Feel like your job’s drowning you in boredom? You’re not alone. Tons of us are stuck, yearning for work that sparks joy and purpose—but scared we don’t have the skills to find it.

What if the secret to breaking free was hiding in your inbox?

Mastering the skill of an email list manager could be your game-changer.

If you’ve already dipped your toes in with the Sell With Email 3-Day Challenge, then you’re off to a great start!

Here’s a simple action step you can do to free up your creative flow: Dig into your inbox. Pick five emails – any five.

Look at their subject lines. Do they all grab your attention and scream “open me!”?

So, let me teach you about how to write killer subject lines.

It’s called the 4 U’s: Unique, Useful, Urgent, and Ultra-specific. These aren’t just tricks for email geeks—they’re your ticket to standing out and making an impact with your emails -- whether you’re job-hunting or pitching ideas to prospective clients.

In a moment, I’m going to give you an assignment. It's gonna be fast, fun, and easy!

Let’s get started!

Our email inboxes are getting more and more crowded every day.

For email list managers, it’s getting harder and harder to write subject lines that stand out from the crowd without being too cheesy or over the top.

For an email subject line to be truly unique, it needs be offering something different from anything else of its kind.

One great way to make your subject line unique is to pair two concepts that aren’t normally paired together.

Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about:

“Why Their Inboxes Don’t Like U – And How to Get Them to Love U”

Personifying inanimate things like email inboxes with emotions like love and hate is a unique twist.

“Grab 3 Clients This Week with Killer Subject Lines”

Ties subject lines to landing new clients – not a common angle.

“Fix Boring Emails Before Lunch With 1 Weird Tip”

A weird tip is … well … weird. And the fact that there’s only one of them makes it even weird-er!

This ‘U’ of the 4U’s gets overlooked a lot by marketers just trying to stand out. The problem is that the endless pursuit of something fresh many times leaves common sense behind.

A useful subject line makes sure that your statement is grounded in reality.

"Ditch Boring Emails Today – Unlock 17% more opens."

This subject line is useful because it offers a tangible open rate win.

Also any time you use a statistic, always use an odd number. We humans love round numbers. Odd numbers make us feel uncomfortable. The discomfort makes us stop and pay attention.

“Cut Inbox Ignore Rates 63% Before Bed Tonight”

This subject line is useful because it’s offering a solution to the “nobody cares” blues.

Never send an email just for the sake of sending an email. Every email you send should have a specific action that you want the reader to take.

And you want them to take the action now. “Eventually” doesn’t cut it.

But be careful with this one. FOMO for the sake of FOMO doesn’t work.

FOMO only works when there’s something at stake that the reader already desires.

“Land Your First Gig This Week With This Simple Trick”

If you’re sending a newsletter to job seekers or business owners, then landing their first gig is REALLY what they desire. The time frame, “this week,” sets a clear boundary within the immediate horizon.

“Triple Your Clicks by Friday with This One Sneaky Line”

Every email list manager is chasing higher and higher response rates. It’s what drives us. Depending upon when you send your email, “by Friday” likewise sets a clear deadline for action.

Another component that keeps our subject lines from getting too cute.

Bad subject lines are ones that are too touchy-feely, too vague, and don’t say much of anything.

“Grab 3 Clients This Week With These Killer Subject Lines”

The exact quantity of “3 clients” is specific. The tactic to landing these clients by using killer email subject lines is equally specific.

“Steal My 5-Word Secret to Click-Worthy Emails Now”

Click-worthy emails is the “what” that’s desirable to your audience. Stealing my 5-Word Secret is the “how” to get what they want.

Look at each of the 5 email subject lines that you picked out of your own email inbox.

Write out the 4 U’s and see if you can spot each of the 4 U’s in them. Don’t be at all surprised if you don’t see all four. Not every email subject line is a good subject line. But the best ones will always have the 4Us in them.

Now -- how might you rewrite the 5 email subject lines you picked out of your inbox?

How might you provide a missing U? How might you rewrite a U and make it better?

This isn’t just practice; it’s a power move to boost your skills and open doors to a career that lights you up.

Ready to turn frustration into action? Have fun!