So, you’ve finally decided that email marketing is an effective marketing tactic? (If you’re wondering why, check out Email Marketing: What’s the Point). Great! You’ve even composed your first customer email message? Even better! You’re just about ready to send it off when you realize you’ve left the subject line blank. Good catch – we all know a “no subject” email won’t help market any business. But before you just slap in any generic line and click “send,” consider the importance of this single line. This is your chance to attract your customer. This is your opportunity to pull them in. It’s make it or break it – entice your customer to open your email, or say hello to the trash bin. To avoid every marketer’s fear of the email “delete” button, we’ve complied a few tips to make your email subject lines truly glow in customers’ inboxes. Be Enticing Easier said than done, right? Think about what makes you want to open an email. Subject lines that are compelling, interesting, or offer a call to action are the ones that we all want to read. Try instilling a sense of urgency into your line – make customers feel the need to read your email right now. Focus on the benefits that your customer will gain by opening this particular email. Attract readers by telling them what they’re going to get out of your message. If the subject is exciting enough to get its own email, you should be able to create one enticing line promoting it. …But Be Honest Make sure your subject line matches the content of your email. Don’t get so caught up in making it interesting and exciting that it becomes irrelevant to the actual content of the email. Level with your customers about what they will gain from your message. If you can’t develop one enticing line that truthfully expresses your email’s purpose, maybe you shouldn’t be sending out that email in the first place. Focus Your Intention Why do you want customers to open this email? What are they going to get out of it? Be clear about the reason for sending the email. Customers should be prepared for your message’s content by reading its subject line. Be specific and single-minded about your goal. Know exactly your purpose for sending the message and make sure it’s reflected in the subject line. Get Technical Avoid spam words such as free, help, percent off, and reminder. These words often get automatically sent to customers’ spam folders, making it highly unlikely that your subject line, let alone your email, will ever reach customer eyes. Make it Short and Sweet Don’t turn your subject line into a short story. The goal is to encourage readers to click on your email because of its subject line, so don’t try to begin your email’s content in the subject line itself. Make your enticing, purposeful point, and get out. Your business could have meticulously researched email marketing, followed all the steps of writing an effective marketing email, and applied all the tips for email marketing success. But none of that matters if your recipients don’t ever open your message. Writing a quality subject line is a crucial step in order to triumph in email marketing. You get one line, one chance – don’t blow it. For some examples of great subject lines and even more helpful tips, check out MailChimp’s subject lines best practices. Photo Credit
