Your subject line is the single most important sentence in all your emails. A slightly better subject line is going to make a bigger impact than a much better email. The more people who you get to open your email, the more click-throughs you’re going to get and the more sales you’ll get. Plain and simple.
So how do you write enticing and attention-grabbing subject lines?
==> Use Personalization
Use their name in the subject. Some marketers think this is tacky, or that people get used to it or start to tune it out after a time.
They don’t.
This has been split tested time and again and again by marketers across many industries. Using a person’s name in the subject line gets a higher open rate than the same subject line without their name. Almost always.
==> Use 50 Characters Or Less
Different email clients have different subject line cut-off thresholds. As a rule of thumb, try to keep your subject lines under 50 characters.
This will keep your subjects from getting cut off. It’s also short enough that you can quickly snag someone’s attention. It doesn’t “feel” like a lot of work to read your subject line.
==> Imply a Benefit
How will it benefit their lives to read your email?
Magazines have tested this extensively. Headlines that imply a benefit outpull headlines that are only shocking, headlines that are only interesting or headlines that engender curiosity but don’t imply a benefit.
Always, always tell people what they’ll get by opening your email.
==> Imply Exclusive Information
If possible, imply that you’re going to share something with them that nobody else is talking about. Something that you’ll only share once. Something that they would really benefit from learning.
When you make information exclusive and scarce, people get curious. Curious enough to open an email.
==> Create a Sense of Urgency
Imply that the information in your email is only good for a short time, or that an offer might expire. This technique is hard to get right, but can be extremely powerful.
If you lie to create urgency, you’ll lose credibility with your audience. If you make up deadlines that don’t exist, people will stop paying attention to your claims.
But if you look for genuine scarcity and learn to showcase it, you can powerfully boost your open rates while actually increasing credibility. After all, people are glad you brought something time sensitive to their attention before it was too late.
==> Split Test
Finally, split test. Split test different styles of headlines. Different kinds of headlines work better for different kinds of audiences. Not all audiences respond to the same things. Learn what works best with your audience.
Remember – your subject lines are important. Critically important. Put a lot of time and energy into them. These tips will help you write some truly “knock it out of the park” subject lines.