2 easy AI prompts for better subject lines

Does your inbox look like mine right now? Stuffed full of subject lines cheesier than the Christmas brie…

• Step into your best self (sounds painful and anatomically impossible)

  
  

• Out with the old, in with the new (but what if I like the old?)

  
  

• New year, new you (what was wrong with me before, huh?)  

  
  

So much for ‘new’ – these geriatric subject lines feel like they’re about to buy a chair lift and a walk-in shower.  

When we feel like we’ve seen a subject line before, we lose interest. It’s as simple as that.

A recent study showed 64% of people decide to open or delete emails based on subject lines alone.

Senior leaders tell me every week that filtering by subject line is the only way they can keep on top of their emails.  

They just don’t have time to read each one before deciding whether to action it or hit delete.

So this year, make a resolution to nurture your subject lines like a spring garden. Make them feel fresh and colourful.  

And AI can actually help. Try this all-purpose prompt for any message from internal comms to cold client emails:

Think of 20 email subject lines for [audience] about [topic]. They should be short, curiosity-driven and human (not salesy or clickbait). Avoid clichés and overused phrases. Tone: [tone description]

Then when you’re in the groove, go even deeper with this:

First, list 10 predictable email subject lines [your profession or company descriptor] usually use for [topic – could be a marketing email or an internal message].  Then rewrite each one into a sharper, more original alternative that a smart reader would actually open. [add more detail about your reader]

I’ll be writing more in 2026 about how to use AI for your writing without losing your voice…so watch this space.