Email marketing can be incredibly effective when done right. Subject lines are vital to your email marketing efforts. Will your subscriber open the email? That depends on the subject line and who the email is coming from. If your subscriber is a die-hard fan of your business, they may open it regardless of what the subject line reads, but that is so rare. Create irresistible email subject lines that gets everyone opening your emails.
Why You Need Good Subject Lines
Think about what happens when you check your email. You check the subject line of each email. You decide which ones to open, and which ones to delete.
Why do you open the ones you do?
Which subject lines get you to open them?
Why?
Putting yourself in the shoes of your subscribers will help you create clickable email subject lines and increase your email open rate (the percentage of subscribers who open your emails).
Why Your Subject Line Matters:
- 69% of email recipients report an email as spam based on the subject line alone.
- 47% of email recipients open an email because of the subject line.
What Makes a Good Subject Line?
You need to learn what makes a good subject line if you’re going to increase your email open rate.
Word Count
When it comes to word count, less is better, sort of. Subject lines with 6-10 words in them have a higher open rate than subject lines with less or more words.
Get Personal
Your email marketing account, whether it’s ConvertKit IH, Aweber IH, or GetResponse IH, will have a personalization option where you can add your subscribers’ names to the emails they receive. You can use a code, usually [name] to get your email account to insert each subscriber’s name into the subject lines of their emails when you want to.
These subject lines are 22.2% more likely to get opened.
Free
Everybody loves something for nothing. Use the word “free” in the subject line to get 10% more emails opened.
Mystery
Try sending an email to your subscribers with a blank subject line. Really! Emails with no subject line at all were opened 8% more than those with a subject line.
Top Subject Line Keywords
Sometimes the right word or phrase can get someone to open up an email. A few companies did some research on their own email marketing campaigns to see which subject line keywords were opened the most.
- upgrade
- just
- content
- go
- wonderful
- jokes
- promotional
- congratulations
- revision
- forecast
- snapshot
- token
- voluntary
- monthly
- deduction
- is coming
- get this now
- you have one day left
- free delivery
- available
- new
- alert
- news
- update
- summer
- weekend
- thank you
- thanks
- bulletin
- golden
- iPhone
- breaking
- order today
- introducing
- celebrate
- buy
- continues
- on order over
- off selected
- available
- brand new
- special
- great deals
- sale starts
- back in stock
- sale now
- now in
Email Subject Line Strategies That Work
It takes a short lesson in psychology to learn why some email lines are opened more than others. Copywriters know this because they are always thinking about the potential customer when writing subject lines. What will they open and why? Here are some of the top strategies that work:
Self-Interest
A self-interest is sometimes a line that is personalized, but it always speaks to your subscriber. Tell your subscriber what he will get from opening your email. Get personal, and be specific.
Curiosity
Feed your subscribers’ curiosity by piquing their curiosity. Give them a little information that will make them curious enough to click open your email. Ask a question, offer something, keep it open-ended so what piques their curiosity can only be resolved by opening the email.
Offer/Greed
Make an offer she can’t refuse. Play on your subscribers’ greed. Offer something for free. Offer a discount. Announce a sale. Directly state this in your subject line.
Urgency/Fear of Missing Out
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is huge now. The internet brought us all and any information we could ever desire within seconds. Urgency has become the norm. Communicate urgency (limited time) or scarcity (limited availability) in your subject line.
Humanity
You are human, right? You’ve got to remind your subscribers that your products and services aren’t just a big, cold corporation with no feelings or life. Remind them of your humanity. Tell a story about yourself and your team or someone on your team. Think about something personal you can share and make sure to communicate that in your subject line.
News
Keep your subscribers informed about industry-specific news. If you’re in the fashion business, and it’s fashion week, you best be keeping your readers up to date on everything happening.
Social Proof
Social proof is sharing success stories, writing about experts or celebrities, or sharing photos of customers using your products and services.
Story
Tell a story in your subject line, and continue it in the body of the email. Stories are an excellent way to engage your audience and entertain them.
Practice using different clickable subject lines for your email list and see what works best for you. Use your email analytics to see what’s being clicked on the most, and stop using any that aren’t working. Have some fun with it!
What is the top ranking subject line for YOUR list?
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