NEW: Ultimate Subject Line Test Ideas🫨Jay's SCOOP | Ep. 519

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Do This, NOT That: Marketing Tips with Jay Schwedelson
Episode: NEW: Ultimate Subject Line Test Ideas🫨Jay's SCOOP | Ep. 519
Date: June 4, 2026
Host: Jay Schwedelson (with Co-host from Guru Media Hub)

This episode dives into tactical, research-driven ideas for testing email subject lines—focusing on actionable, easily implemented tactics proven to boost open rates. Jay Schwedelson shares fresh findings from his vast testing experience, debunking old myths and reviving once-dismissed strategies. The latter part of the episode features Jay's candid take on social boundaries at industry events, adding personality to the practical advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Data-Driven Subject Line Test Ideas

Jay lays out six innovative (and recently effective) subject line testing tactics:

• Backed by World Data Research’s execution of over 40,000 campaigns annually and 6 billion emails sent.
• Jay emphasizes these are “not the same tired tips—no urgency, no questions, no generic tricks. These are easy, fresh tests anyone can try, regardless of brand size.” (00:19)

a) Make Your Subject Line Look Like a Calendar Invite

• Example: “Tomorrow, 11am” or “Thursday, 2:15pm”
• Call to action: Announce events, sales, content drops, webinars, or anything that feels like an “appointment.”
• Insight: This style creates urgency and FOMO because it looks like something the recipient should be at, causing a 28% lift in open rates.
  • "The person opens it up because they think, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I’m supposed to be there.’ And it works really, really well." (01:09)

b) Newsletter Edition Bracket Revival

• Start your subject line with: [NewsletterName #Number] Subject text
• Once abandoned because it became “wallpaper” and ignored, now seeing a comeback.
• Insight: Brackets/naming/numbering at the start are boosting newsletter open rates by 20%.
  • "That tactic is now crushing it again... Lifting our email open rates on our newsletters over 20%." (02:33)
  • “Ann Handley does this with her newsletter as well now.” (02:54)
• Myth-busting: Emojis, exclamation marks, capitalization, brackets, and dollar signs no longer trigger spam filters.

c) Start Subject Lines with a Conjunction

• Begin with “And...” or “But...”, e.g. “And then this happened” or “But here’s the problem.”
• Insight: This simple twist drives curiosity and lifts open rates by 17%.
  • "You’re creating that different kind of curiosity." (03:11)

d) Add a Period After Every Word

• Example: “This. Changes. Everything.”
• Subconsciously disruptive—forces unique pacing, stands out in the inbox.
• Insight: Drives open rates up 24%.
  • “When you see that, even though it’s in your subconscious, it creates trauma—this weird pacing... lifting open rates by about 24%.” (03:43)

e) Reference the Next Month

• Two weeks before the next month, mention it: “July sale starts now” or “July’s webinar will be amazing.”
• Insight: Appeals to the desire to be “ahead of the game,” boosting open rates by 14%.
  • “People get a little excited about it... lifts open rates by about 14%.” (04:27)

f) Double Spacing Between Words

• Put two spaces between every word in your subject line.
• Visually subtle—adds “white space,” boosting attention in crowded inbox.
• Insight: Surprisingly yields 10-12% more opens.
  • "No one’s going to look at your subject line, be like, ‘Oh my God, that’s amazing. I see two spaces.’ But it. It visually catches their eye for a split second." (04:54)

Jay’s advice: “Mix it up. Even what used to not work can work again. Always be testing.” (05:39)

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2. Jay’s “Since You Didn’t Ask” Social Anecdote Segment

(Light-hearted, personal take on networking boundaries at events; minimal bearing on marketing strategy, but full of relatable humor.)

