Why the best emails begin with "why"

👉 hint: curiosity

I should say before we start that when I say the best emails begin with why I don't mean it in a Simon Sinek "start with why" sense. Honestly, that's a bit too navel-gazey for me.

I mean that some of the very best topics for emails and newsletters are "why" focused.

A why-focused email explains and guides. For example:

• "Why you should never open a letter with Dear Sir"

• "Why learning Facebook Ads is a mistake"

• "The real reason you're losing sales" (an implied "why")

• "Why Steve Jobs always wore the same clothes"

There's advice in each of these emails. Don't open a letter with Dear Sir. Do simple marketing yourself and outsource the complex stuff. Nurture relationships rather than trying to sell straight away. Reduce the number of trivial decisions you have to take so you can focus your energy on the big ones.

But it's advice that leads with curiosity.

It doesn't just tell you to do something, it explains the interesting “why” behind it (and the “why” is almost always interesting).

And by using “why” in the email subject line, you build much more intrigue than by making a statement.

"Learning Facebook ads is a mistake" is a statement I might agree or disagree with. But "Why learning Facebook ads is a mistake" is something I'll want to find out - and so I'll open the emails.

You can apply a “why” structure to almost any topic to make it interesting:

Why innovation is so hard. Why teamwork is more important than leadership. Why you shouldn't get up until 10am in the morning. Why Warren Buffet is wrong.

Next time you're thinking of topics for emails, say the word "why" in your head and then add a statement about the topic you're considering. 

It almost always makes it stronger.