Frame email subject lines to appeal to the higher-level position your audience desires. A manager wants to know what a CMO is doing. This psychological tactic, which plays on ambition, can lift open rates by 24-28% over standard personalization by speaking to who your audience wants to become.

Combine two specific audience identifiers in your subject line, like role and company attribute ("Mid-market CMOs") or interest and a pain point ("Beauty fans with sensitive skin"). This "double personalization" tactic reportedly increases B2B open rates by 24% and B2C by 29% by making the message feel hyper-relevant.

While many marketers use brackets at the beginning of email subject lines, new data from subjectline.com shows placing them at the end is boosting open rates. This tactic works by drawing the reader's eye to a key callout, and contrary to myth, it does not negatively impact deliverability or land emails in spam.

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.

Personalizing subject lines with a recipient's industry or interests is a known tactic that provides a solid 20% lift in open rates. However, this should be considered a baseline, as more advanced psychological tactics like aspirational messaging can yield even higher returns of 24-28%.

From October 1st through year-end, starting email subject lines with "Invitation" or "Invited" can boost open rates by 24% (B2C) to 28% (B2B). This tactic taps into the subconscious holiday season mindset where people are more receptive to being invited, whether to a sale, an event, or a piece of content.

A counterintuitive yet effective email tactic is capitalizing an entire word in the middle of a subject line, not at the start or end. This simple, cost-free A/B test is trending because it breaks visual patterns in the inbox, leading to a reported 16% open rate increase for B2B and 21% for B2C.

To capitalize on early holiday shoppers, consumer brands should start using the term 'Black Friday' in email subject lines during the last week of October and the first week of November. This tactic can lift open rates by more than 25%, beating competitors who wait until mid-November.

Contrary to the belief that holiday themes are unprofessional for B2B, incorporating playful, Halloween-related subject lines like "Don't ghost your leads" can boost email open rates by over 15%. This tactic is most effective when used in the 10 days leading up to the holiday.