Like many people, I get dozens of emails a day. Many of them are marketing emails from various companies wanting me to buy this or that – many of those emails get deleted. But of the few that get opened and read, there’s usually one key thing that sets them apart – a captivating subject line.

We’ve all done it before; judged a book by its cover (or title). A great subject line does two key things. One, it ties into or sparks some emotions in the reader. And two, it has a sense of urgency to get the reader to open right away.

One of the best email subject lines I’ve ever read was last fall. It was in the middle of November and was getting pretty cold outside and it was just about lunch time. I was debating what I wanted to do for lunch and I heard the little beep beep that I had a new email. All I did was read the subject line and I was sold. Keep in mind it was cold and it was lunch time. What was the subject line?

Want a hot lunch? $7 large pizza!

The subject line sparked some emotions in me – it was cold outside and I was hungry. It also set some urgency by using the words “lunch” and “get.” I didn’t think twice about it and ordered my pizza.

I don’t remember what the rest of the email said. I opened the email and picked up the phone and order by large pizza for $7 and the hot pizza was there in about 30 minutes.

Next time you send out a marketing email, or any email for that matter, try adding in some emotional pulls and set some urgency in the subject line.

Now, who wants some pizza?