Force People To Open Your Emails & Improve Open Rates

Most Emails Die in the Inbox. Yours Don’t Have to.

Hard Truth…

Every inbox is a graveyard

Dead emails pile up. Unread. Ignored. Forgotten.

And if your subject lines suck, your emails are rotting in that pile too.

You put in effort - crafting the perfect email, obsessing over every word… only

to watch it disappear into the void.

No opens + No clicks + No sales.

Your email is NOT the problem. Your subject line is.

If it doesn’t slap the reader in the face and FORCE them to open, nothing else matters.

This guide will teach you how to write subject lines that punch through the noise, hijack attention, and make opening your emails irresistible.

This guide is not about weak, generic email marketing advice.

By the time you finish reading, you’ll have a deep understanding of

why most emails fail,
how to construct powerful subject lines, and maximize open rates.

Let’s get started.

How NOT to Write Subject Lines

If your email open rate is low, it’s not because people hate you.

It’s because your subject lines doesn’t do it’s #1 job.

Give readers a reason to care.

Most subject lines fail for a few core reasons.

They are either generic, too long, too vague, too predictable, or they give away everything upfront, removing any curiosity.

Let’s look into what you MUST NEVER DO whilst writing subject lines.

Problem 1: Your Subject Line is Too Generic

Generic subject lines are the easiest way to get ignored.

They blend in with every other email in the inbox and do nothing to spark interest.

Examples of bad subject lines:

“Exciting updates from our team”
“Monthly newsletter”
“Quick question”

These tell the reader nothing.

They don’t provide a compelling reason to click.

The moment someone reads a generic subject line, their brain automatically filters it into the “not important” category.

If the reader has to think about what the email might contain, they’re far more likely to open it.

Problem 2: Your Subject Line Doesn’t Create Curiosity

A good subject line creates an "information gap"…

something that makes the reader feel like they’re missing out on important information.

If your subject line doesn’t make them feel like "I NEED to open the email",

they won’t.

I'm talking things like these.

“How to improve your business”
“We have an offer for you”
“Here’s some great advice”

See how there is no tension in these subject lines?. The reader has no reason to be curious.

Problem 3: Your Subject Line is Too Long

Most emails are opened on mobile devices, where subject lines get cut off after a certain length.

If the important part of your subject line is hidden, your open rate will suffer.

Examples of subject lines that get cut off:

“Here’s an exclusive, limited-time offer that you absolutely don’t want to miss out on”
“I just found the most amazing tool that has completely transformed the way I work and I have to share it with you”

These actually seem engaging...no doubt...but the most important words get buried.

Short, punchy subject lines ensure the full message is seen, even on mobile.

Problem 4: Your Subject Line Sounds Like an Advertisement

People are bombarded with sales pitches. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

EVERY SINGLE SECOND.

Their brains are trained...HARDWIRED.. to ignore ANYTHING that looks like a sales promotion.

It might even trigger the same refexes you get when you see a rotting corpse.

If your subject line feels like it’s trying to sell something, people will assume it’s spam and delete it.

Examples of subject lines that sound like ads:

“Get 30% off all products today”
“Limited-time offer just for you”
“Exclusive deal inside”

The problem with these subject lines is that they scream HEY BUY FROM ME.

And unless someone is actively looking for a deal at that moment, they’ll ignore it.

A better approach is to make the subject line feel personal and natural.

Problem 5: You’re Not Creating Urgency

People don’t act unless they feel like they have to.

If your subject line doesn’t make them feel like they need to open the email now, they’ll put it off…

and never come back to it.

Examples of weak subject lines with no urgency:

“Check this out when you have time”
“Something interesting for you”
“We have a great new feature”

These subject lines push don't the reader to act NOW...and are just..again..GENERIC.

Okay now. enough complaining. Let's get to the solution.

The Subject Line Framework To Force Opens

(HOW TO INSTANTLY IMPROVE OPEN RATES)

Now that you know what NOT to do, let’s talk about what actually works.

There are five subject line formulas that have been battle-tested and proven to skyrocket open rates.

Each one taps into 4 points

Human psychology
Curiosity,
Urgency
and Emotion

These are key ingredients that FORCE people to click…it works like magic.

And these aren’t just vague ideas.

I’ll break each formula down with detailed explanations, real-world examples, and advanced tactics to help you use them in your own emails.

