EMM12: Various Subject Lines by The People Of Nextdoor
I live in an apartment across the street from a park, which, if we’re being honest, is more of a field than anything.
My bedroom faces the field, which is surrounded by four gigantic steel poles supporting eight basketball-sized fluorescent lights each.
These lights came on at midnight on February 12, illuminating the field in white fluorescent glow.
Two days later, on February 14, the lights were still on — shining through the day and night for 48 hours — when a winter storm hit Nashville.
It covered the field and everything around it with snow and ice, so that it looked more like an ice-skating rink than a patch of grass.
The lights stayed on for an entire week.
For 168 hours, that fluorescent white glow flooded through the windows into my apartment, sending my Circadian rhythm into a tailspin and giving me a taste of what it must feel like to live in an insane asylum.
I called the city to see if they would turn the lights off. But I got caught in an endless cycle of automated messages without speaking to a single person.
I asked my neighbors, "Is this driving you all f*cking crazy too?" (To which they responded, "We have blackout curtains." Which didn't really help me at all.)
And I downloaded an app called Nextdoor to determine if I was the only person in my neighborhood coming unhinged — or if there were others like me, clutching the last bits of their sanity with white-knuckled fists.
Unfortunately, I was all alone.
No one had posted on Nextdoor about the winter wonderland purgatory created by the snow and the lights.
After a week, by the sheer grace of a merciful God, the lights went out. And I was able to get a proper night's rest, regaining my sanity in the process.
But I'm still a member of Nextdoor.
I regularly get emails when people post on there. And I am constantly surprised at just how good the subject lines are.
So in this week's episode of Email Marketing Motivation, I wanted to share them with you — and break down why they're so good.
Let's dive in.
The Piece
Lessons We Can Learn From This Piece
1. Create a cliffhanger.
Check out these subject lines:
"Almost hit by a car, in my yard"
"Someone tried to enter my home"
They use a cliffhanger to create curiosity. When you read these subject lines, you recognize that there is more to the story.
Because of that, you're more likely to open it.
This is called the Zeigarnik Effect.
The Zeigarnik Effect was discovered in a German study done way back in the 1920s. The researchers asked participants to perform specific tasks…
Then they interrupted some of them during those tasks…
And did not interrupt others.
They found that people remembered interrupted tasks 2x as well as the tasks that were NOT interrupted.
Basically, the Zeignarik effect means that unfinished tasks are more memorable than finished ones.
So if your subject line reads:
"I got into a wreck, but I'm okay"
… it is NOT using the power of the Zeignarik Effect.
But if it reads:
"I got into a wreck…"
… it IS using the power of the Zeignarik effect. Because the second subject line is unfinished. It's a cliffhanger.
2. Use a "hanging this."
I'm not sure a "hanging this" is the technical term for what we're discussing here. But it's what I call it…
And it's my website — so, my rules.
When I use the phrase "hanging this," I'm referring to these subject lines specifically:
"Does anybody know what this green plastic thing is?"
"What is this slimy creature?"
"Does anyone know what this is?"
"What is this?"
(Emphasis added)
Also, I'm getting tired of typing out "hanging this," so I'm gonna abbreviate it as "HT" going forward.
Anyway… what is an HT?
It's when you use the word "this" to create a curiosity gap. It implies that, within the email, you are going to give the reader the missing information.
You're going to tell them what "this" is.
The reason this works is because the reader does not know what the "this" in your email is when they read the subject line.
But the subject line implies that you will tell them what "this" is in the body of the email.
So they open the email to find out.
(You might need to read that last part again.)
It falls right in-line with the Zeignarik Effect.
If your subject line read:
"What is this? Just a cute little lizard."
… people would be less likely to open it. That is, unless they love cute little lizards. Because it gives away what "this" is. It's not a "hanging this" anymore.
In order for an HT to work, you need to make sure you don't give away what the "this" is in your subject line. You only reveal it within the email itself.
3. Create a WTF moment.
The second of these two subject lines is probably my favorite of the whole bunch:
"Purple haired package thief identified"
"HE WAS EVERYONE's CAT~ 😔"
From the capital letters to the tilde (apparently that's what this is: "~"), it's just so interesting.
I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS CAT.
