (or Zoom) to a good friend? To a potential client if she called you on the phone?

If you can’t see yourself saying “get this deal before it’s gone!” to someone in person, then reconsider using it as an email subject line. If you don’t regularly use words like manifesting, high vibrational frequency, or living your best life to the non-coach or healer people in your life, then scrap those in your subject lines and try drafting something more authentic instead.

Is it X-Rated?

I’ve written about this before. Make sure you aren't hopping on the latest trend by using swear words as a way to shock and entice readers, especially when it's really just not who you are. If you honestly sit around with friends and freely talk about having done this "serious bad-ass" thing or you frequently describe someone's behavior as being some "f'd up s*&t" then by all means, go ahead.

But please, please if it's not you, take a step back and ask what you're trying to do by including language. It’s highly likely it’s unintentional and you've picked up messages about the way 'successful' coaches, healers and other creatives need to be in order to grow successful business. That’s simply not true.

Avoid Being Clickbait-y

You know the clickbait-y titles that show up in your email box or your news feed from sponsored companies. Clickbait uses human’s natural curiosity to manipulate readers into clicking.

Clickbait’s been so overused. We’ve all been victim to clicking on something and then feeling let down because the article or video is only tangentially related to what the subject line said.

Most of your ideal clients, as well as yourself, are wary when they read subject lines that feel like clickbait, such as:

• “You'll Never Believe This Simple Trick to Transforming Your Yoga Workout“

• “How to Achieve Lasting Change Using This One Simple Hack”

• “They Didn't Know How Easy Changing Their Body Image Could Be. Then This Happened …”

• “Four Secrets to Having a Positive Relationship with Yourself”

I know you aren’t out to overpromise and underdeliver with your content. Yet, I still see a lot of subject lines out there like the ones above.

The coaches, healers and other creatives who are writing these types of subject lines have probably been told by top marketing gurus that this is how you get clients. The truth is though, it doesn’t work. Rather, it creates a disconnect with your ideal clients and tends to erode trust instead of building it.

So check to make sure you’re not unintentionally writing subject lines like these.

When you're crafting your email marketing subject lines, it’s important to keep in mind that, just as in the rest of your marketing, you want what shows up in other people’s email boxes to reflect the real you. Not someone else’s idea of what will get people’s attention.

If you take a few minutes to get in touch with what you want to say with your message, a simple approach will emerge. You can check to make sure the words you use are ones you’d really use, eliminate any gratuitous trending or buzzwords that don’t feel natural, and steer clear of any unintentional clickbait style framing.

Then, you’re good to hit send. 👍🏻

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash