The #1 Worst Welcome Sequence Subject Line

They meant well.

And honestly, I want and wish for the best for these marketers and their future success.

But seriously, it was the worst email subject line I had ever read in a welcome sequence, and I felt myself cringing at my inbox.

This subject line didn’t just land in my inbox just once. I was tortured by it four times in 24 hours. Clearly, someone is out there marketing an email sequence template for sale with this as the second email headline, because surely this isn’t a coincidence. Which makes me wonder… who is teaching these marketers to use this line? And it’s always the 2nd email into a welcome sequence. How do I know?

I study email sequences as part of the “writing job”. Dissect them, pick them apart, formula-apply them, etc. It’s just something writers do when studying the craft of writing as it applies to any project, context, or goal.

How did this nonsense begin?

Winding down on a Sunday evening, I was scrolling through Instagram, and was prompted with several “Download Now” freebie opt-ins. I figured, “Sure, let’s see what they’re doing for email sequences.” And within 30 minutes, I think I had signed up for over 20 different email lists. Undeterred by the amount of emails flooding my inbox and “dings” sounding from the speakers of a newly-arrived welcome email, I kept going until my sampling within a specific niche (notebook creating / bullet journaling / entrepreneurship) was around 50 new email lists.

Eventually, I had to stop, and start opening. <dramatic pause> My evening fun of filling out forms was over. It was time to read.

Some emails contained great starters and had me intrigued to learn more. I could count on my fingers ones that were well-written out of the near 50 I had sampled. Others I immediately unsubscribed because I was prompted to buy something large (>$100) within an hour of receiving the first email, and was already getting second, even third emails within a matter of hours of the first. Pushy, much? (We’ll talk about this more in the cringe-worthy email starters post).

There they were, in black and white. Four emails in my inbox, all with the same subject line heading.

“Did we just become best friends?”

I felt my fingers curl and tighten, like I wanted to strangle a neck. Or several. My blood started to boil. I looked around, despite being alone in the bedroom, typing away. “Who is responsible for writing this bullshit?!”

Ugh. Let’s discuss why this is the absolute worst subject line, especially this early in the emailing game.

First, the initial thought that runs through my head as the reader is “no, we didn’t”. If you ask a yes/no question in your subject line, expect the reader to answer right away, and potentially move on from your email without even opening or reading it. I would never recommend using this email subject line to any of my clients. Ever.

Secondly, friendship for the majority of the population requires time, and effort. It’s not something that happens after one email without ever meeting the other person. It’s assumptive that the other reader *wants* to be friends. Maybe they’re looking for a leader; not a friend. You have to remember that as the sender of the email, you may be reaching people who are introverts or extroverts. Not everyone *wants* to be friends or is seeking that out when they’re signing up for a branded email newsletter or an opt-in freebie.

Finally, the feeling of all the cringe from a copywriting point of view. It’s generic line; trite, and does nothing for you as a marketer for establishing know, like & trust elements with you reader. This subject line, being used on the second email, doesn’t even give the recipient a chance for the sender to get to know their audience. Not one question had been asked about the reader when it got sent. To know, like, and trust someone requires more information to be exchanged from both sides. Not just to declare friendship and then immediately ask your reader to do things for you.

But I kept reading. One email had, in the introduction a line that said, “You recently made the genius decision to join my email list aaaand… BAM! Now we’re friends!” Well, thanks for the compliment, but no, me joining your email list does not make us friends.

The other one had, as the first line in the email, “I was so excited to get your free download into your inbox yesterday, that I forgot to introduce myself!” Readers can see right through that nonsense. No, you didn’t forget, you just chose not to, because that’s how your email sequence is written.

Readers know these emails are scripted. And because of that, there’s a necessity to treat your reader with the utmost of respect, which also includes honoring the societal norms of how friendships are created, and where/when/why those relationships are formed. Unless you’re planning on taking each and every one of your subscribers out for lunch or coffee, exchange holiday cards, or even hang out at the mall for ice cream and mini donuts, don’t declare instant friendship in your welcoming emails.

For the love, don’t use this subject headline, or anything else that automatically infers friendship just because someone signed up for your email list. Your reader deserves better, and they’re smarter than that.