Face it, not all subject lines are created equal. Getting the subject line right is a big part of the reason your email will get opened. Put yourself in the position of your customer and think about what drives them to engage with your business then apply that logic to your subject line.
There are many factors that influence whether an email is opened; including the sender, when it’s delivered, how connected the customer is to that brand or business and how busy they are at the time. However, there are some things that we have observed work better than others and some real words of caution.
Our experience has shown us that the subject lines that tend to do better include:
- Those that are personalised with the recipient’s name
- Creating a sense of urgency by putting a deadline on an offer
- Creating scarcity by saying there are only a small number available
- Developing lists and countdowns, people love to know what’s top of a list
- Using humour in your subject line, a word of caution on this one though as it can fall flat, but well-executed can work really well.
Some things to think about when creating your subject line
- Don’t include an exclamation mark at the end of your statement, as it is often judged as spam and blocked
- Writing in the first person e.g. I need to tell you something
- Anything with financial details can often be blocked as it’s a common spam tactic
- Asking someone to click something such as watch this video in the subject line can cause errors
The best advice to avoid spam filters is to use plain language in your subject lines and not expect the receiver to do or click on something. Leave that content for the body of the email.