Whether you’re sending a message to an acquaintance, prospecting for leads, or want to stand out from the crowd of thousands upon thousands of other email campaigns that are saturating every inbox insight, one thing is for sure: your subject line is essential.
It’s the first thing any prospective customer will see when they open their inbox searching for a deal, so it’s no surprise that attention-grabbing subject lines are often the difference between success and failure.
In this article, you’ll learn how to write more effective subject lines to grab your recipients’ attention.
What Makes a Good Email Subject Line?
If you’re not sure what makes an effective subject line, consider the following:
1. Readable:
Email clients are designed with one thing in mind: to be read. You must understand this and leverage it in your subject line.
In general, people are very busy nowadays. Email is one of the few ways people can quickly meet up and connect, so emails that require a lot of time to read often don’t get opened.
2. Reflective:
Just as it’s important to make your subject line easy to read, it’s also important to make your subject line reflective of the content of the email. You should use words in your subject line that directly reflect what you’re offering or mailing about.
Just as it’s important to make your subject line easy to read, it’s also important to make your subject line reflective of the content of the email. You should use words in your subject line that directly reflect what you’re offering or mailing about. For instance, emails about a discount for a product should consistently use words related to “discount” in the subject line.
3. Current:
Subject lines that are too general or absent any mention of the advertised promotion or coupon will often not be opened. However, a promotion or a special offer is worth mentioning somewhere in your subject line.
4. Accessible:
If your subject line is buried in the email, most people will never read it, and many of them probably won’t even make it to the end of their inbox. In order to stand out and catch a potential customer’s eye, make sure your subject line is immediately noticeable.
5. Captivating:
You have to draw someone in with your subject line. It’s the first bit of bait that you throw out, and if you don’t catch someone’s interest right away, you’re probably not going to get a bite. People won’t open your email if they don’t immediately find it interesting, so the best thing you can do is make your subject line interesting, eye-catching and attention-grabbing.
How to Get Great Results From Your Subject Line
You’ve got your subject line figured out, but what happens when you start writing? In order to make the most of your subject line, there are a couple of things that you need to pay careful attention to.
1. Keep it simple and sweet
Subject lines with too many words, too many characters, or extra characters like spaces will often get overlooked. Keep your subject lines as simple and sweet as possible. This means that you need to ensure that your subject line doesn’t have punctuation or extra words.
2. Place the most important words at the beginning
When writing your subject line, place the words you want to emphasize at the beginning of the sentence. This is especially helpful if you describe a limited-time offer or a special discount.
For example, if you’re selling tickets to a sports game, you could try “Single-Game Tickets for $25” as the subject line. This emphasizes the price of tickets while reminding us that these tickets will only be available for a limited time.
3. Keep your subject lines short
Most people don’t have much time to read lengthy emails, so you need to ensure that your subject lines are short. Consider only listing the most important words in your subject line and pick the best words for emphasis by placing them first in the sentence.
4. Don’t use a fancy font
Instead of making your message look more formal and less friendly, use a simple font like Arial or Calibri when writing your subject lines. Using a complicated font like Times New Roman makes your subject lines harder to read, especially for busy people struggling to find the time to read your email.
5. Include a powerful keyword
After you’ve written your subject line, be sure to add an attention-grabbing keyword that relates to the content of your message. People will open and respond more quickly if they think they respond to something they need.
For instance, if you’re selling a free eBook, adding a strong and distinctive keyword like “Free Download” to your subject line will encourage readers to open your email and keep reading.
6. Appeal to the emotions
To grab your readers’ attention, use words and phrases to get them excited or make them feel something. Some things to keep in mind are fun, love, relatable, and lively.
7. Make it personal
One of the best ways to ensure that your recipients open your email is to address them by their name in the subject line. If you don’t know their name, try using a term they relate to, like “Dear Friend” or “Hi there.”
8. Use a question or statement
Including a question or statement as the subject line can be an excellent way to grab readers’ attention, especially if they have something in common with you. If you ask a question, they’ll feel that they have to respond to your question and keep reading. Common questions are:
– “Sign up here to get a free sample of X.” – “Buy one today and get another one free.” – “Want to guarantee you get a spot?” – “Limited time only! Sign up now” – “Join Now and get unlimited access to Y.” – “Get the best deal on Z.” – “Be the first to know about Z!”
9. Tell them what to expect
Instead of telling your customers what’s in the email, tell them what they can expect before opening it. For example, if you’re selling money-saving deals, ensuring that the subject line is “Discounts for Freshmen” encourages readers to read the email before they know what’s in it.
10. Show them who you are
Don’t be afraid to let readers know something about yourself when writing your subject line. This can include your name and website or even a trivia-related fact that makes them feel like they know you better. This will encourage people to trust you more and read your email straight through.
11. Do not use all caps
Be sure that you’re not shouting at customers when using all caps in your subject lines. This will likely lead to them responding similarly and may make you look unprofessional.
12. Special characters
When using special characters like exclamation points, periods, and question marks, be sure that they don’t become a distraction. Instead, use just one of them to emphasize your point without making readers feel like they’re being forced to answer a question or react immediately.
13. Don’t focus too much on the sale
Instead of selling your customers something in the subject lines, make it clear that they can get a great deal if they buy your product or service.
14. Don’t make false promises
Be sure that your promise isn’t something you can’t or won’t deliver on. If the offer is minimal, don’t promise it will last for 11 days or give specifics about the deal. Instead, stick to something more general like “Discounts for Freshmen,” which lets readers know what they can expect before opening the email.
15. Don’t be too pushy
Be sure not to force your readers to buy. Instead, try sending out friendly messages without being pushy. Use words such as “Free,” “Try,” or “Request” to accomplish this.
Conclusion:
Making your subject lines work will help you write more effective emails that people keep reading throughout. Pay attention to the tips above to improve your subject lines and start writing better emails today.