What I Learned After Sending 200,000 Emails This Year
The Challenge:
I send a lot of emails — campaigns, announcements, promos, and stories. But I kept wondering: What actually works at scale?
This year alone, I’ve tested campaigns across nearly 200,000 recipients on topics ranging from growth and communication to leadership, launches, and engagement.
The Findings
1. Curiosity Creates Clicks
Email Subject: “Thinking About Your Next Speaker? Read This First”
Recipients: 2,973
Open Rate: 92% | Click-to-Open Rate: 91%
Why: Open loop — readers couldn’t decide until they clicked.
2. Authority Accelerates Trust
Email Subject: “This one strategy made a CEO call back in 5 minutes!”
Recipients: 6,794
Open Rate: 84% | Click-to-Open Rate: 82%
Why: Borrowed credibility from a peer with status.
3. Winners vs. Losers Framing Works
Email Subject: “Most nonprofits wait for November. ✅ The winners move in Q3.”
Recipients: 4,776
Open Rate: 79% | Click-to-Open Rate: 78%
Why: Readers want to be in the “winner” group.
4. Specificity Beats Inspiration
Email Subject: “Top brands use the “gnat rule” to win trust fast. I broke it down so you can steal it”
Recipients: 9,204
Open Rate: 77% | Click-to-Open Rate: 48%
Why: Short, punchy, high-stakes benefit.
5. Random Doesn’t Convert
Email Subject: “Constipated Dog Story”
Recipients: 18,508
Open Rate: 31% | Click-to-Open Rate: 5.03%
Why: Story didn’t tie clearly to the reader’s problem.
The Result:
Campaigns with specific, curiosity-driven hooks got up to 3X higher open and click-through rates than vague or random ones.Across 100,000+ sends, the same 5 formulas consistently outperformed everything else.
Key Takeaway:
If you want more people to open, click, and act — stop writing for “everyone” and start writing for the person making a decision under pressure.
Make it urgent. Make it specific. Make it about them.
From 15,844 Subscribers to 64.7% Opens — Our Email Marketing Breakdown
