The subject line of your email is probably the most important element when it comes to engagement. After all, if they don’t open it, none of the rest matters. The subject line is what makes them open the email.
Here are some more tips to help you on your journey to writing awesome subject lines.
1. Look at your own inbox for inspiration
You likely are already on several companies' automated email sequences. Take some time to actually look at the subject lines.
Which ones are you most likely to click on? What makes you feel that way? Are they funny? Clever? This exercise can help you if you’re feeling stuck and not sure what to write.
2. Keep it short
The subject line of an email doesn’t need a lot of characters and will get cut off if you go too long. Plus, since almost half of your opened emails are going to be on a mobile device, you might want to stick to as little as 50 characters.
3. Use a familiar and approachable sender name; avoid using “no-reply”
When setting the sender name for your email sequence try to be as human as you can. Yourname@yourcompany.com makes the recipient feel more comfortable about opening the email right from the start.
People get a lot of spam and hackers tend to hide viruses inside emails. Your audience is already going to be hypervigilant about not opening things from people they don’t know.
4. Segment your lists
Segmenting your lists is a great way to get better open rates and click-through rates. Personalizing the customer experience using the information you’ve already attained through their previous actions can help to personalize the email experience.
You can segment by demographics, buying habits, or location within your sales funnel. You can also segment people who are engaging with your emails and people who aren’t, which is really helpful.
5. Never use click-bait-type subject lines
Your subject line is essentially making a promise to the reader about what’s coming in the content. Honor that promise. If your subject line is irrelevant to the content of the email or makes a promise that’s not in line with your brand or product, your audience is going to be irritated at best.
You’ll have lower open rates and higher unsubscribe rates.
6. Tell them what they’re getting
If they’ve signed up for your lead magnet and you're delivering it in an email, tell them that in the subject line. They wanted it enough to give up their email address, so try to make them excited that it has arrived.
7. Timing is everything
The right subject line sent at the right time can have a tremendous impact on your open and click-through rates. Choosing the right time to send your emails will really depend on your audience.
If your audience mainly consists of 9-5 workers, times that tend to work best are in the morning, and right after lunch. If you’re not sure, you can also test out what times work better for your customers. Try a couple of different times and track open rates.
The Bottom Line
There are literally entire courses that will teach you how to write great headlines. There are a lot of technicalities that can go into it, as well as basic human psychology.
Writing headlines is a huge part of the success or failure of your email marketing so spend some time figuring out what works. Learn how to tap into FOMO (fear of missing out), as well as highlight the benefits of opening the email to get your open rates soaring.
