How many emails do you receive every week? Dozens? Hundreds?
Email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of digital marketing. But it’s no secret that people are used to ignoring the hoards of emails that they receive daily. For your email marketing to be effective, you need to write compelling subject lines that intrigue the recipient enough to click. In this article, we’ll explain what makes an enticing email heading and how to write great email subject lines using three simple strategies.
Why is it important to have great email subject lines?
It goes without saying that email subject lines are important. It’s interesting, then, that they are so often an afterthought. A good subject line needs to pique the interest of the email recipient enough to click on it. It’s therefore arguably as important as (or maybe more important than?) the email content. Even the world’s best email is worthless if it never gets opened.
General tips for great subject lines:
- Wherever you can, keep your subject lines brief. Expect that roughly half of your audience will be viewing their emails on their mobile phone.
- Focus the language around the recipient
i.e. Instead of “Our new store opens next month and we’re having a weekend-long sale!” try “Our new store is opening near YOU! You’re invited to the opening weekend sale!” - Personalise where possible using your segmented list and by including their name
3 ways to make your subject lines more eye-catching
1. Urgency
Remember the term FOMO? The fear of missing out is a real thing and if what you’re talking about in your email is time-sensitive then you should definitely say so in your subject line. Creating a sense of urgency is a great motivator. People are more likely to respond to the threat of missing out on something than to the promise of gaining something.
2. Tell them what’s inside
Whether you’re sending them a newsletter, a booking confirmation, a receipt or a free download that they requested, your email should clearly identify it. Sending an email with the subject line “Thank you!” or “June Newsletter” is too vague, be direct about why you’re sending them this email and what they’ll receive. You can still say thank you in the body of the email, but your need to get them to open it first.
3. Ask a question
Asking an interesting is a great way to pique the interest of an email recipient, particularly if the topic relates to your buyer’s customer’s specific needs or desires. Try to keep your questions open ended where you can so that people can’t react with a dismissive “no”, it’s not always possible but great if you can!
Combine these!
These strategies don’t have to be used individually. Mix and match these three strategies together to make your subject lines even more compelling.
For example, “Do you want early bird access to our EOFY sale? 30%-off discount code available until Friday!” uses all three!
Action
Consider the past and automatic emails you send to your database and review their stats and work out which ones are not getting the open rate you’d like.
Next, think about your upcoming email marketing schedule. Are you promoting a new product/sale/season/service? Are you sharing some big news?
Apply one or more of the above strategies to your next email subject lines and monitor the difference in the open rate. Let us know in the Facebook Support Group which strategy you tried and how it went.
To learn more about email marketing and how to automate your emails to save time in your business check out our short online course.
