The headline drives 47% of opens. In WhatsApp it is the first line; in email it is the subject. The job of a headline is not to sell — it is to get the message opened. The body does the selling.

3 rules before you start

Length: WhatsApp — up to 50 characters, email — up to 45. The first 3 words matter most.
One idea: do not mix pain and a discount. One headline = one trigger.
No spam: no "!!!", "FREE", or "100%". WhatsApp cuts templates like that.

1. PAIN QUESTION

Formula: [Still + problem?]
When: abandoned cart, cold list
WhatsApp: "Still swapping SIMs in WhatsApp?"
Email: "Still losing leads to account bans?"
Mistake: "Are you having problems?" — too vague

2. NUMBERS AND SPECIFICS

Formula: [Number + result + timeframe]
When: you need to prove, not promise
WhatsApp: "250 → 10,000 messages in 7 days"
Email: "3 templates that added +52% to payments"
Mistake: "Lots of messages" — no number

3. ACTION-BASED PERSONALIZATION

Formula: [Name + last action]
When: follow-ups, trigger sequences
WhatsApp: "Aigerim, you almost connected the API"
Email: "You left a down jacket in the cart yesterday at 19:42"
Mistake: "Aigerim, a special offer" — no context

4. DEADLINE

Formula: [Action + until + time]
When: last follow-up
WhatsApp: "Holding your size until 22:00 today"
Email: "We release the hold Friday at 18:00"
Mistake: a fake deadline with no real action behind it

5. CURIOSITY

Formula: [A hint without the reveal]
When: warm-up, useful content
WhatsApp: "The mistake that gets 90% banned"
Email: "What Meta does not tell you about limits"
Mistake: clickbait with no value inside

6. BENEFIT-RESULT

Formula: [How to get X without Y]
When: an offer for a warm audience
WhatsApp: "Broadcasts without bans or number swaps"
Email: "How to reply to 30 customers in 30 seconds"
Mistake: "The best service" — no benefit

7. SOCIAL PROOF

Formula: [Someone like you + result]
When: distrust, first purchase
WhatsApp: "A shop in Shymkent: +18% in upsells"
Email: "How a school in Almaty closed 47 payments from one broadcast"
Mistake: "1,000 customers love us" — not specific

8. MISTAKE / ANTI-ADVICE

Formula: [Stop doing X]
When: expert content
WhatsApp: "Stop blasting everyone"
Email: "3 follow-up mistakes that kill sales"
Mistake: blaming the customer

9. BEFORE-AFTER

Formula: [Was X → became Y]
When: case studies
WhatsApp: "Was 5 SIMs. Now 1 number"
Email: "From 24-hour replies to 47 seconds"
Mistake: no numbers

10. NEWNESS

Formula: [New + for whom]
When: feature launch
WhatsApp: "New: broadcasts in Kazakh"
Email: "WhatsApp Flows now in Airi.chat"
Mistake: "We have an update" — says nothing

11. CHOICE

Formula: [A or B?]
When: engagement
WhatsApp: "Demo today or a guide tomorrow?"
Email: "Keep the number or lose the leads?"
Mistake: both options are bad

12. DIRECT OFFER

Formula: [Product + for whom + price/condition]
When: a hot list that already knows you
WhatsApp: "WhatsApp API: connected in 1 day"
Email: "Airi.chat: 14 days free for e-com"
Mistake: using this on a cold audience

Checklist before you send

Read it out loud — does it sound like a person?
Cut adjectives like "best" and "unique"
Check length on a phone — does it get cut off?
Is there an action verb?
One headline — one pain?
Would you open it yourself?
Does the email body deliver on the headline promise?