What Makes Great Email Subject Lines? Copywriter Weighs In.
blog post
Feb 17, 2017
What Makes Great Email Subject Lines? A Copywriter Weighs In.
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By Heather Munro
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
Whenever someone asks me what I do for a living, it takes a while to explain. Because simply saying “I’m a freelance copywriter” either stumps most people or they think I work in trademark law.
If they’re still puzzled after I say I provide the words used in Marketing and Advertising, I try giving an example. “You know those sales emails you’re always getting and probably deleting right away? I write those and I try to make you open them with a great subject line.”
This is all to say that I spend a lot of time thinking about subject lines. I pay attention to open rate trends, and let me tell you, they change fairly often. Keep subject lines short. No, make them long! Be specific. Say something cryptic. Free and sale send your emails to spam. Free and sale get higher open rates.
So while I stay on top of the trends, I keep these guidelines in mind when writing emails for my clients.
Consider your audience If you’re targeting the C-suite, you’ve got to keep it simple. Some estimates say these high-level executives are getting 200 emails a day. It’s also a safe bet that an assistant is weeding through the CEO’s inbox. Remember, you’re sharing information, so get to the point.
On the other hand, if you’re selling high-end fashion, you need to set the mood a bit. Build some loyalty. Establish a relationship with your customers and prospects. This kind of audience expects your brand to come through, even in a subject line. Write accordingly.
Get clear on your message. Email marketing is cheap. This is why our inboxes are overflowing. To stand out from the crowd, make sure you have a good reason to send the email in the first place. Boil it down to: what you have to say that people need to know. New styles just in. Last chance to register for event. Flash sale ends by noon today.
Keep it short and sweet. As a writer, I like to think a truly outstanding subject line conveying useful information and sent to the right audience will be read all the way to the end. As someone who gets a ton of email, however, I know this can’t be true.
In general, you need to keep subject lines under 50 characters to avoid having the message cut off. Two of my clients recently asked me to stick to 30 characters, which works well in their business-to-business marketing efforts targeting high-level executives. (To the point, remember?)
But that said, 30 characters doesn’t give you a lot of room. That’s six or seven words, max. If your subject line sounds like English is your second language or a subject line generator came up with it, I say, go longer.
Work that from field. Recently, I kept opening emails from an online wine seller because the emails were from Kathy, not the business. Sending an email from your CEO’s mailbox, instead of your company’s generic one, can have this same effect. Why not have a few email addresses you can pull from?
Always use the preheader. Also called the preview, this is line right under the subject line. Most folks are reading email on their mobile devices these days, which is where this baby shows up. I like to either pay off the subject line with more information or use it to highlight a secondary message.
Have clear goals when A/B testing. In order to be an effective test, the messages have to be different from each other: an offer versus benefits, personalization versus no personalization, a call to action versus a brand promise. The beauty of testing is that it shows what makes your audience open up your emails.
Use tone to support your brand. When you inject your company’s personality into the subject line, it’s like your customers and prospects are reading a message from an old friend instead of a robot-run corporation. Informal language is all the rage right now, especially for startups targeting millennials. I see more humorous subject lines lately too. To get people to read your subject line, you’ve got to write it as if it’s coming from a real person. Your brand is that person. What does it have to say?
Fellow, subject line nerds, what have I forgotten? Feel free to chime in!
Why I Started a Travel Blog on Substack
When I started spending more time in Istria, Croatia, there were many reasons to begin writing my own travel blog. Not only could I showcase my writing chops, I could also return to writing for pleasure, capturing all of the big feelings that come with being a part-time expat.