Episode 78: Try This One Trick For Your Next Subject Line

Summary

Podcast Summary: Episode 78 – "Try This One Trick For Your Next Subject Line"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox
• Host: Liz Wilcox
• Description: For online businesses looking to remix their email marketing efforts and build a profitable, enjoyable email list.
• Episode: 78
• Release Date: January 15, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 78 of The Email Sound Booth, titled “Try This One Trick For Your Next Subject Line,” Liz Wilcox dives into a simple yet effective strategy to enhance email engagement: using one-word subject lines. The episode, released on January 15, 2025, is a deep dive into Liz’s experimentation with this technique and the tangible benefits it has brought to her email marketing efforts.

The One-Word Subject Line Strategy

Liz begins the episode by introducing the concept of one-word subject lines, a strategy she has been experimenting with since September 2024. She attributes this idea to Kennedy from Email Marketing Heroes, who suggested that occasionally using a single word can make subject lines stand out visually and conceptually.

Liz Wilcox [01:30]: “Have you ever tried a one word subject line? ... It actually looks different. So imagine you are scrolling on your phone on your Gmail account, and everybody's doing the same three to five word subject line. But yours is just one word. Visually, it’s going to stand out.”

Liz’s Experimentation and Results

Liz details her experimentation process, noting that after implementing one-word subject lines, she observed a notable increase in her email open rates—specifically, a 5% uptick. Encouraged by this initial success, she continued the practice for six weeks before shifting her focus to launching other initiatives, such as her 12-day "Lismos" campaign. However, in 2025, she revisited the one-word strategy due to its enjoyable nature and positive impact on engagement metrics.

Liz Wilcox [03:15]: “I tried it. It worked really well. My email open rate went up like 5%. And I was like, oh, I’m gonna do that again and again and again.”

Examples of One-Word Subject Lines

To illustrate the effectiveness of one-word subject lines, Liz shares several examples from her own campaigns:

1. "Brick" – Derived from her January 2025 newsletter's theme about pressure and building steadily.

   Liz Wilcox [05:45]: “I thought, what’s the essence of this? For example, my very first newsletter for January 2025... I could call it pressure. That’s really the thing.”

2. "Debate" – Sent the day after a U.S. presidential debate, creating intrigue despite having no direct relation to politics. The email discussed podcast naming, which piqued subscribers' curiosity.

   Liz Wilcox [09:10]: “My favorite was called Debate, and it was actually sent the day after the U.S. presidential debate. It created a lot of intrigue.”

3. "Patricia" – This subject line generated confusion and concern among subscribers, leading to high open rates as recipients wondered what was wrong with Patricia, ultimately revealing it was about her sister’s contributions.

   Liz Wilcox [12:30]: “People were like, oh, what’s wrong with Patricia? It created a lot of intrigue.”

4. "Nudge" – Targeted a specific segment of her list, reminding them about an upcoming workshop in a more engaging way than a standard subject line.

   Liz Wilcox [15:00]: “I did to a segment of the list called Nudge. It got a much higher open rate than the last time I had ran a workshop.”

Implementing the Strategy

Liz provides a step-by-step approach for listeners interested in adopting one-word subject lines:

1. Write Your Email First: Focus on the content and identify the essence of the message.
2. Identify the Core Word: Determine a single word that encapsulates the main theme or emotion of the email.
3. Craft the Subject Line: Use the chosen word to create curiosity and stand out in the inbox.

Liz Wilcox [18:20]: “I write the email. Then I think, what’s a one word of this email? Or like, what’s the essence of this?”

She emphasizes that while this method can be challenging, it fosters creativity and intrigue, ultimately leading to higher engagement rates.

Community and Resources

Liz encourages listeners to share their experiences with one-word subject lines in the Email Sound Booth Facebook group. Additionally, she promotes her Email Marketing Membership, a $9-a-month subscription offering weekly content, email templates, and three subject line options to further enhance email marketing strategies.

Liz Wilcox [22:00]: “Join my $9 a month membership Email Marketing membership where you get weekly content template emails with three subject lines every single week.”

Notable Quotes

• Liz Wilcox [00:00]: “Liz Wilcox, the fresh princess of email marketing here...”
• Liz Wilcox [04:50]: “It has just made things really fun. ... have you ever tried it? I would love for you to pop into the Email Sound Booth Facebook group.”
• Liz Wilcox [25:35]: “I’m getting tongue tied. So I’m going to end this.”

Conclusion

Episode 78 of The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox offers valuable insights into the strategic use of one-word subject lines to boost email engagement. Through her personal experimentation and successful applications, Liz demonstrates how simplicity and creativity in subject lines can lead to higher open rates and increased subscriber interaction. Listeners are encouraged to experiment with this technique, join the community for further discussions, and leverage available resources to refine their email marketing strategies.