• Jay vents about feeling uncomfortable seeing industry peers in bathing suits or dancing at conferences.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “I don’t want to see people that I do any kind of work with in bathing suits. I will not be in a bathing suit at an industry event.” (07:05)
  • “I don’t want to see people I do work with dancing... Why do I feel like there are certain activities that shouldn’t be done with work people?” (08:10)
• Jay self-reflects (“Maybe it’s a me thing... Everything is a me thing.” (08:23)) and requests, with tongue-in-cheek, not to approach him in swimwear at industry events.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On testing old tactics again:

  • “Some things that I thought were used to be terrible and that we retested are actually working really well right now, which is always the case in marketing. You gotta always go back and retest.” (00:49)

• On subject line bracket strategy:

  • “That used to be what all the newsletters did... it became wallpaper and started doing terrible... that tactic is now crushing it again.” (02:22)

• On visual disruption in subject lines:

  • “No one’s going to look at your subject line, be like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s amazing.’ ...But it visually catches their eye for a split second.” (04:54)

• Jay’s candor on professional boundaries:

  • “If you see me and you’re in a bathing suit, please don’t come near me. I don’t care if you have a six pack. It’s just weird.” (08:33)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:16 — Jay introduces the episode’s marketing focus and the premise for sharing new subject line tactics
• 01:09 — Calendar invite subject lines (+28% open rate)
• 02:14 — Newsletter edition/bracket comeback (+20%)
• 03:11 — Using conjunctions to start subject lines (+17%)
• 03:43 — “Period after every word” tactic (+24%)
• 04:27 — Referring to the next month (+14%)
• 04:54 — Double spacing for visual effect (+10–12%)
• 06:05 — Personal “Since You Didn’t Ask” segment: work events, pools, and dancing
• 09:01 — Jay plugs his new charity-supporting book, agency partnership opportunities, and wraps up the episode

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Actionable Takeaways

• Test “calendar invite” subject lines before any campaign promoting an event, sale, or launch for a significant open rate lift.
• Reconsider old formatting like brackets/edition numbers for newsletters; it’s working again.
• Use conjunctions and erratic punctuation to disrupt the reader’s pattern recognition—and increase those opens.
• Be creative and revisit tactics that went out of style; shifting inbox trends mean what’s “burned out” might be due for a comeback.
• Embrace subtle visual changes (periods after words, double spaces) for differentiation in crowded inboxes.

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Additional Notes

• Book Release: Jay mentions his upcoming book, with proceeds to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. “Stupider People have done it” is out in June.
• Agency Help: Marketers can reach out at jschwedelson.com for collaboration or support.
• Signature Jay Humor: Relatable, rapid-fire delivery with a self-deprecating lens.

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This energetic episode packs dense, practical content with irreverent, memorable delivery—perfect for marketers looking for a creative kick in the inbox.

Transcript

[Jay Schwedelson]

Welcome to do this, not that, the podcast from marketers. We share quick tips, things you can do right now, and then we add

[Co-host]

a little bit of chaos at the

[Jay Schwedelson]

end of every episode. We also keep it short, like this intro. Let's check it out.

