People are inundated with emails every single day so email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach out and connect with your audience. Yet it can be difficult to grab people’s attention, with 35% of emails going unopened. But don’t worry- we’re here to tell you how to write a killer email subject line that ensures your email stands out from the crowd and achieves an optimal open rate!
What are email marketing subject lines?
Email marketing subject lines are the first line of text recipients see when they receive an email. It needs to quickly grab the recipient’s attention and convey the purpose or topic of the email. An effective email subject line will successfully encourage people to open the email, so it must be attention-grabbing and catchy.
Top tips for a killer email subject line
Now you know what subject lines are, you might be wondering how to write a catchy one! Here are our top tips for smashing your email subject line!
1. Keep it short and simple
Research shows that 41.9% of email views are from mobile phones and many are just from the notifications screen. When viewing emails like this, the subject lines get cut off if they are too long. With this in mind, it’s best to keep the subject line to fewer than 50 characters so the entire subject line can be read when scanning emails.
2. Develop a unique USP
A USP is something that is completely unique to you and should pique your customers’ interest, create desire and motivate people to learn more. Your USP should be the reason why people want to buy your products or use your service and not your competitors.
Ask yourself, what does your business offer that makes your service unique? Why should someone buy your products or services over another brand? Why should you be trusted?
If your USP is an exclusive benefit, you can incorporate that unique angle into your subject line to grab attention and create curiosity. This not only sets your email apart from others but ensures that your message resonates with your audience and encourages them to learn more.
3. Don’t make false promises and accusations
Do not try to get your email opened by making false promises in your subject line. This will lower levels of trust, resulting in a lower engagement rate and more unsubscribes!
4. Create a sense of importance or urgency
Using language that portrays urgency or scarcity, when phrased effectively, helps to improve email opens. Language such as ‘Act now’ or ‘Hurry! Only 2 days left!’ encourages readers to open or act on the email. However, these subject lines should be used sparingly to retain efficacy.
5. Pose a compelling question
Positioning your subject line as a question, particularly one that is relevant to your recipients, is a good way to boost email open rates as it piques the audience’s curiosity. An example of this could be ‘Are you making these common web mistakes?’ or ‘Do you know how your LinkedIn profile could benefit you?’.
6. Make people feel special
Giving people a sense of belonging by directly addressing your readers helps to build loyalty and encourage conversions. To make your recipients feel special, use personalisation tokens like “you” and “your” to make it seem as though you are directly addressing them.
7. Don’t overuse capitalisation of text or exclamation marks
People don’t like to be shouted at and an excessive use of exclamation marks can rub people up the wrong way. A subject line that says “OPEN NOW!!!” looks disruptive and could be confused with spam. Because of this, it is unlikely to be opened, and will probably be purposely ignored and deleted. Better email subject line examples utilising capitalisation is something like “We are OPEN! Come and visit the store today!”.
What type of subject line should I use?
There are various types of subject lines that, when used effectively, ensure a good open rate and reduce the chance of the email ending up in your spam folder. Let’s explore some of the most effective types of email marketing subject lines.
The question subject line
Question subject lines are effective as they get the reader to think about how the subject matter applies to their own life.
The ‘how to’ subject line
This type of subject line is effective as it requires you to describe the content of the email in clear language such as; ‘How to get better marketing results through SEO’. This makes the content of the email really clear, so the recipient immediately knows what they are going to learn from opening the email. A ‘how to’ subject line should focus on the benefits and not on the process itself.
The scarcity subject line
When something is in short supply, the fear of missing out kicks in and compels people to act. Adding a time or availability limitation encourages the recipient to act on your email before it’s too late. Subject lines such as “Don’t miss our limited-time offers!” and “Only 5 remaining! Make sure to snap them up before they go!” will encourage recipients to take fast action.
The announcement subject line
This headline style gives the recipient a feeling that the email contains new, groundbreaking information that they haven’t heard yet. Studies show that email subject lines that include the terms “introducing” and “new” increased the chance of an email being opened by 9.45% and 3.26% respectively.
The number subject line
Wherever possible, use numbers to make your subject line more specific i.e
- “10 ways to improve your digital marketing”
- “5 steps to build an email”
If you are talking about the number of steps in a process, then using a low number is effective, as it suggests that the process is quick and easy. However, if you are trying to provide value to the reader like the number of ways to improve your digital marketing, a higher number will work better as it increases the perceived value of the email you are providing. Numbers work well in email subject lines because they grab people’s attention and provide clear expectations about the content within the email. Studies have shown that email subject lines with numbers have 57% better open rates compared to those without.
The curiosity gap subject line
The curiosity gap refers to what we know and what we want to know. When we identify a gap in our knowledge, it creates a sense of curiosity that prompts us to seek out the missing information. Curiosity gap subject lines should leave just enough information out to pique the recipient’s curiosity, for example:
- “You won’t believe what this everyday habit can do for your health”
- “The one thing you’re missing in your workout routine”
- “The surprising reason why everyone is talking about this book”
The surprise subject line
Using a surprise in your subject line causes the reader to pause while scanning their inbox, piquing their curiosity enough to open the email and learn more. An example of a surprise subject line would be “Open this email for an unbeatable offer!”.
The personalised subject line
Adding your recipient’s name to the subject line of your email adds a personal touch that is likely to catch the reader’s eye. This subject line can be combined with others for maximum impact. For example, incorporating the personalised subject line with the number subject line gives you something that looks a little like this;
“Steve, there’s only 2 days left to get 50% off!”
By including the recipient’s first name, you create a feeling that you are speaking directly to them on a personal level, encouraging them to open the email and consume the content.
How else can I improve my email open rates?
So, you’ve nailed the art of the perfect email marketing subject line, but you want to see if there’s anything further you can do to increase your open rates. Let’s explore some other methods of boosting open rates with email marketing campaigns.
Use a familiar sender name
Sender names that contain special characters like (*%£#) or consist of the email address itself (emalid@domain.name) will often be dismissed by recipients as spam. The sender’s name should include the person or organisation’s name as it helps to build confidence amongst your recipients.
Segment your lists
Segmenting your email list to target relevant recipients helps to ensure relevancy, avoiding confusion and frustration. In email marketing, your recipient’s experience can be personalised through segmentation. The smaller your segments, the more personalised and catered your email can be to help attract more customers. For example, businesses that target both B2B and B2C customers can segment their email lists into these two different categories, meaning that each customer type will only receive emails that are relevant to them.
Time it right
Sending a relevant email at the right time with the right subject line is highly effective for getting your email opened. For example, sending an email about ‘where to enjoy a cocktail right now’ just in time for happy hour is an effective use of timing.
Ready to write that killer email subject line?
Hopefully, you now feel fully equipped to write that killer email subject line- one that will get people opening your emails left right and centre. Segmenting your audience, getting personal, being specific- yet concise, using actionable language and choosing an appropriate time to send your email should ensure your customers open your emails and read all of that interesting information! Be sure to test which type of subject line works best for you and your audience and increase those open rates!
Still need some help with your email marketing efforts? Our digital marketing team has tonnes of experience in crafting engaging email campaigns that ensure your customers open them! Contact us today!
