Since its invention a little over 48 years ago, email has been used for several purposes including marketing products and services. In our post about email marketing, we told you how you can start using this tool to grow engagements and conversions for your business.
The truth about email marketing is that even though it is very effective, it can be very tricky. It requires you to learn the ropes else you’d still have poor results after sending a ton of marketing emails. About 47% of marketers have said that to find the best performance, they test several email subject lines.
Why go through all that stress when you can get it right the first time? Yes, you can with the tips and examples we will show you in this post.
What is an email subject line?
We all are familiar with email subjects but just for formality’s sake, let’s explain what they are. An email subject line is that single line of text a recipient sees when your email drops in their box.
While we treat the subject line casually, it is important to note that it determines whether an email will be read or not. You must have seen some subject lines that turned you off so bad you immediately trashed the email. Do you now see why you need the right email marketing subject lines?
What makes up a good email marketing subject line?
In simple terms, a good email marketing subject line should make an immediate impact that will attract the recipient. Even if you packaged a powerful marketing piece in your email, the subject line can put all your work to waste if it is poor.
With a little more effort, you can increase your email open rates. At this point, the question that begs to be answered is “what makes up a good email marketing subject line?”
Urgency
A phrase that communicates urgency has a way of making the reader respond quickly. Put yourself in this position, when you see a message that says “Act now!” what comes to mind? Exactly, you want to make an immediate action. However, we advise that you use this sparingly so that you don’t scare your readers away.
Curiosity
Mystery has a way of calling people to action. Putting a tip of the iceberg in the subject line pushes the recipient to read the email to find out what they’ll benefit. A simple “You’ll benefit from this” can be the turning point. Don’t make it too obscure, instead ensure that it is in alignment with your brand.
Personalization
You might have a hundred thousand email addresses on your list but no two subscribers are the same. This means that sometimes, you need to personalize the subject line to suit the individual.
Offers
Let’s face the fact, you are more likely to open an email if the subject line invites you to enjoy “free stuff.” Who doesn’t like a 10% off or some unexpected freebies? Use this and you can boost email marketing results.
10 Email Marketing Subject Lines You Can Use
Are you ready to discover subject lines that can immediately impact your subscribers? We’ve put together 10 that should give you high open rates.
Thanks for subscribing – Find out what’s on sale
According to the results of an analysis of 95,000 email marketing subject lines by Adestra, up to 200 top trigger words will boost open rate. Do you know that the word “Sale” produced a 23.2% open rate while “Save” produced only 3.4%?
This means that using “Sale” in your subject line can improve open rates remarkably. You also need to reduce the use of “Save” based on the results presented above.
Top 20 for less than $20
Using numbers in your subject lines will immediately attract the attention of the recipient. Why is this so? It is simple science, our brains are drawn to numbered lists naturally.
This means that a subject line with numbers will see your open rates spike. You can tweak the example above to suit your purposes.
100 Small Business Hacks
For most people, simple, short, and straight to the point means genuine. The example above has just four words then we added a number to add some extra effect. It is not necessary to be too “salesy” all the time.
Click Now – Offer ends at midnight
While this may seem like a threat, it will spur some urgency in the recipient. Like we stated earlier, urgency is a key ingredient of good email marketing subject lines. You should only use this when you need to tell a subscriber about an expiring offer or service you think they’d benefit from.
Introducing our Newest Service/Product/Feature
When you use this type of line, you spur curiosity in the recipient. Immediately they see this, they can’t wait to find out about the latest feature. It is a direct way of telling the recipient what the email contains.
Here’s what you’re missing
Who doesn’t enjoy getting freebies? One of the strongest ways to attract attention to your emails is to play on FOMO. FOMO is the fear of missing out and you can use this to exponentially increase open rates. After all, your subscribers want to jump on the latest freebie you are offering.
“Your Order No……”
When your recipient is already connected to the content, there’s no need to dilly dally. Go straight to the point especially when it concerns orders. This way, you are sure the recipient will open the email.
Rough day?
This subject line seems so simple yet the personalized nature makes it so effective. Many people on your list are likely to have had rough days and need some form of succor. They’ll find this subject line relevant and won’t hesitate to open the email.
Don’t make these mistakes
You can compel your recipient to open your email by showing them what mistakes they shouldn’t make. We all need some free advice at some point. Since people are on the lookout for ways to get better, this subject line should be very effective.
Our gift to you
We all love receiving gifts. You can liken this subject line to a gift wrap, the recipient can’t wait to unwrap it to see the gift you have inside. It is a clear statement that you have something special for the recipient.
A Few Tips To Help You
To make your email marketing subject lines more effective you can:
a. Make them short and exciting.
b. Personalize them.
c. Segment lists.
d. Avoid false promises
e. Make the recipient feel special.
Round-Off
Email marketing can be a lot more effective if only you make use of the right subject lines. With the right subject lines, you’ll achieve higher open rates. This means a better chance at more engagements and conversions.