BTW - If you want to get proven marketing strategies, sales training and demand generation tactics that actually work…on a daily basis directly into your inbox,

→ No generic advice

→ No boring theoretical frameworks

Just practical strategies used by expert marketers to grow any business.

Let’s get into the 5 frameworks now and see how to improve open rates right away.

1. The Curiosity Hook

This formula works by leaving out key information and forcing the reader to open the email to get the full story.

Why does it work?

Because our brains HATE unanswered questions. It stresses us out…

Imagine a song in your head that NEVER ends…or an alarm clock that rings continuously.

That’s what happens when we see something that doesn’t give us the full picture, we feel an itch that needs to be scratched.

Curiosity is one of the strongest psychological triggers.

It’s the same reason clickbait headlines work so well. Our minds need closure.

Couple of examples…

“The one thing I regret not doing sooner”
“I made a huge mistake - don’t do this”
“This small shift changed everything”

Notice how NONE of these subject lines give away the full story?

The only way for the reader to satisfy their curiosity is to...

OPEN THE EMAIL.

This works in EVERY industry. All you need is a curious audience.

2. The Pain Point Punch

If you know your audience’s biggest frustration, shove it in their face.

Pain sells.

It’s why it’s easier to sell a tablet for a headache than fix what caused it in the first place.

When your subject line calls out a problem your reader is struggling with, they

HAVE to open the email because it speaks directly to their experience.

Here are a few examples.

“Want more leads? Read this.”
“Your pricing strategy is costing you money”
“This mistake is hurting your business”

Each one of these subject lines targets a pain point and promises a solution.

Your reader sees it and thinks,

“That’s exactly what I’m dealing with…I NEED to read this.”

They’ll open it because they NEED THE SOLUTION

3. The Personal Approach

Most marketing emails feel robotic.

For some reason, Default AI sounds like those bottom feeding middle managers that spend their whole day playing office politics and dragging others into pointless zoom calls.

NO ONE wants to open those. And EVERYONE wants to open emails that feel like this

A personal message from a real person.

When a subject line feels customized, warm, and natural,

it INSTANTLY stands out,

like a kid wearing a bright red t-shirt at a business conference.

Write something like these.

“Hey [First Name], this is for you”
“I noticed something about your business”
“This reminded me of you”

Notice how they feel like a one-on-one conversation?

The less it feels like marketing, the better.

People don’t want to feel like they’re being pitched. They want to feel like you’re talking to them personally.

4. The Shock Factor

Sometimes, the best way to stand out is..

Punching people in the face with something unexpected.

(PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T GO AROUND PUNCHING PEOPLE. I

want clients, not criminal cases)

People love surprises, controversy, and bold statements…somethin like the ones below.

“I was completely wrong about this”
“Nobody told you this about marketing”
“I got fired for saying this”

Each of these subject lines makes the reader think, “Wait… what?”

That’s exactly what you want.

The moment you break expectations, people become curious.

And curiosity = opens.

If your subject line goes against the grain..doesn’t sound like the “usual” email..

people WILL want to know why.

5. The Urgency Play

If your subject line doesn’t make people feel like they need to open right now, they’ll put it off…and never come back.

Urgency is one of the most powerful triggers for human behavior.

When people think they might miss out, they take action. Check these out.

“Only 3 hours left to claim this”
“Your special discount expires tonight”
“Final hours to register”

These work because they create time pressure…

and they’re best when you’re writing emails to convert free users into paid customers.

BTW - I’ve written a guide for that too. Check it out here

The reader doesn’t have time to think. They need to act NOW. NOW!

Nobody likes missing out from something good, and that’s EXACTLY why this works.

Your Next Steps

It is well known...

Your subject line is the difference between an email that prints money and one that dies in the inbox.

So here’s what to do next:

Steal the frameworks in this guide and use them today.
Test three variations per email. No more guesswork.
Track your open rates. MEASURE! If they aren’t improving, tweak and test again.

Now go write subject lines that punch people in the brain and make them desperate to click.

(please punch them with your email…and not IRL…)

Anyway….let me know how it goes. See you next week,

Mahesh

Revenueholic.

–

P.S - If you're not sending marketing emails at all, or having a low open rate you’re burning money. .

I’ll personally break down your current email marketing situation, strip out the weak spots, and show you how to improve it overnight.

If you want that, get in touch here

I won’t annoy you with a sales pitch…or ask for your kidney…(already have enough kidneys)

The Ultimate Guide to Subject Lines That Force People to Open Your Emails (& improve open rates)