The objective of subject lines is to encourage recipients to open your email and take action . Don’t let the pressure of writing the wow subject lines get to you. Finding the right words doesn’t have to be challenge .
Open ratio depend on multiple factors like collection practices, list age and the industry in which you are sending. The average rate ranges from 10% to 25% (at the high end of the spectrum). We analyzed thousands of subject lines to find those with the highest open rates and the most impact. Here’s what we learned.
Be To The Point : The subject line should tell recipients what they are going to find inside.
It is totally clear what the email is about and the subscriber knows, when they open the email, they will see the details about the special offer. Also, note the "call to action" and a sense of urgency. However, it’s worth ignoring overwrought proclamations — you don’t want to come on too heavy.
Be True To The Purpose Of A Subject Line: The purpose is a glimpse of the email; a some of words that capture the essence of the subject matter.
Words With Friends: Evaluation is extremely constructive and with subject lines, getting some outside context is vital.
Inquire with your friends and colleagues what they think the subject line should be or have them rewrite your subject lines. Better yet, come up with a few options and ask them to come up with some themselves. Then see which ones are best. You will be surprised at how often this results in the perfect subject line.
Split Second Impressions: The first few words matter! When the email is being previewed, your first few words are the ones that will be seen so make them count. Litmus has a neat tool to preview how your subject lines will appear across multiple email programs .
Content Is King: Subject lines are a serious factor in generating healthy open rates. It’s the first step to engagement and as such, it is worth looking at how your content drives your subject line rather than viewing the subject line as an afterthought .
A compelling subject line can only be built on a strong authority of content so make sure that your newsletter itself offers value. Thinking holistically , if you want to increase higher open rates, create content that brings about great subject lines.
While evaluating our top performing subject lines, a trend did emerge. Of emails that had the highest open rates, 76% of them had either their business name or the product name written in their subject lines.
That’s more than a coincidence, that’s a pro tip: the top subject line writers use either their company name, the product name or both.
Use Google Insights For Search: If you are not sure of which words are best suited to your subject line, try comparing them with Google’s Insights For Search. While it is technically a tool to help improve search engine optimization (aka SEO) and help you understand what people are searching for on Google, the tool offers great ‘insight’ into online interests in general.
It is most helpful for subject lines when you want to compare which words will be more powerful or whether to lead with a certain timely topic over another.