My most popular newsletter subject line…
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…was a screw up. That's right, Reader. Once, I forgot to write the subject line in my email newsletter and somehow sent "A" as the subject line and it resulted in an astronomical open rate. Oh, it also had great engagements too—people replied and said things like, "Oh this is clever." I was horrified. Partly this was an ego thing. After all, I do think about my subject lines and try to write something that people will find interesting enough to open. And it turns out, a screw up was the one that got people to actually open my emails. What a blow to the old ego... When it happened—this was a few years ago—it also reminded me that sometimes, despite all the strategy in the world, sometimes, what's effective is actually kind of random. Maybe the timing is wrong (or right). Maybe people have inbox fatigue (or finally reached inbox zero). Maybe folks are desperate for something novel and the the subject line "A" makes them click. There are lots of variables we simply do not know. Now, I'm not saying it's all luck luck—far from it. In fact, one of the pillars of my entire framework is "Engineer Luck," which is a play on the entire concept of luck. But I do want you to understand why it's hard to replicate something that surprised you and worked once. Please don't try to replicate luck. I see people do this all the time, and they inevitably get frustrated when it doesn't happen again. Hoping to roll the dice and win is no different from using going viral as a business strategy. Which is to say, it's not a strategy at all. It may happen once, but there's no guarantee it'll happen again. Or that it will actually achieve what you want it to. Basically, embrace luck when it happens, but stay laser-focused on your strategy and what you know will work. You don't see me writing weird, mysterious, single-letter subject lines hoping to hit the jackpot, do you? No, I stick with what works consistently. Talk soon, Sarah P.S. We have some new articles up on the blog! 1. First, Josh wrote about what to do if your students are struggling your online course. |