But in all seriousness — don't use ALL CAPS in your subject lines. It screams:
"THIS EMAIL IS SPAM AND IT WILL GIVE YOU A VIRUS."
That said, there is one thing we can take away from these subject lines:
Subject lines that create a "WTF moment" for your reader are pretty damn compelling.
So how do you write one?
You say something unexpected.
Let's look at the first one ("Purple haired package thief identified").
The reason this subject line is compelling is because it's specific and because it has a hint of drama (which we'll discuss more in Point #4).
Imagine if this subject line had just been "Package thief identified."
Not super interesting, is it?
But when you know that the package thief has purple hair (a specific detail), it becomes more interesting.
The hint of drama helps too.
How was the package thief identified? Who identified them?
Now, onto the next one ("HE WAS EVERYONE's CAT~ 😔").
I won't overcomplicate this one. The reason this subject line is compelling is because it is so far out of left field.
I have no idea who this cat is or why this cat was important enough to write a post on Nextdoor about or why it's in ALL CAPS or why the tilde was necessary or why the "s" is the only thing not capitalized.
It makes next to no sense… and that's why it's so interesting.
It creates a true WTF moment.
If you want to replicate this with your own subject lines, my advice is simple:
Say something that seems random.
Obviously, it won't be completely random, because within your email, you'll relate it back to your niche or a story or something relevant to your audience.
But the idea is that it should seem random when it shows up in the reader's inbox.
4. Keep it short (and full of drama).
I can't find out where he mentioned it for the life of me, but at some point, I read or heard something from Ian Stanley, where he suggested keeping your subject line to 8 words or less.
Since I can't find it, I can't give you his exact reasoning, but I'd imagine it has something to do with this:
Everyone is busy all the time, and a lot of people check email on their phones.
They don't have the time, energy, or interest to sift through a long, complicated subject line.
So don't try to make them do that. It won't work.
Instead, keep your subject lines short. And, when you can, pack them full of drama, like these:
"Suspicious Young Man"
"Bike stolen"
"Saturday morning thieves"
"Attempted break in"
The reason I say these subject lines are "full of drama" is because they hint at some sort of conflict, ranging all the way from looking "suspicious" to an "attempted break in."
Hopefully, you won't always have this level of drama occurring in your life — but when you do, you can make the most of it by leveraging it into a good subject line.
5. Ask a question.
This one is straightforward as heck.
An easy way to grab attention with your subject line is just to ask your audience a question.
"Parent neighbors - any advice or tips you can offer?"
"Anyone recognize him or able to help catch him??"
These subject lines not only ask questions, but they also create curiosity, by not including some information.
What does this person need tips or advice on?
Who needs to be recognized and caught? (Interestingly enough, this one was about a dog.)
Bottom line:
If you're at a loss for what type of subject line to write — questions can work well to grab attention and create curiosity…
Which makes your emails more likely to be opened.
How To Apply These Lessons To Your Email Marketing ASAP
Here's a quick summary of the lessons from this piece:
Create a cliffhanger.
Use a "hanging this."
Create a WTF moment.
Keep it short (and full of drama).
Ask a question.
And here’s how you can apply it to your email marketing:
Write an email about something that's happened in your neighborhood lately.
Ideally, you'll be able to connect the topic of your email to your niche. Here's an example of how that might work:
Let's say you're a dietitian. You have an email list where you share healthy eating tips and sell courses.
The topic of your email could be how, a few days ago, you were walking down the street on trash day and noticed a trash can full of Twinkies, chips, soda bottles, and on and on.
You could tell that story, and then either relate it back to a healthy eating tip or a pitch for one of your courses.
If you want more guidance on how to do that, check out Stories That Sell.
Bottom line:
Tell a story of something that happened in your neighborhood. Relate it to a tip or pitch. And use the 5 tips in this article to write a compelling subject line.
Here's What You Should Do Next
Thanks for reading Email Marketing Motivation. Here's what you should do next:
Click here and join my email list. I'll give you a heads up when I publish the next episode of Email Marketing Motivation, AND you'll get free access to my subject line copywriting handbook, Subject Line Shortcuts.
Share this article with someone — or a group of people — who would like it. They'll be impressed by how smart and thoughtful you are.
Check out my course, Stories That Sell, if you want my comprehensive guide on how to write storytelling emails that earn more money for your business and help you connect with your audience in a genuine way.