Craft
Subject Lines That Get Opens: Write Them Last
Most subject lines describe the email. That's exactly why they get ignored. Brands spend real effort on body copy and creative, then type a subject line into Klaviyo in thirty seconds because it's a required field. Here's what to do instead - and why the order you write things matters more than any swipe file.
Nobody actually spends half their time on the subject line. Founders are busy. Marketers are juggling six launches. The email gets written, the creative gets assembled, and then someone types a subject line into the field because Klaviyo requires one before you can schedule. The result is a subject line that describes the email - which is almost never a reason for someone to open it.
Why Writing It First Usually Backfires
The instinct is logical: know what you're promoting before you write a word. But when you write the subject line at the top of the process, you're guessing at what the email will actually say. You end up with something generic - 'Introducing Our New Summer Collection' or 'Your Exclusive Offer Inside' - because the specific tension, the one detail that earns a click, hasn't surfaced yet. You find that detail while writing the body. So write the body first. Then write the subject line about the best thing in it.
What Actually Earns an Open
Opens happen when the subject line creates a small gap in the reader's mind - a question they want answered, a claim that sounds surprising, or a specific detail that signals this email is for them. Notice what those three things have in common: they all require the reader to do something (wonder, question, recognize themselves). A subject line that just announces content asks nothing of the reader. It gives them everything up front and leaves no reason to click.
The gap doesn't have to be manipulative clickbait. It can be as simple as specificity. Compare: 'New arrivals' versus 'The colorway that kept selling out.' The first tells you everything. The second makes you curious which one. Or on urgency: 'Don't miss out' versus 'Price goes up Friday at midnight.' Vague urgency is ignored. A real constraint, stated plainly, is not. The pattern is the same in both cases - close the announcement, open a question.
The Process in Practice
Writing it last only works if you have a repeatable sequence. Here's one that holds up:
Write the body copy first. Let the argument, offer, or story land before you think about the subject line at all.
Identify the single most interesting detail in the email - the fact, tension, or claim a reader couldn't have predicted.
Draft three subject line variants against that detail: one plain statement, one curiosity frame, one that names the specific reader it's for.
Write your preview text as a second headline that deepens or extends the subject line - not a repeat of it.
Do the gut-check: read both lines together on your phone. If a stranger can guess the entire contents of the email, rewrite one of them.
Five Formats Worth Keeping in Your Rotation
No single format works every time. Rotating a few keeps your list from pattern-matching and tuning you out. Here are five that hold up across most DTC categories:
- The specific detail. Pull the most interesting single fact from the email. Not 'our new protein bar' but 'the bar with 22g protein and zero chalk taste.' Specificity signals credibility and earns attention.
- The counterintuitive take. If your email pushes back on a common belief in your category, lead with that. 'SPF 50 isn't always better' tends to outperform 'Introducing Our SPF Line' for an audience that cares about skincare.
- The customer's words. If you're featuring a review or a piece of UGC in the email, a direct quote fragment in the subject line ('I've tried everything. This actually worked.') does real work - it's social proof before they've even opened.
- The deadline, stated plainly. Not 'Don't miss out' but 'Price goes up Friday at midnight.' Vague urgency is ignored. A real constraint, stated factually, is not.
- The named segment. If you're sending to a segment - VIP buyers, people who bought a specific product, subscribers in a specific region - say so. 'For everyone who bought the No. 3 Serum' is immediately more relevant than anything generic.
The Preview Text Is Part of the Subject Line
Most inboxes show a limited amount of preview text next to the subject line. This is not a footnote. It's a second headline. The subject line and preview text together are your pitch - treat them as one unit, not two separate fields. The subject line opens a question; the preview text can deepen it, add a detail, or create a second reason to open. What it should never do is repeat the subject line or default to 'View this email in your browser' because you forgot to set it.
Length, Emoji, and Other Debates
Shorter subject lines often render more cleanly across email clients and feel direct. Longer ones can work when the length itself is part of the joke or the specificity demands it. Don't pad. Every word either earns its place or costs you. 'We think you're going to love this' is eight words that communicate nothing a reader couldn't have inferred without them.
Emoji are fine if your brand uses them. They're not a conversion lever - they're a tone signal. One emoji at the front or end of a line can add warmth or a visual break. Filling the subject line with them reads as noise. The question isn't 'should I use emoji' but 'does this emoji match how we actually talk.' If your brand voice is dry and precise, a string of colorful icons is a mismatch your subscribers will feel even if they can't name it.
Test Deliberately, Not Randomly
Klaviyo's built-in A/B test for subject lines is useful, but only if you're testing one variable at a time. 'Summer vibes are here' versus 'The shorts that sold out twice' is testing format, specificity, and tone all at once - you'll get a winner but you won't learn anything transferable. Better to isolate: keep the same product and specificity, and change only the framing. For example, Test A: 'The shorts that sold out twice' (plain statement) versus Test B: 'Why did these shorts sell out twice?' (curiosity frame). Same detail, one variable changed. Run enough sends to trust the data. Then carry the lesson forward, not just the winning line.
Brand Voice Has to Survive the Subject Line Too
It's easy to write on-brand body copy and then let the subject line slip into generic email-marketing speak. That whiplash - 'Don't Miss Out: Huge Sale Ends Tonight' from a brand whose copy is usually dry and deadpan - erodes trust at the most visible touchpoint. Your subject line is the first thing a subscriber sees. If it sounds like everyone else, it gets treated like everyone else: skimmed past, or deleted. The subject line doesn't need to be clever. It needs to sound like you.
This is one of the things our team handles from the start. When we build out your Klaviyo flows - welcome sequences, post-purchase emails, winbacks, all of it - the subject lines and preview text are written against your brand voice and the specific moment each email fires, not filled in afterwards from a template.