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For more insights and actionable tips, listeners are invited to join Liz Wilcox’s Email Marketing Membership or participate in the vibrant community on the Email Sound Booth Facebook group. Stay tuned for more episodes that continue to explore effective email marketing strategies tailored for success.

Transcript

[Liz Wilcox]

Hey, hey, hey. Liz Wilcox, the fresh princess of email marketing here, and you are listening to episode 78 of the email Sound Booth podcast. Lucky me. Thank you for listening. And this one's going to be short and sweet, I think. I mean, according to my notes, but you never know. I'm already rambling. But we're going to talk about one little trick for your next subject line to try out. This. This is something I've been experimenting with since September 2024, and I've found that it makes my email writing super fun. Yes, I said email writing and fun all in the same sentence. You better believe it. Sister or brother or whatever, I don't care, as long as you're listening. I appreciate you being here, whatever, whoever you are. Okay. Anyway, that was awkward. I'm awkward. But this is not. This is a great, great tip. So have you ever tried a one word subject line? If you have been on my email list in the last six months, you have seen me do these. Now, I started this back in September. I was actually watching or listening to another email marketer, Kennedy from Email Marketing Heroes, who's talking about subject lines. And he said, you know, every once in a while, throw in a one word subject line. Not only is it different, it actually looks different. So imagine you are actually scrolling on your phone on your Gmail account and you know everybody's doing the same three to five sentence, or I'm sorry, three to five word subject line. But yours is just one word. Like visually it's going to stand out. And I thought, oh, Kennedy, so, so smart. I'm gonna try that. I tried it. It worked really well. My email subject. I'm sorry, my email open rate went up like 5%. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna do that again and again and again. And it went on mostly for about six weeks. Then I went into launch mode. I went into 12 days of Lismos. And now in 2025, I'm bringing it back because it has just made things really fun. It's made my open rate go up a little bit. And I'll link in the show notes to another subject line podcast episode if you want to get a better feel for subject lines. But if you're looking to kind of vary things, you, you know, you need a jump start for your open rate, your engagement. Try one word subject line. So what I do is I write the email. Then I think, what's a one word of this email? Or like, what's the essence of this? For example, my very first newsletter for January20,25. I opened it talking about, oh, there's all this pressure in the new year to start over and be energetic and, you know, save the world, you know, essentially. But, you know, it just is another day. Like, sure, you might have more energy, but you still gotta lay your bricks, you know, build your wall brick by brick. Right? And so I thought, well, what I could. I could call it brick. I could call it. But, you know, like. But I could call it. What could I call it? Oh, pressure. That's really the thing. Like, this is all about pressure. Like, oh, there's all this pressure, but then we're gonna hit the pressure relief valve. We're gonna take pressure off. That's the subject line. It was really fun and it had a great open rate, a lot of replies to it. And yeah, so I'm. I am continuing the one word subject line. So the one word subject line. If you're open to this, it can be kind of hard, but fun. It's a challenge, if you will. And it's going to help you create intrigue. It's going to help you stand out. Remember, I said, literally, visually, it helps you stand out. And here are some of my faves that I've sent in the last six months. My favorite was called Debate, and it was actually sent the day after the U.S. presidential debate. And it had nothing to do with that, but it created a lot of intrigue. It was like, what? Liz is going to talk about politics? She never does that. Then they opened it. It was a debate on what we should name this podcast, which is now known as the Email Sound Booth. Right. There was another one called Patricia, which I didn't even remember, but I was on our email marketing memberships live Q and A yesterday, and someone said, oh, yeah, I remember there was an email called Patricia. And it scared me because I thought something was wrong with Patricia. If you don't know who Patricia is, you gotta get on my email list lizwilcox.com she's my amazing biological sister and life manager. She runs pretty much everything behind the scenes of LizWilcox.com email, market, marketing, membership, and the email sound booth. And it was just like, oh, Patricia came to my house. She told me I should have a podcast episode about xyz. Here's that podcast episode, which. I'll link that to the show notes too. But it was funny that people were like, oh, my gosh, what's wrong with Patricia? Right? It created a lot of intrigue. There was another one that I did to a segment of the list called Nudge. It was people that were signed up for XYZ Workshop and it was just a nudge like hey, don't forget to put that on your calendar. And that got a much higher open rate than the last time I had ran a workshop where the subject line was don't forget to put this on your calendar. Right. So yeah, one word subject lines. Have you ever tried it? I would love for you to pop into the email sound Booth Facebook group. Let me know what you think about one word subject lines if you've tried them. If you try them after listening to this pop in what your subject line was. Love to hear from you. And of course if you need more help with subject lines and writing your emails to begin with, you can always join my $9 a month membership Email Marketing membership where you get weekly content template emails with three subject line lines every single week. That's $9 a month. You can link or you can check out the link in the show notes. It's always open. I'm getting tongue twice tongue tied. So I'm going to end this. Hopefully you join the Facebook group Email Sound booth and the membership Email Marketing membership and I'll see you on the next episode of the Email Sound Booth podcast. Thanks so much.