The subject line you use in your email is the second-most important factor in getting your email opened, read, and acted upon.

The most important factor in getting your email opened is what you put in the “From” line. Obviously, you can’t change that every time you send an email, but you can experiment with subject lines.

But what makes for a good subject line? And how do you write them?

To help you answer those questions, I’ve collected 45 of the best subject lines that have shown up in my inbox over the last six months and compiled them here. I’ve not only included the subject line and the date I received it, I’ve also added my comments as to why it works.

Even better, I’ve organized the subject lines into categories so it’s easier to compare subject lines that do the same thing — in different markets and to different lists.

By studying these subject lines and modeling them, you’ll be able to write more powerful subject lines that get your emails opened and read.

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A Copywriting Code member writes:

“I was wondering if you can offer some tips on how to write good openers. I already have some basic templates for writing openers but it would be great to read your take on it.”

First, in case you don’t know, an “opener” is simply how you open a sales letter or sales message after the headline and subhead. The opener is generally the first sentence or paragraph or possibly a series of two or three short paragraphs.

Next to the headline and subhead, how you open your sales message will have the largest effect on how well the piece works.

There are a few different approaches to writing openers, and we’ll cover all of them in this lesson. So let’s get started…

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I’ve just finished a brand new report called “15 Copywriting Mistakes that Kill Conversions (and Hurt Clients).”

This 3,500 word PDF is available for immediate download.

Read it on your computer or print it out so you can take notes as you go.

Here’s the link to download the PDF. (Right click and select “Save As” to download to your computer.)

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In the War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

At the time Pressfield wrote this, it was probably fairly accurate. Today, I think the observation deserves to be expanded. It’s more like this:

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write, turning off all distractions, and actually writing the first sentence.”

I recently published a post on my other blog about how much time is lost in transition. It’s all the starting and stopping — like a car in a traffic jam — that crushes momentum and brings productivity to a grinding halt.

With that in mind, I offer these productivity tips for copywriters and anybody else who writes copy.

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A long-time Copywriting Code subscriber asks the following question:

How do you write copy for women vs. men as I hear that it needs to be different?

Very few markets are 100% women or 100% men, but often a market will be made up primarily of one or the other.

If you know the majority of your target market is comprised of women, you will naturally choose a different tone when writing to them than you would when writing to men.

And vice versa.

But the questions still remain: How exactly do you sell to women? How exactly do you sell to men? What are the differences?

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Once you’ve completed writing a promotion, most of the hard work is over. But there is still one more critical step to make sure your copy is as tight as it can possibly be.

The step I’m referring to is… the editing step.

As I’ve mentioned before, a great way to edit is to read your copy out loud. Just print up your letter or email or landing page and read it out loud, by yourself, in a room where there are no distractions.

Rough spots will stand out because you’ll “stumble” if the writing isn’t perfectly clear.

Now, as you read through your copy (both quietly and out loud), you need to be asking yourself a series of specific questions. These questions will focus your mind so that you can make your sales copy as smooth and persuasive as possible.

Here are the questions:

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As I write this, consumers are becoming more skeptical of online sales claims than they’ve ever been.

If you are selling anything on the web, you are automatically assumed to be guilty of lying or, at the very best, exaggerating. And in order to make the sale and earn a new customer, you must definitively prove the claims you’ve made.

How do you prove your claims? By offering proof, of course.

I have come up with 6 different forms of proof that instantly boost web copy conversions. Add to your web copy as many forms of proof as you can and your conversions are practically guaranteed to go up.

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If you use Google Adwords to promote your products or services online, then you’re in luck. Because today I’m giving you a special 9-page report all about how to write Google PPC ads that get clicked and generate sales (or leads, in case that’s what you want).

I’ve personally spent thousands of dollars of my own money — as well as thousands of dollars of client money — to test and track the results of PPC campaigns that I’ve been responsible for creating and managing.

Plus, I’m now playing an active role managing the writers who write ads for BoostCTR, a company that specializes in improving PPC ad copy for clients.

So the information you’ll find in this report is not based on theory, but rather on years of personal experience producing real-world results.

I hope you find it valuable as you seek to increase your click-thru rate and lower your cost per click.

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For the last four years or so, I’ve been selling an ebook called “How to Get Your First Real Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less” through Clickbank. This 56-page ebook has sold for $35 up to $49.95 (I’ve done some price testing).

So far, I’ve never given this ebook away as a bonus gift. But that is changing starting today.

Now, for the first time, you can download a free copy of “How to Get Your First Real Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less” when you become a Copywriting Code member.

You can download the ebook as soon as you become a member — no strings attached.

Obviously, if you join and cancel after one month I’ll lose money. But I’m hoping I can prove to you the value of membership and that you’ll stay much longer than that.

(I’m not really concerned though. Based on my records, most members stay at least 6 months.)

If you are not yet a Copywriting Code member, you can learn more about the ebook here (link opens in a new tab): “How to Get Your First Real Copywriting Client in 14 Days or Less”

And if you are a member already, here is the link to download the PDF…

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A few years back I subscribed to Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. Marketing Newsletter. At the time, he was looking for copy submissions to be featured in his new newsletter, the No B.S. Marketing to the Mass-Affluent Letter.

Here’s the letter I wrote to him, complete with a copy submission:

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