We are back for do this, not that podcast. And today I want to do a new all new ultimate email subject line test ideas. Because everyone thinks their email subject lines. You've tried it all. You're a business marketer, consumer nonprofit, you've done it all and you can't get your emails to work. But there's always new tactics to try. And I have a research group called World Data Research, and we execute over 40,000 campaigns annually and over 6 billion emails that we send out. And we're always trying new stuff. So I'm not going to share with you stuff you already know, like urgency or making your subject line a question that that's boring. Everybody knows that stuff. I want to share stuff with you that maybe you haven't tried. And these are not going to all work. But they're easy tests. I don't care. Big or small, your brand is this is easy stuff that you can test. And some things that I thought were used to be terrible and that we retested are actually working really well right now, which is always the case in marketing. You got to always go back and retest. So I'm going to rip through some different test ideas. There's a horrible way to do a podcast because you're out walking or driving. You're like, well, what am I going to do with this? I'm going to have to re listen to this garbage. I don't know, maybe you'll remember one of them. What can I tell you at the end? I'll share with you nonsense that's going on in my life because that's what I do. All right, so the first test that really was surprising to us is having your subject line look like a calendar invite. This is crushing it. In our research, it's actually lifting Open rates 28%. So what does that look like in your subject line? The subject line would literally say, you know, Thursday, 2:15pm or would say 11 tomorrow 11am and this might be the date that you're releasing a new guide. This might be the date that you're releasing, announcing a new sale, going live in the consumer side or donation things being open or a webinar event that's going to happen. But literally all you're Putting is tomorrow, 11am or Thursday, 2:15pm the person opens it up because they think, oh, wait a minute, I'm supposed to be there. And it works really, really well. Now there's a tactic that I used to hate, but now I'm doing again, and it's crushing it. So if you send out an email newsletter, back in the day, it used to be that all the email newsletters that were sent out at the start of their subject line, you would have in brackets, you would have the addition. So it might say, like my newsletter is called scoop. Back in the day, five years ago, it might have bracket the word scoop and then number 22, and then close bracket, and then you'd have your subject line after that. And that used to be what all the newsletters did. And that became wallpaper and started doing terrible. And so everybody stopped doing it with their email newsletters. Well, I'm here to report that tactic is now crushing it again. And by the way, you could put brackets in your subject line, exclamation marks, capitalized letters, words, emojis, dollar signs. You're not going to junk folder, spam folder for any of that. That has nothing to do with the reason you go the junk folder spam folder anymore. So when I tell you for your newsletter, like in my newsletter, for example, we switch from the regular just write something crazy subject line to starting the subject line with a bracket. Then we put the name of the newsletter, then we put the number sign, and then we put the the number like 212. And then we close the bracket and then we put a subject line after that. It is lifting our email open rates on our newsletters over 20%. Ann Hanley does this with her newsletter as well now, and a lot of other folks do it with all their newsletters. So if you haven't tried that with your newsletter, it's a tactic we used to avoid, but it has come back in a big way in the last six months. So another one that we've been testing that's working phenomenal is starting your subject lines with a conjunction. So literally starting your subject line with and then this happened. Or you would say, but here's the problem. And I don't care if you're a business marketing, consumer marketer, nonprofit, if you're in a conservative industry, a regulated industry, something boring you can start your subject line with, and then this happened. You're creating that different kind of curiosity. And from our research group, we're seeing this lift open rates by about 17%. All right, my other favorite one right now is adding a period after every word. So for example, you might say something like, this period changes. Period, everything, period. Because when you see that in your mind instantly, even though it's in your subconscious, it creates trauma, right? And this weird pacing when you're reading it, that tactic alone is actually lifting open rates by about 24%. So if you've never tried a period and they do a space in between each word, then you are leaving one of the coolest tactics out there that you can try. The other super random one that I love, that we've been doing forever is that two weeks before the next month, you put the next month in the subject line. So, for example, let's say it's June 15, you would put in the subject line, july is going to be really huge. Or July's webinar is going to be amazing. Or July sale starts now. When you mention the next month, two weeks prior to that month starting, for some reason, people get a little excited about it because they're like, ooh, I'm going to be ahead of the game. And that lifts open rates by about 14% from we're seeing. The last one, before I get into ridiculous nonsense is double spacing. This one's really, visually a little bit about creating a little white space and people don't even realize it and why they're opening it. And this one lifts open rates by about 10 to 12%. But literally, between each word in your subject line, you put two spaces instead of one. And oddly, it actually works. Again, no one's going to look at your subject line, be like, oh, my God, that's amazing. I see two spaces. But it. It visually catches their eye for a split second. So again, these are all little things that you can try that kind of mix it up a little bit. And that's what you want to do. You always want to mix it up a little bit. So. So let's get into the ridiculous portion of this podcast called since youe Didn't Ask. So I just talked really fast.

