11 Best Email Subject Lines from 2023 and Why They Work

While email marketing is my absolute favorite method for earning, I admit that things have gotten more challenging as the years go by.

In 2023, email markers faced privacy updates from Apple and Google. While I completely understand (and appreciate) the fact that these companies are doing their best to protect their users, it has completely turned the dependability of email statistics on its head.

Other data being published is also skewed and – if you don’t know what questions to ask – you could make decisions that are counterintuitive.

Why “Best Practices” Sometimes Aren’t

I regularly see blanket statements about the best day and time to send emails. However, rarely do I find the information complete with qualification.

For example, every industry will never have the same day and time in common. Retail/ecommerce will be different than a corporate attorney’s office simply because people can and do purchase online every day of the week at lots of different times. But a corporate attorney will only interact with other corporations which are us usually only open from 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday.

These statistics also offer times without qualifying the time zone. So, if I’m reading the research in the eastern time zone, I will be sending at a different time than someone who reads the research in the mountain time zone.

Unless you own small local business, chances are very good that you have people on your email list that are in all four U.S. time zones and possibly even several international time zones.

How to Find the Best Days and Times to Send to Your Specific List

In a word: tracking.

I know, I know. It’s much easier to read a blog post or a summary of some research. But if you truly want to know the best days and times that email works for your specific list, you’re going to have to track your specific list.

Let me give you an example. One very recent report I read stated that the best day and time to send emails is Tuesday at 10 AM. As I mentioned previously, they did not qualify which time zone that was.

They also mentioned several days that were not good for sending email. One of those days was Sunday.

It just so happens that I can tell you from my own tracking that emails I send on Sunday do extremely well!

What should you track?

Create a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet and make columns for:

Date
Send Time
Subject Line
Segment
Open Rate
Click Rate
Income Made (sometimes this is a more reliable indicator for me than other stats)

Then, over time, you’ll have a very simple way to determine what your best days to email are.

Email Subject Lines: Examples Proven to Work

Let’s see the top 11 email subject lines from my 2023 mailings. Of approximately 490 promotional emails that I sent during the year, these are the ones that captured the most attention and caused more people to open the messages.

Email Subject Line Examples and Templates

Below you’ll find the precise subject line I wrote and used in my email, and an explanation of why it works. Then I will also provide a template for you and a couple of email subject line examples.

1. What gets 3x the conversions & costs 62% less?

To give you some context, this subject line promoted my Content Marketing Funnel Kit. It was pointing out how much faster, cheaper, and more productive, using the templates provided in the kit was in comparison to creating everything from scratch.

Template: What [gives/allows/gets] [#x] [result] & costs [what percentage] less?

Examples:

What gets 10x the email opens & costs 15% less?
What makes 25x more products & costs 25% less?

2. Make 120 printables in 1 day (no kidding)

Context: Promoted Mitzy Thompson’s Rapid Printables training.

This course took Etsy sellers step-by-step through the process of using simple shortcuts designed to shave the production time down significantly to save time and increased productivity.

Template: [Action] [xx] [products/services/etc.] in [timeframe] (no kidding/joking/fooling)

Examples:

Create 67 blog posts in 3 days (no kidding)
Land 25 new clients in 1 week (no joking)

3. Make them once and sell for every season

Context: Promoted Amy Harrop’s Succeed with Seasonal Printables

This subject line plays on ease. Amy shows you how to make different types of printables and customize them for a season. But then, you can duplicate those printables and change the season to add new seasonal products to your Etsy shop very quickly and easily.

Template: [Make/Sell/Build/Etc.] [them/it] once and [do this repeat action]

Examples:

Sell it once and earn every month
Build it once and sell it every day

4. A highly profitable Etsy accident

Context: This promoted Bart Hennin’s Etsy Infomania course.

This training was developed when Bart was searching Etsy for new trends. He was not specifically looking for this type of product to sell, but when he stumbled on it, he new it was gold! This subject line is designed to pique interest with curiosity.

Template: A [result] [this topic/niche] [accident/curiosity/wonder]

Examples:

A conversion-generating copywriting curiosity
A sales-boosting product creation wonder

5. Create stunning ebooks/guides in 5 minutes (without writing a word)

Context: This email promoted Designrr’s ebook/flipbook software

This subject line works by eliminating something people generally don’t like to do (writing). Then giving them a way to do something they DO want to do (create ebooks/guides). Win-win!

Template: [Make/Create/Build/Design/Etc.] [adjective] [what you’re making] in [X minutes/hours/days] (without [doing what they hate])

Examples:

Make clever bookmark templates in 5 minutes (without any design skills)
Create eye-catching social media posts in 5 minutes (without using graphics software)

6. 6 things to sell without creating something new

Context: This email introduced Lizzy Goddard’s 6 Things to Sell When You Can’t be Bothered to Create Something New mini-training.

It is targeted to people who are short on time, but need to product a new product to sell.

Templates: [#] things to [sell/give away] without [creating/building/designing/making] something [new/big/complicated]

Examples:

10 things to give away without designing something complicated
7 tiny things to sell without making something big

7. 10 Etsy Alternatives for Printables Sellers

Context: This was a blog post written to provide Etsy sellers with alternative (or additional) marketplaces to sell on.

Template: [#] [niche/company/software/product/etc.] [alternatives/add-ons] for [these people]

Examples:

7 iPhone alternatives for non-techie people
14 Icy Hot alternatives for athletes in chronic pain

8. The bonuses are as good as the training

Context: This email highlighted Bart Hennin’s Magnetic Copywriting ebook.

Most of the time, when we email about a course, the focus is on the training itself. Understandable. But when I saw some of the bonuses Bart offered with this ebook I wanted to highlight those.

Template: The [item/section/add-on] [are/is] as good as the [primary focus]

Examples:

The free desserts are as good as the weekly meals
The previews are as good as the movie

9 . How to passively sell in your email signature

Context: This email shared Christina Peterson’s Sell in Your Signature mini-training.

Sometimes making passive income requires a lot of work upfront. But then there are the little things that are super-simple. I’ve used the P.S. section of emails to add upsells to related products for years. It’s an awesome way to pick up a bunch of passive income very easily. This subject line takes a direct approach by simply saying how simple this technique is.

Template: How to [passively/easily/quickly/etc.] [do this task]

Examples:

How to quickly create blog posts in under 20 minutes
How to easily make 30 days of social media posts

10. Psst! You’re about to miss out…

Context: This was a last-call email for one of my products.

Urgency. That’s what last-call emails are all about. Alerting people that they are about to miss out. The purpose is extremely simple. If ever, there was one type of email that performs consistently awesome, it is last-call emails.

Template: [Attention getter] [notice]

Examples:

Oops! You’re about to blow it
Whoa! This deal is outta here in 1 hour

11. 12 Easy places to drop your affiliate links & earn commissions

Context: This was to announce a newly published post on the Marketing Words blog.

Affiliates are constantly looking for new places to share their links. This blog post title (which doubled as the email subject line) lets people know upfront the specific number of easy places they can share their links to make more commissions. Specific numbers get attention for a couple of reasons. Numbers stand out more than letters do so they capture attention more quickly. Also, specific numbers give a sense of authority.

Template: [#] Easy [places/sites/travel tips/etc.] to [do this specific thing]

Examples:

10 Easy travel tips to save frustration and money
3 Kids websites to instill a positive attitude in your child

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try some of the subject line templates in this blog post next week when you send your emails. Be sure to track your results so you know which types of subjects your list responds best to.