Just about all practitioners of direct response marketing know: When a piece is mailed twice, it’s most likely profitable.

Well, the same thing is true for email. When you see the same email — with the same subject line — sent out twice, it’s probably a winner.

What’s interesting is that almost NOBODY does this. The thinking is, “I’ve already sent this email once. Surely I can’t send it a second time because my subscribers will notice.”

True, some may notice. But chances are most of them won’t notice… because… they ignored the first email anyway.

Perfect example.

I wrote an email for a client with the following subject line:

    “What If…”

We’ve now sent it out five times, with similar results every time. It is the best-performing email we’ve ever used for this particular market and product.

Here’s another example:

The Oxford Club sent me an email on June 16. They sent the same email with the same subject line again on June 21. (The only change was a short intro paragraph at the top of the 2nd email.) Here’s the subject line they used:

    “Why August 12 Starts Phase Two of the Euro’s Meltdown”

Pretty compelling, wouldn’t you say? When I saw this, I literally HAD to open it.

Sometimes you can find great email subject lines just by “farming” your email inbox. Here are four recent examples (and one older example) that caught my attention:

    The best advice I never received…
        -AWAI

    The Info-Marketer’s Most Precious Business Asset…
        -Daniel Levis for The Makepeace Total Package

    uh-oh. he’s naming names.
        -Ray Edwards

    Your copy bombed – now what?
        -Carline Anglade-Cole

    How to Break Into Financial Copywriting
        -Doug D’Anna

Notice that most of these have to do with copywriting or direct response advertising. That’s because these subjects are major interests of mine.

Looking through my own inbox can be fun, but tedious. It takes time to find the gold.

But just imagine how easy it would be to come up with great subject lines if you had 527 of the best ones all compiled into an easy-to-use PDF?

That’s exactly what Lawrence Bernstein has done with “Made You Look: 527 Subject Lines that Dare You to Look Away.”

He and his partner, Art Crowley, reviewed 18,000 subject lines mailed over a three-year period to come up with the 527 that stood head and shoulders above the rest.

They then broke these down even further into 12 separate categories for easy reference.

This little gem normally sells for $97, but Lawrence is giving it away free when you join The Ultimate Online Swipe File through this link:

http://www.ultimate-online-swipe-file.com

Not to mention, I’ll also give you a free membership to Copywriting Code — my private web site where I share some of my best how-to copywriting info.

But please act quickly.

This offer expires on Friday evening, June 25. Please sign up now to claim your free gifts…

http://www.ultimate-online-swipe-file.com

-Ryan M. Healy

A few people have responded to my recent controversial post either on their blogs or via comments. Some have expressed their opinion that it’s never good to name names. And others have spoken out against name calling.

But I think the two issues are getting a little bit confused. There is a big difference between “calling somebody out” and being a “name caller.”

If you name names and draw attention to a particular person and his or her bad business behavior, that is a public service. This is why there are complaint boards, business rating services, etc. They exist to help document unethical business practices and protect consumers.

Should we have not called out Bernie Madoff — and let him continue his Ponzi scheme indefinitely? Should we have been silent as Robert Tilton exploited thousands of TV viewers every week?

To be silent on such issues is to encourage criminal behavior.

In my opinion, naming names is not optional. It must be done to preserve law and order in a society. Criminal behavior (like fraud) can’t be ignored.

Here’s a mental exercise that helps prove the point:

Imagine a known sexual predator living in your area. Would you merely warn your neighbors about the different kinds of sexual crimes being committed in neighborhoods across the nation?

Or would you tell your neighbors the full name of the sexual predator, exactly what he had done in the past, and exactly where he lived so you would know how to avoid him?

I think you know the answer to that. You’d warn your neighbors — and you’d give plenty of specifics.

Name-calling is a different issue entirely. It rarely serves any positive purpose and only redirects attention away from the real issues that need to be talked about.

Unfortunately, this is what often happens in political discussions. The ad hominem attacks start flying. The real issues get swept under the rug.

In fact, this is what happens in many, many arguments, not just political ones. Whether it’s between two friends, two spouses, or whomever, it’s far too easy to let our emotions get the best of us — and resort to name calling. (“Jerk!” “Pervert!” “Idiot!” Etc.)

So, in sum:

Naming names – Necessary, especially when criminal behavior is involved.

Calling names – Unproductive at best, damaging at worst.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. :-)

-Ryan M. Healy