Email Marketing: How To Write Compelling Subject Lines

If your subject line sucks, nobody is going to read your emails. Which means nobody is going to see what you wrote, won't see what you have to offer, and ultimately won't buy from you.

Think about how many emails you get per week, how many emails you get per day even.

How many of those can you immediately tell are from a business trying to sell you something? You don't even bother to open them, or even worse (for them), you mark it as SPAM!

Your subject line is the first impression you make, determining whether your email gets opened or ignored. In this post, we'll explore effective strategies to create subject lines that not only grab attention but also drive engagement and conversions.

Why is the subject line important?

Subject lines are used to entice our reader into opening our emails. It needs to let our reader know just enough to let them know what they're getting into but not too much that it kills their intrigue.

Avoiding Spam

Spam filters are designed to protect inboxes, but they can also block legitimate emails. Avoiding common spam triggers ensures your emails reach your reader.

Common Spam Triggers:

• Excessive Punctuation: "!!!" or "???"

• ALL CAPS: Avoid shouting. Only ever use small case or sentence case in your subject lines.

• Spammy Phrases: "Make money fast," "Free!!!"

Keep them short

Keep it 4-5 words max and under 20 characters.

If you can’t do that, make it super long instead. Anywhere in between 20-120 characters is known as the kill zone and that's where emails go to die.

Research done by Omeda showed that the average open rate for subject lines with 20 characters or less had an average open rate of 29.9%. The average open rate DROPPED by more than ⅓ to only 17.3% for subject lines between 20-124 characters. Open rates then started to rise on emails with a subject length of 174-224 characters. Although they only rose to an average of 23.2%. Still 6% less than the short subjects.

Using Questions

Questions pique intrigue and invite engagement. A well-crafted question can make your reader eager to find the answer in your email.

Crafting Engaging Questions:

• "Keep losing your keys?"

• "failed your last exam?"

• "Spending too much money?"

Using Numbers and Lists

Numbers and lists catch the eye and promise specific information. Subject lines with numbers convey clarity and structure, making them more enticing to open.

Examples of Number-Based Subject Lines:

• "5 ways to study better"

• "You need these 5 accessories"

• "3 Secrets to Perfect Skin"

Creating Intrigue

Ramp up the intrique. Make your emaisl as personal as possible. Remember, although your emails may be going out to thousands of people, it's being opened by an individual. Make them feel like they're special! Don't be afraid to let your wild side out. Nobody was ever bored into opening an email!

Examples:

• You have to see this

• Here's how Uber made $2.6 Billion

• My boss almost fired me for this

• I have something for you

• This is embarrassing...

Stay ahead of your competition

People receive tons of emails a day. Most of your audience are on multiple lists. Your competitors. Their favorite clothing brands. The whole 9 yards. In order to get your emails opened, it's important to see how you stack up against the other emails you are going up against.

Sign up for every newsletter and email you can for businesses in your industry. See the words they use, the CTA’s they have, how often they are sending out emails and the kind of content.

Sort these into folders in Gmail, Yahoo or whatever you use. This is going to be able to give you a 360 view of your market and the landscape you are fighting to gain attention in.

Testing your subject lines

We recommend testing between super short subject lines and long ones.

A/B testing allows you to experiment with different subject lines to determine which ones perform best.

How to Conduct A/B Tests:

• Select Variables: Test one element at a time, such as wording or length.

  • Remember if you are trying to test subject lines for example, make sure you keep the actually content in the email the exact same! If you don't, you have too many variables to track and you won't be sure if your change in results came from the subject line or the email content. Test one at a time!

• Divide Your Audience: Randomly split your email list into groups.

• Analyze Results: Measure open rates and click-through rates to identify winners.

Crafting a compelling subject line for email marketing requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and understanding of your audience. By implementing these techniques, you can increase open rates, drive engagement, and ultimately put more money in your pocket.

To take your email marketing to the next level, download our 100% free Email Marketing Guide. This comprehensive resource will provide you with all the tools you need to write killer emails your audience actually wants to read.