Writing a good subject line isn’t easy and coming up with good subject lines over and over can seem downright impossible. To make matters seem worse, subject lines turn into dots…. in the inbox after around 30 or 40 characters. Not to worry. A few practical tips and some creativity put to use can have your subject lines and your response rates beating the averages.
Here are 5 ideas for writing effective subject lines:
- Put the immediate benefits of opening the email in the subject line. For example, instead of “November Newsletter,” try highlighting one of the articles, topics, or headlines within your newsletter.
- Put your subject lines to the test. For example, if you have a list of 1,000 subscribers, you can send 100 emails out with one subject line and 100 with another. Wait a day or two and send the subject line with the highest open and click through rate to the remaining 800.
- Use value words in your subject line based on your audience’s interests. For example, if you have a golf article in your newsletter write something about golf in the subject line and send it to your golf list. (Just make sure no one is in more than one category when you use this technique or they will receive the same email multiple times.)
- Work off of a theme. Try writing down 5-10 subject lines that all have the same theme. For example, a health club might use 30-minute workout ideas as a theme and highlight a different workout in every subject line as in “30-Minute Weightlifting Routine”
- Get to the Point Early. Most consumers will skip your email if your subject line doesn’t grab their attention in the first two or three words. Eliminate unnecessary words in your subject line by placing your main idea in the first three words. For example, a subject line that reads “All Our Sports Equipment is On Sale This Weekend” is weaker than “Sports Equipment Sale This Weekend.”
No matter what strategy you use, make sure your subject lines aren’t misleading and be careful that you aren’t inadvertently emulating the subject line techniques used by spammers. Read the subject lines in your junk folder periodically so you’re aware of the latest tricks associated with spam emails.
John Arnold is the Regional Development Director for Constant Contact, and author of the book Email Marketing for Dummies.
