In advertising, a snappy headline is everything. It’s essential for winning over audiences’ attentions and devoting their precious time to what you have to say. In email marketing, however, a headline is only the second-in-command. The true leader is the email subject – the first thing we see when we open up our inbox and the determining factor as to whether or not email is worth opening. With so much riding on the value of an email subject line, it’d make sense to put as much (if not more) effort on polishing the subject line as the headline! How do we go about crafting an email subject line that shines amongst the other bits of dribble that consumers regularly receive and then promptly trash? Read on to find out more…
The ins and outs of subject lines
Crafting an email subject line is not unlike crafting a headline. However, there are nuances unique to subject lines. According to Forbes, all subject lines must adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act – which state that it must not be deceptive nor misleading. This prevents scheming marketers from baiting in audiences with something unrelated to the email’s contents. “Remember that while email open rates are certainly important, your ultimate goal is to drive further engagement with your email content and eventually conversions on various offers or promotions in your emails or on your landing page,” writes Forbes Councils Member Tom Wozniak. Lying to readers to get clicks is a sure-fire way to get blocked, reported and possibly even penalised.
Before brainstorming for ideas, Wozniak asks a very important question: “What is your ultimate goal?” Are you simply trying to raise awareness for your brand or product? Or are you trying to drive clicks? It’s important to make this distinction first, as it can dictate how you word the subject line. Furthermore, you want to have a very clear idea about who or what your target audience is and how you want your business to be portrayed to them. If you are targeting corporations, a business-y, no-nonsense tone is often the best way to get through. Conversely, this same tone may or may not work for individuals and consumers – perhaps for entrepreneurs and industry professionals, but regular joes and janes may prefer a more colloquial tone. To illustrate this point, let’s try an example where we’re a sleep clinic targeting everyday folk with snoring problems.
a. For immediate snoring relief, choose Sleep Lab
b. Sick of snoring? Sleep Lab can help!
c. Snoring can be caused by a number of hereditary roots, anatomical traits and medical conditions. Consult Sleep Lab for snoring assistance.
Which of the above is most appropriate for general audiences? Example a. takes on a very generic tone similar to late night infomercials on television. It tells audiences exactly what they are getting, but it’s not very exciting. Example b. takes on a more personable approach – ideal for relating your brand with your consumers. For recipients with snoring problems, they may be tempted to find out what Sleep Lab is and how you can help.
The final example takes on a medical approach. However, just because it has medical jargon doesn’t mean that audiences will automatically trust it. Many times, these words can be confusing for people who don’t have a very strong grasp of English – and when audiences don’t know what they are reading, they are more likely to bin the email. It’s the same reason why doctors have been urged to use simpler words so that patients know precisely what their diagnosis or treatment is! To revise the example also keeping the medical approach, something like this might be more suitable:
· Snoring may be caused by a number of reasons. Consult Sleep Lab to identify the right solution!
Best practices and experimental approaches
Next, Wozniak emphasises the importance of following best practises when writing subject lines. According to email marketing platform Mailchimp, these would be:
1. Personalise subject lines with each recipient’s name or location
2. Be descriptive – avoid slogans and “communicate the benefit of your promotions or call attention to specific deals”
3. Keep it short – between 9 and 60 characters is optimal (especially considering many recipients do their emails over their phones)
4. Limit punctuation to no more than 3 per line
5. Use emojis sparingly, if at all – maximum of 1 at a time
6. Test various subject lines to see what works best for a particular audience or demographic
A quick note regarding tip 1 – for large-scale email marketing campaigns (where you don’t have access to email platforms that let you automatically customise subject lines with a recipient’s name) or when recipients are unfamiliar with your company, it’d be unfeasible to use names in your subject. Instead, you can still personalise the emails by targeting a potential problem that they have and offering to provide a solution for it. Let’s try writing a couple more examples with snoring again:
I. Snoring can be fatal!
II. Sleep apnea is a serious disorder – but it’s easily diagnosable and remedied
III. Do you snore and feel unrested after sleep? Sleep Lab can help!
Example I gives off blatant clickbait vibes and doesn’t tell readers what the email is about. However, shocking audiences is a viable tactic when phrased correctly – a more workable option would be “Sleep apnea and snoring can be fatal – how could we avoid it?” – provided targeting sleep apnea was a core goal of our product or service.
Example II may look ok, but it doesn’t provide readers which much information about the company or brand. It only highlights a specific problem caused by sleep apnea and excludes regular snorers. To avoid being too specific, a generalist headline like example III is ideal – it neither excludes regular snorers nor people with sleep apnea. More importantly, it also names our brand so audiences know precisely what the email is about.
Best practises, although optimal, are just guides. Provided you have the capacity and bandwidth to test new headlines, you can try being more experimental with your options. Here are three different ways you could spice up your subject lines:
· “Step out of character and approach your audience in a novel way,” suggests Wozniak. If you are used to writing with a very corporate tone, try relaxing and adopting a more casual tone (and vice-versa). Or instead of emphasising what your brand or business can deliver, try emphasising how a user’s life can be turned around after using your services – e.g. “Sleep snore-free like a baby with Sleep Lab”
· Instead of focusing on the target audience’s problem. Consider how their problem could affect others – e.g. “Does snoring have your family or relationship in a rut? Give Sleep Labs a call!”
· Give humour a shot. Assuming you are advertising to the general public, a bit of clever comedy is always appreciated. Let’s try combining this option with the one above – e.g. “Is your family tearing their ears off while you sleep? Give Sleep Labs a call!”
Email marketing is just like any other kind of marketing. Setting up a good hook is half the battle when trying to win over your audiences’ attention – netting you increased email opening rates and perhaps even engagement rates. Although they’re not easy to craft, the rewards are well worth the effort spent. If you ever need help sharpening your subject line game, your local wordsmiths are always happy to help!