[Co-host]

Wow.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I just talked really fast and I stopped drinking coffee. So this is me without coffee. But that's not my topic. So I'm curious about something. If everyone else feels this way the way that I feel, which is I was at this small industry conference in the last week, and it was down here in South Florida, where I live, and it was at this hotel, and the hotel had a pool. And so in between, like, the sessions and stuff, and at the end of the day, after the sessions broke, there was a significant number of people from the event that were at the Swimming pool of the hotel where the event was, was a multi day event. And so I walked outside to see what was going on. And there are all these people that

[Co-host]

before, like an hour or two before

[Jay Schwedelson]

I saw them in the sessions, I saw a couple speakers, but they were in their bathing suits and they were in the water and they were sitting on lounge chairs and I was totally not into it.

[Co-host]

And everyone's like, hey, Jay, what's going on? I don't know why, I don't know

[Jay Schwedelson]

what this means about me, but I don't want to see people that I do any kind of work with or anything to do with my industry in bathing suits. I will not be in a bathing suit at an industry event.

[Co-host]

I don't know why.

[Jay Schwedelson]

It's weird.

[Co-host]

It's like I don't want to see a dude with no shirt on, then

[Jay Schwedelson]

the next day I have to interact with him. Or I don't want to see a

[Co-host]

woman in a. I don't know. What does that mean?

[Jay Schwedelson]

I don't know why that's a problem for me. I was so uncomfortable because one of the dudes was trying to have a real conversation with me. He had no shirt on, he had very short bathing suit on, shorts.

[Co-host]

And I'm like, I don't want to be in this discussion.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I felt weird.

[Co-host]

I don't know.

[Jay Schwedelson]

And then the other one, which wasn't at this event, but I've seen other events and I know this is really bad because a lot of people like to do this, but like nighttime there'll be like a bar, like an event at a bar, like a cocktail reception, and then there'll be music and then people will dance.

[Co-host]

And I don't know what it is, but I don't want to see people

[Jay Schwedelson]

that I do work with dancing. Like, I don't want to see my clients dancing. I'm definitely not dancing. I don't want to see all other people in the industry dancing.

[Co-host]

I know that's terrible. But why do I feel like there are certain activities that shouldn't be done

[Jay Schwedelson]

with work, people dancing, swimming pool. What else?

[Co-host]

I don't know. Yoga, I have no idea. But let's not. Maybe, maybe you like this stuff. It's probably a me thing. Everything is a me thing. But. But if you see me and you're in a bathing suit, please don't come near me. I don't want to interact with you. I don't care if you have like,

[Jay Schwedelson]

you're like, have a six pack.

[Co-host]

I don't care. It's not about that.

[Jay Schwedelson]

It's just weird.

[Co-host]

Am I weird?

[Jay Schwedelson]

Probably.

Anyway, thanks for being here.

[Co-host]

Leave this thing a review, please.

[Jay Schwedelson]

It helps to circulate the show.

And what else?

[Co-host]

I don't know. Don't wear a full full outfit if

[Jay Schwedelson]

you're going to be by the pool.

[Co-host]

I don't know.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Do something later.

Wait. I have two huge things to share with you for First, I have a book coming out. Stupider People have done it. It's coming out the first week of June and all net author proceeds are going to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. This book might be terrible, but who cares? When you buy this thing on Amazon

or anywhere else, you are going to

be helping to kick cancer's butt. Let's do that together. The second thing is you can go to jschwedelson.com on the upper right hand corner there's a thing that says Partner. My agency wants to help you. If you're a business marketer, consumer marketer doesn't make a difference.

I want to help you drive net

new sales, registrations, growth, change the design, all the stuff that you are doing, hit me up there. Also, if you want to do brand collabs, I want to know about your brand. I want to help you amplify that message. Go to jschwettelson.com click on partner. Let's do stuff together. And the last thing is Leave this show a review. If it wasn't the absolute worst podcast you've ever heard and you're awesome for being here later,