Don't fear that AI summaries in Gmail and Apple Mail will kill your open rates. If your content is genuinely valuable, people will still open it to get the full experience, just as they'd watch a favorite show instead of reading a synopsis. AI simply helps users filter out the noise.

Many marketers mistakenly summarize their entire email in the subject line, removing any incentive to open it. To increase curiosity, provide only a hint or a compelling data point from the email's content. This creates an information gap that subscribers feel compelled to close by clicking.

To test if subscribers are actually reading your full email, hide a specific, fun instruction in the middle of the copy (e.g., "If you see this, reply with this word"). The replies you receive serve as a clear indicator of deep engagement beyond just opens or clicks.

Explicitly telling users what action to take in marketing copy taps into their subconscious willingness to follow instructions. Simple commands like 'open this,' 'save this post,' or 'screenshot this' prompt users to act, leading to measurable lifts in metrics like email opens and post saves on platforms like LinkedIn.

Focusing on email open rates can lead to clickbait subject lines and weak copy. Instead, orient your entire outreach strategy around getting a reply. This forces you to write more personalized, engaging content that addresses the recipient's specific pain points, leading to actual conversations, not just vanity metrics.

Despite claims that Apple's privacy changes and bots have made them irrelevant, open rates remain a valuable leading indicator for email performance. Marketers who dismiss them are ignoring a crucial signal of audience engagement and list health. These metrics are provided by platforms and should be monitored.

Switching from clear but safe subject lines (e.g., '3 ways to...') to provocative, curiosity-piquing ones dramatically improved open rates. The speaker notes that if a subject line feels slightly uncomfortable to send, it's probably a good sign.

Many marketers mistakenly reveal the entire value of an email in the subject line, killing any reason to open it. To maximize opens, provide a compelling hint or create a curiosity gap rather than giving away the full story.

Every email campaign has a different role. An event follow-up's goal might be to generate replies, making that the key metric. A nurture email aims for value delivery, while a sales email aims for demos. Judge each campaign by its intended outcome, not by universal vanity metrics.