Email Marketing Part II
When doing email marketing there are 3 things that you’re trying to achieve:
- Have your email opened;
- Have your email read; and
- Have your offer (call-to-action) accepted i.e., click & take action.
However, the thing that’s the most important is to get your email opened. Without this nothing else can happen!
Once marketers overcome all the difficulties of getting emails delivered to inbox’s, they can only hope & pray that they’re opened. However, you can improve your open rates with “eye-catching” subject lines. Think about yourself when you login to your email … what do you usually do? Browse the emails and click on the ones with subject lines that attract you the most.
Let’s start with what not to do.
- No subject. It’s actually rude not to include a subject, and it makes the reader do even more work.
- Be too wordy and try to tell a long story.
- Use a “$” sign, “free” or “new” in a subject line. These and similar words and characters are among the most common things that spam filters look for. Some people even resort to trying to fool spam filters by doing things like using “Fr.ee” in their subject lines. Avoid these tricks, they just comes across as amateurish.
- “Did you see this?” or “Please read” are red flags – they suggest spam with a capital “S”.
4 tips for creating effective email subject lines:
Tip #1: Show value in the first two words, and keep the subject line short.
Some examples of top-performing subject lines are:
- Top 12 Email Newsletter Mistakes
- Simple Email Link Change Lifts Clicks
- CAN-SPAM – Must-Know Updates
- 6 Actions to Lift Clickthroughs: New Data
- HTML vs Text: Which Works Better?
- How to Conduct Email Surveys
“Top 12,” “Simple Email,” “6 Actions” and “Your Copy” are examples of informing the readers they are “getting an actionable item”.
Here are examples of poor-performing subject lines:
- Tailor Lists to Reach Exec Moms
- Call for Speakers – Email Summit & Expo ‘09
- Your Input, Please: Annual Marketing Questionnaire
- Buyer’s Guide to Top Survey Vendors
- Turn Customer Queries Into Profit
- Alert: Analysis of New CAN-SPAM Rules
The rates on those subject lines are lower due to a lack of communicated value in the first two words. Notice “Alert: Analysis of New CAN-SPAM Rules” which did poorly. But “CAN-SPAM – Must-Know Updates” did well. The latter subject line clearly represented an immediate value over the former.
In general, shorter subject lines are associated with better email performance, as determined by opens and clicks. Simple messages that can be instantly digested are the best way to take advantage of our short digital attention span.
Also email domains often limit the number of subject line characters displayed by default in the inbox (i.e., AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail etc). Therefore, email recipients in some cases may not see all of your subject line. Additionally, the growing reliance on mobile devices − and their smaller screens that display even fewer characters – can be an issue as well.
Tip #2: Find the right “trigger words”
Certain words or types of words will trigger a response as much as or more than subject-line length. Being punchy is often key to the art of writing subject lines, but including the right words from start to finish is more important.
A trigger can be a name, the use of numbers, the number of characters in the subject line, the use of an industry phrase, or the appearance of an unusual word.
Tip #3: Watch the hard sell
Results suffered when the subject lines are too self-promotional. Subject line writers should seek to provide subscribers with more value, while still promoting things like surveys and events within the contents of the email (but not in the subject line).
Tip #4: Hot brands work across sectors
Putting hot brand names into the subject line isn’t just for e-retailers.
Here are three top-performing subject line examples:
- Google AdWords: 8 Tips to Lift ROI
- Get Listed on Wikipedia – 3 Ways + Monitoring Tips
- Use Facebook to Market Yourself & Your Company
NOTE: They may have done even better by putting “Wikipedia” and “Facebook” as the first word in the latter two subject lines. Getting a hot brand into that crucial two-word window can turn a good email performance into a better one.
Summary:
Because higher open and click rates depend on many factors, marketers should keep in mind the following rules of thumb and use as many as possible:
- Front load subject lines with the most important information, especially focusing on the first 2 words.
- Keep the subject line as short as possible to ensure the message can be read and understood clearly.
- Use longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so.
- Including an offer or call-to-action.
- Highlight target audience’s pain points.
- Test, test, and test (i.e., A/B testing and analysis).
- Take the time to proofread your subject line, and make it look professional.
For all lengths of subject lines, dedicate at least a couple of hours. Play around until you have a powerful line. And don’t forget to ask a friend or colleague to give you their honest feedback.
4 Tips for Creating Effective Email Subject Lines
February 27, 2012 by Mike Rusheleau • Digital Marketing, Outbound Marketing, Telemarketing Tags: call to action, click & take action, email inbox, email opened, email subject line, emails read, open and click rates, trigger words •
Email Marketing Part II
When doing email marketing there are 3 things that you’re trying to achieve:
However, the thing that’s the most important is to get your email opened. Without this nothing else can happen!
Once marketers overcome all the difficulties of getting emails delivered to inbox’s, they can only hope & pray that they’re opened. However, you can improve your open rates with “eye-catching” subject lines. Think about yourself when you login to your email … what do you usually do? Browse the emails and click on the ones with subject lines that attract you the most.
Let’s start with what not to do.
4 tips for creating effective email subject lines:
Tip #1: Show value in the first two words, and keep the subject line short.
Some examples of top-performing subject lines are:
“Top 12,” “Simple Email,” “6 Actions” and “Your Copy” are examples of informing the readers they are “getting an actionable item”.
Here are examples of poor-performing subject lines:
The rates on those subject lines are lower due to a lack of communicated value in the first two words. Notice “Alert: Analysis of New CAN-SPAM Rules” which did poorly. But “CAN-SPAM – Must-Know Updates” did well. The latter subject line clearly represented an immediate value over the former.
In general, shorter subject lines are associated with better email performance, as determined by opens and clicks. Simple messages that can be instantly digested are the best way to take advantage of our short digital attention span.
Also email domains often limit the number of subject line characters displayed by default in the inbox (i.e., AOL, Yahoo!, Hotmail etc). Therefore, email recipients in some cases may not see all of your subject line. Additionally, the growing reliance on mobile devices − and their smaller screens that display even fewer characters – can be an issue as well.
Tip #2: Find the right “trigger words”
Certain words or types of words will trigger a response as much as or more than subject-line length. Being punchy is often key to the art of writing subject lines, but including the right words from start to finish is more important.
A trigger can be a name, the use of numbers, the number of characters in the subject line, the use of an industry phrase, or the appearance of an unusual word.
Tip #3: Watch the hard sell
Results suffered when the subject lines are too self-promotional. Subject line writers should seek to provide subscribers with more value, while still promoting things like surveys and events within the contents of the email (but not in the subject line).
Tip #4: Hot brands work across sectors
Putting hot brand names into the subject line isn’t just for e-retailers.
Here are three top-performing subject line examples:
NOTE: They may have done even better by putting “Wikipedia” and “Facebook” as the first word in the latter two subject lines. Getting a hot brand into that crucial two-word window can turn a good email performance into a better one.
Summary:
Because higher open and click rates depend on many factors, marketers should keep in mind the following rules of thumb and use as many as possible:
For all lengths of subject lines, dedicate at least a couple of hours. Play around until you have a powerful line. And don’t forget to ask a friend or colleague to give you their honest feedback.