What is your top tip for creating engaging subject lines for email content?
To help you create engaging subject lines for your email content, we asked marketing experts and business leaders this question for their best tips. From appealing to consumers’ desires not to miss out to highlighting a solution with the subject line, there are several ideas that you may adopt as best practices to help perfect your email subject lines.
Here are 10 best practices to write the perfect email subject line:
- Appeal To Consumers’ Desires Not To Miss Out
- Ensure The Subject Line is Under 50 Characters Long
- Make The Subject Line Bold and Daring
- Create Action-Oriented Subject Lines
- Add Numbers To Grab the Attention
- Use Emojis To Help Your Email Stand Out
- Avoid Anything Spammy
- Entice Readers With Actionable Subject Lines
- A/B-Test and Iterate on Your Subject Lines for Mastery
- Highlight a Solution With The Subject Line
Appeal To Consumers’ Desires Not To Miss Out
By appealing to consumers’ desires not to miss out, you can create engaging subject lines for your email content. Use words and phrases like “Limited time,” “going fast, “while supplies last,” and “limited quantities.” Put these words and phrases in your subject lines. You’ll boost your Click-Through Rates.
Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging
Ensure The Subject Line is Under 50 Characters Long
Because most consumers read emails on mobile devices, try to utilize shorter email subject lines. In mobile view, longer lines aren’t as effective. You won’t be able to pique your readers’ interest in your product or services if you can’t keep their attention for at least a few seconds after they read the subject line of your email. Ensure the subject line is under 50 characters long. Make sure you choose terminology that is easy to understand.
Axel Hernborg, Tripplo.com
Make The Subject Line Bold and Daring
Be bold and concise. Email subject lines need to grab the reader immediately while also being clear about the content you are delivering. Standing out is half the battle, but even a bold subject line needs to be relevant to your content. Boil down the essence of your email in a way that your target audience will understand and be drawn to. Don’t be afraid to stand out, and use the clearest words to inform them what they are opening.
Michael Ayjian, 7 Wonders
Create Action-Oriented Subject Lines
The most engaging email subject lines are action-oriented. Email is a quick and convenient way to receive information, but it doesn’t offer users many ways to engage with your content. Therefore, you should use a subject line that urges readers to click through and read your email, rather than offering a quick one-liner that gives them a basic overview of its content. Email is a more intimate form of communication than social media. Therefore, you should use a subject line that reflects your personal connection with readers, rather than a generic statement about the topic of your email.
Farhan Advani, BHPH
Add Numbers To Grab Attention
Saying ‘discounts on products’ and ‘discounts on 100+ products’ has a vast difference. While discount on products is just telling that you’re offering discounts, you’re not giving any data on how many products, how much discount, the offer is valid for how many days etc. On the contrary, saying discounts on 100+ products seem more attractive because the recipient knows they have 100 products to choose from.
Adding numbers is a must if you want to increase the open rate. It makes the subject line much more informative and gives data, and customers love that. But make sure you’re not overdoing it. Adding one number whether it be days, discount percentage, a number of services etc. is great. Adding two to three looks too cluttered which can also make the audience overwhelmed.
Isaac Robertson, Total Shape
Use Emojis To Help Your Email Stand Out
Using emojis in your email subject lines can be effective in grabbing the attention of your recipient and increasing your email open rates in an age of overfull inboxes. Emojis can also imply friendliness or playfulness which can help to improve audience engagement.
Plus, one emoji is worth a thousand words. Well, maybe not quite a thousand but they can help convey a theme or emotion when subject line space is at a premium.
But, be careful, as overuse of emojis can seem spammy or childish. Try to stick to a maximum of 1 emoji where possible.
Josh Smith, Roll To
Avoid Anything Spammy
Get rid of anything spammy. People have developed an amazing radar for sales copy, and they know now better than ever when you are trying to sell them something.
Common phrases and words like “special offer” won’t work anymore. There are many online lists of words that are now considered spam. Before writing any part of your email, make sure you are not using any of the words listed there.
Soji James, 1AND1 Life
Entice Readers With Actionable Subject Lines
Actionable subject lines create the desire to click open. Without this the email is a failure. With so many a day coming in, make yours stand out by being attention-grabbing and fun or dramatic. “We Need 20 Volunteers THIS Saturday!” or “Make Your Weekend Memorable” is more likely to get a click than “Volunteering.” Grab your reader’s attention with an engaging subject line that has a call to action.
Amy Keller, Climate Candy
A/B-Test and Iterate on Your Subject Lines for Mastery
Constantly A/B test and iterate on your subject lines. Once a campaign has run for a few weeks, drop the lower-performing subject line, and test a new one. Over time, the most engaging subject lines will emerge.
Paul Chesterman, EthOS
Highlight a Solution With The Subject Line
When you are selling a product or service and highlight a solution that will make the life of the customer easier, you trigger the curiosity of the customer and increase the chances of them opening the email. And this solution that you’re offering to the customer is something you should highlight not just in the subject line but elaborate on throughout the body of the email too. This way, while the subject line acts as the hook that engages the customer, the content you include in the email and the CTA will justify what you offered and enable the customer to take the next step.
Dillon Hammond, Achieve TMS East
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