How to Write Good Email Subject Lines
The average working professional receives over 100 email messages per day, meaning you only have a few seconds to grab their attention. The most critical step in email marketing is getting your customers to open your emails. Subject lines matter and play a huge role in making your promotion a success.
Here are 8 tips for creating great subject lines.
- Keep it short and sweet. Experts suggest 49 characters at most and 35 if the majority of your readers/customers are viewing on mobile devices. Give readers a hint as to what the email is about without giving away too much.
- Get personal by going local. Providing localization (like your city and state) improves open rates. This gives a much needed sense of relevance to the customer.
- Ask questions. Inquisitive subject Lines make for inquisitive readers. Summarizing the subject matter of the email with a question can spark curiosity.
- Avoid the word "Free." Words like "Free", "Help", "Percent Off" and "Reminder" have a negative effect on delivery. Don't use them!
- Provide A Sense of Urgency. Everyone works better under a deadline. Customers are more compelled to act on something when there is less time available. Try to communicate a deadline or sense of limited availability in order to drive fast action from your costumers. For example: “40% off Entire Store, This Saturday Only” grabs attention and drives action.
- Let Them Know Who You Are. Customers are more likely to open emails from businesses they know and trust. Make sure your business and brand are easily recognizable in both the FROM section and subject line.
- Tell, Don’t Sell. Be clear and to the point. Language you’d see in advertisements, words in CAPS and multiple exclamation points can make an email come off too sales-y and inhibit your customers' interest. As Mail Chimp says “When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what’s inside, and the worst subject lines sell what’s inside."
- Track Results. Remember to check how your email performed. Each customer group is different so test subject lines to determine which drives your customers into your store most often.
Ready to see how Belly can help your business send better emails? Click here to learn more.