76+ Best Teaser Email Subject Lines [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

If you're looking to boost your email open rates and increase sales, your email subject line is the first (and most important) step in achieving those goals.

Did you know that 33% of email recipients open emails because of an engaging subject line?

That's why it's critical to craft a catchy email subject line that will get you the traffic and conversions you deserve.

We've put together a list of 76+ best teaser email subject lines [2024].

Some are proven examples from other successful campaigns, and some are creative ideas to inspire you.

Creative Email Subject Line Ideas

  • Digital Marketer: “Important message (about tomorrow’s big announcement)”
  • We’ve been waiting for MONTHS to announce this … (Carb Manager)
  • "China Falls, Sleepy Unicorns, And The Deals Aren’t Bigger In Texas"
  • Does your ghee come from happy cows? 🐮 Find out here (bigbasket)
  • Digital Marketer: “Is this you?”
  • "I got Botox—& THIS is what it looked like"
  • We don’t normally do this. (CoSchedule)
  • Black Friday Secrets Revealed! (Bath & Body Works)
  • "Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it."
  • Is it your lucky day? (Death Wish Coffee)
  • "Don't Open This Email"
  • Mary Fernandez: “? a surprise gift for you! {unwrap}”
  • THIS is: High-performance ✅ sustainable ✅ already our best seller ✅ (Frank and Oak)
  • "Google sees smartphone heroics in Oreo. It's The Daily Crunch."
  • It’s Arrived. (Huckberry)
  • You’re Invited (Birchbox)
  • Sephora Insider: “You NEED to see this new eye treatment.”
  • Your hair care routine is missing something… (Function of Beauty)
  • "1,750 points for you. Valentine's flowers & more for them."
  • Refinery29 Everywhere: “The $1,000 hair trend with a dirty little secret”
  • The Hustle: “A faster donkey”
  • they said it couldn’t be done (Recess)
  • Instant Boss Club: “80 likes to 458 likes SAY WHAT?”
  • Don’t Open ‘Til After Dessert (Rifle Paper Co.)
  • "What Did You Think? Write a Review."
  • When life gives you cupcakes… (Johnny Cupcakes)
  • The Hustle: “A faster donkey"
  • BuzzFeed Books: “A very ~controversial~ opinion"
  • "🐶 Want a Custom Emoji of Tullamore & 6 Months FREE Walks? Book a Walk Today for Your Chance to Win!"
  • They did WHAT with a pair of Crocs? (Crocs)
  • Book of the Month: “Our most riveting book this month.”
  • Manicube: “Don’t Open This Email
  • "Best of Groupon: The Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)"
  • Select All: “The Two Possible Futures of Virtual Reality”
  • What you’ve been waiting for 🌈 (Away)
  • LinkedIn: “This is how much working from home saves you”
  • Apartment Therapy: “Why You Should Keep Your Clothes in the Freezer.”
  • Deal enemy #1 (Gong)
  • Digital Marketer: “Is this the hottest career in marketing?”
  • "Rock the color of the year"
  • This is what your neighbor is doing this weekend 🤫 (Swiggy)
  • Manicube: “Don’t Open This Email”
  • Refinery29: “10 bizarre money habits making Millennials richer”
  • Have You Seen Sheep Dance? (Allbirds)
  • Digital Marketer: “Check out my new “man cave” [PICS]”
  • "Important Weather Advisory"
  • "DO NOT Commit These Instagram Atrocities"
  • "Watch Out for This Amazon Phishing Scam."
  • "Black Friday shoppers are the worst customers"
  • Digital Marketer: “Start using this new Facebook ad type”
  • Intercom: “Are you making this landing page mistake?”
  • Pocket: “How to Sleep. Sleep for Success. Why Eight Hours a Night Isn’t Enough”
  • You’ve never seen a suit this color… (Shinesty)
  • Thrillist: “What They Eat In Prison”
  • "The timer’s going off on your cart!"
  • Grubhub: “Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About”
  • Digital Marketer: “[POLL] Can you answer this?”
  • You can’t come in (Glossier)
  • "As You Wish"
  • Shhh… Don’t tell anyone (ESQIDO)
  • Zillow: “The truth about moving expenses”
  • Madewell: “Everyone’s gonna ask you about these”
  • "Where to Drink Beer Right Now"
  • "👗 Free (Cool!) Clothes Alert 👖"
  • UX Collective: “Your fingerprints are all over the place”
  • Hiten from Product Habits: “2 hours before launch and we are still scrambling”
  • "🔥 Hot freebie alert! 15 free gifts, you pick 5."
  • Zillow: "What Can You Afford?"
  • Eat This Not That: “9 Disgusting Facts about Thanksgiving”
  • Tory Burch: “This. Is. It.”
  • LOFT: “Just wait till you see these skirts”
  • "Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring"
  • Buffer has been hacked - here is what's going on"
  • "Everything you wanted to know about email copy but were too afraid to ask"
  • "Not Cool, Guys"
  • Chubbies: “Hologram Shorts?!”

GUIDE: How To Write A Great Subject Line

As we mentioned above, crafting a catchy subject line is critical to the performance of your email campaign.

While just a few words may seem like a small piece of your overall message, this is the first impression your audience will have before they decide whether to open your email.

If your subject line isn't engaging or appealing enough, there's a chance it could get buried in your reader's inbox.

Let's go over the proven tips on how to craft a subject line that boosts engagement:

What makes a great subject line?

First, let's discuss the fundamentals of creating a great subject line:

  • Spark interest and curiosity
  • A clear and urgent call to action
  • An offer/intriguing discount
  • Personalization (this can be done by sending out different versions of emails to subscribers based on their preferences)
  • Relevance - make sure your subject line covers the current trends and topics within your industry

5 Tips To Crafting a Great Subject Line

Now, let's dive into the specifics of how to create a great subject line for your next campaign:

1. Use a familiar sender name

Although this may seem obvious, it's a piece many marketers miss the ball on.

Your readers want to feel like your email is coming from a human and not a corporation or automated system.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is by changing the sender's name to YOUR name or someone in the company that is well known.

Here's a great example of this from Marketing Examples

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Pro Tip

Avoid the "no-reply" sender name at all costs. This makes your email feel unfamiliar, unapproachable, and less personable.

2. Keep your subject short and to the point

If your subject line is too long, it will get cut off, which could impact your reader's chances of opening your email.

The rule of thumb (for both mobile and desktop) is to keep your subject line under 50 characters.

3. Add personal touches to your subject line

If you have access to information about your subscriber (ie. name, location, etc), you can use this to benefit your subject line and catch your readers attention.

It's important not to go overboard here, but adding even the simplest touch such as their name can build trust and rapport.

Here's a great example of a personalized email + offer I received from BarkBox with my dog's name in the subject line:

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4. Avoid making any false promises

Your subject line makes a commitment to your reader, so it's important you don't stretch the truth just to simply get more opens and clicks.

In the grand scheme of things, making false promises will end up hurting your open rate as your readers will lose trust in you.

5. Give them a sneak peek of what's inside

Telling your subscriber what is inside helps with open and clicks.

For example, if you're providing your reader with a free guide or e-book, consider making your subject line something along the lines of:

"Your FREE marketing e-book awaits!"

Conclusion

If you want your email campaign to perform well, it all starts with your subject line.

Think about the emails you receive in your inbox and what makes you click vs what gets buried - odds are, the same habits go for your customer.

We hope you enjoyed our guide + list of 76+ best teaser email subject lines [2024].

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.