In email marketing, strong subject lines are everything. If your subject line is lacking, people aren’t going to bother opening your email; they’ll delete it or keep scrolling. Plus, with so many messages being delivered to a user’s inbox each day, a catchy subject line is needed to draw attention to your email. Think of them like article headlines. If you saw your email as an article on a website or on social media, would you be compelled to open it? If not, you may need a little help in crafting better subject lines, which is okay!
There are a few golden rules when it comes to subject line writing. If you implement some of these into your email marketing efforts, the chances are you’ll make your emails more interesting, increasing your campaign’s success.
Know Your Audience
This isn’t just a pillar of email marketing, it’s a pillar of marketing as a whole. Email marketing is not a one-size-fits-all job. You need to understand your audience so you can cater your content to them. With such a little amount of space to connect with them, knowing what they like is even more vital for crafting quality subject lines and increasing open rates.
Keep It Simple
Subject lines that are too wordy will hurt you. Digital audiences have a short attention span, which means you need to be clear and concise in your communications. This is especially true when you already have a connection with the users you’re targeting, as you are likely competing with a number of other emails for their attention.
Use Numbers and Lists
People love numbers and lists. The success of Buzzfeed can attest to that. People are generally curious as to what information lists feature, prompting them to open the content. We are also naturally attracted to numbers, especially when we see them among a bunch of other emails that don’t feature them. Give it a shot!
Offer Something
Do you like free and discounted stuff? Of course you do! So do your readers. Offer discounts as well as free products and services in your subject line to entice readers to open your email and follow through with your call to action.
Use Humor, But Don’t Abuse It
Humor is good, especially when using low-risk puns that apply to the content. These emails can stand out in inboxes that house a number of bland, information-heavy emails. Again, the key here is knowing your audience, because not knowing your audience well enough could cause you to miss the mark with a joke. Use humor carefully.
Ask Questions
Just like lists, questions create curiosity. Asking a question in the subject line can help to engage readers, as they will wonder what content follows. People are inherently curious, so appealing to that curiosity is a good practice to implement.
Personalize Your Emails
There is no reason not to personalize your marketing content, especially when it comes to emails. People like feeling like content is catered directly to their needs, so your email subject line should act on that. Using names, locations and words like “you” and “your” in the subject line will help to create personal connections between your company and the reader, which will likely increase clicks.
The Bottom Line On Your Subject Line
When writing a subject line for email marketing purposes, think: “Is this subject line powerful enough to convince you enough to open it?” If not, go back to the drawing board and strategize how best to interest your customers. The beauty of email marketing is that it offers the opportunity to build relationships with readers and customers through content that will interest them. It’s just a matter of first enticing readers to open your emails.
For help with email marketing, contact the team at Strunk Media Group for help crafting effective emails for your digital marketing campaign.