How to write an email subject line

📣 Announcement: New cold email guide!

💼 Topic: How to write an email subject line

🔗 Quick links: Canada punches back | Deepseek CEO | and more…

Exciting news!

Last month, I spent hours making a resource I wish I had 2 years ago when I started networking.

This guide is the result.

It’s 7 pages filled with all the tips and tricks I used to land 6 job offers using emails.

To get a free copy, you only need to refer 1 friend. Enjoy!

Or copy and paste your unique link to them: {{rp_refer_url}}

Scaling fast but need more support? Our AI BDR Ava enables you to grow your team without increasing headcount.

Ava operates within the Artisan platform, which consolidates every tool you need for outbound:

Book a demo and supercharge your sales team.

Your email only has one chance to catch the reader’s attention.

That’s why the subject line is so important, it’s like the hook to any social media post.

Your email hook is the difference between that recruiter replying or ghosting you.

Today, I’ll share a framework I came across recently that explains how to write effective subject lines.

It’s called “SMYKM.” (Don’t bother pronouncing that, I couldn’t either.)

SMYKM stands for Show Me You Know Me.

It means you need to prove (in your subject line) that you’ve done your research on the person.

Why do this? Two reasons.

First, it catches their attention. Recruiters and hiring managers are bombarded with generic-looking emails every day. If your subject line mentions a specific thing ONLY they would know, it will catch their eye.

Second, it gives value. If your subject line mentions a specific thing ONLY they would know, it tells them that you invested time to actually do your research. Going out of your way to learn about others will make them want to return the favor.

Ok cool, so SMKYM is the secret sauce to writing good subject lines. Let’s talk about how we can apply this practically.

Research the person and find 1 or 2 things about them.

Once you have 1 or 2 interesting facts, put them in your subject line using NO MORE than 2 words for each fact.

I’ll show you an example, let’s say you’re a student and you want my referral for a job at the company I work for.

To grab my attention, you would do the following:

Step 1: You go through my LinkedIn profile and see that I write this newsletter.

Step 2: You also see that I give career advice on LinkedIn.

Step 3: Taking these 2 things, you write this subject line:

Step 4: Ask yourself, “If any other person other than Michael read this subject line, would they understand it?

Step 5: If the answer is no, then congrats, you’ve achieved SMYKM.

SMYKM is writing a subject soooo specific to that 1 person, that no one else should be able to understand it.

Your next steps:

The next time you send a cold email, try using the SMYKM format.

Like this advice? Check out the rest in the cold email guide by referring 1 friend!

See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

👊 Canada fights back against Trump’s tariffs

🤖 Who created Deepseek? Here’s what we know

📺 Watch this video to become AI-literate in 2025

{{rp_personalized_text}}

Or copy and paste your unique link to them: {{rp_refer_url}}