{Email | Post #5}: 8-word magic.

Small change. Big difference. Out of every 100 people, 34 decide to open an email based on its subject line. From all the changes you can make to your emails, improving your subject lines will be the single most important thing you can do to impact open rates. It will feel nothing short of amazing.

Do not wish it were easier, wish you were better. I do not really believe in 'Get Rich Fast' or '30-Day Beach Body' schemes so I would not be the right person to sell you one.

Crafting a solid 8-word subject line, yielding a 55% plus open rate, takes me about 4 hours - that is 30 minutes per word.

I will say it again: 30 minutes per word. Writing great emails has nothing to do with efficiency. The only thing that matters is perfection.

Enough talk. Here are my top 10 tips (Tricks? Hacks?) for some 8-word magic, using last week's 3R email example:

Personalize. Cater it to the reader. Use {Josh} instead of 'you', {Ocha} instead of 'your company' and find ways to customize. It will greatly impact your open rates.

Keep it short. 6 to 10 words will optimize your open rates. I go for 8, just because I like it.

Avoid spam. All CAPS, multiple exclamation points and overly promotional language {'Buy Now' or 'Free'} can mark your email as spam.

Use stats. Adding data to your subject line will get your emails noticed. Sneaky psychology trick?

Ask. Turning your subject line it into a question will trigger people to open in search of an answer.

Offer. People love new things and free stuff. Reward your readers without making it feel too hard-selling.

Change your name. Displaying {name@company} instead of {first, last name} will make you look more approachable.

Provoke. Surprise. Peak the reader's interest by implying there is something relevant and valuable inside.

Add deadline. Nudge the reader into taking action quickly. It's 'Now or never'.

Instruct. People respond well to direct instructions so do not forget to add a call-to-action.

Success is not reaching the top as much as it is staying there. The path you are about to take will make you bang your head against the wall, lose sleep and waste time on a hopeless quest for magic. You have been warned. But if you think the price of winning is too high, just wait until you get the bill for your regrets.

Making you the King Arthur of cold emails is not easy, but the right timing might get you there. So I am saving the rest for next week.