Subject Line Revisited

At the beginning of everything, the essential question every email marketer struggles with is: What makes an email open?

And before it is a relevant content, classy creative, killer incentive, or slick call-to-action – it’s the subject line!! Be it newsletter, autoresponder, or trigger mail – they all need unique carefully planned subject lines. All is decided in a nick of time – a glimpse of an eye. Even though it’s only a few words, they can mean a no-go. So here are a few simple rules to generate opens only – extracted and tested by experts.

1. Less Is More

With various modes of display and the limited number of characters different email clients offer for the subject field it should be your everyday mantra. Here are the numbers: the generous Gmail: around 80, Yahoo: 27, Hotmail right hand preview pane: 25. Don’t forget about iPhones, Blackberries, other smartphones, as well as attachment markers, flags and labels that the recipients add themselves – less and less space available. Tricky, isn’t it?

Check out the examples from NYTime.com viewed in Gmail:

Imagine what they would look like in a Yahoo mailbox with 27 characters… For some reason NYTime.com Ad-Mail decides to squeeze in as much as possible of the email content into the subject. They also fail to creatively use the space offered by the Gmail text viewer. Shame, as it could have been more like emails from Aeropostale:

Even if these messages get truncated, the gist remains untouched, because it’s the initial 15 characters that matter most (also see 5. below).

A successful technique that allows you to get the core of the message across, even if the subject shrinks due to display settings, is frontloading – moving the keyword to the front. Be it your brand name, an offer, or a request – at the front, it’s safe. It’s also a matter of perception: we tend to read only what goes first – there’s just no time for more.

Seems like Amnesty and Arsenal.com have done their lesson well (unlike Guggenheim, and a few others).

If the From field displays an email, rather than a name – you might be in trouble.

Check out Mark Brownlow playing with email subjects to see what happens to innocent names such as Arsenal and fuchsia.

2. Clarity, Consistency and Benefit

These are the key aspects to consider when planning subject line. Be witty, straightforward and seductive. Words and characters such as: most, best, alert, now, last chance, last days, update, $, %, off, top, etc. are all welcome. You should watch out for spammy words and collocations, though.

So the winners are:

P.S. from…: all the examples above – clear-cut and eye-catching due to frontloading of the keywords

TIME.com: 10 Most Popular Stories of the Week and…

TIME.com: TIME Cartoon of the Week – it is exactly what it says it is

Tobi: Snowed In? Take 23% Off with code SNOW25 – a very relevant real-time winter subject

Manchester Confidential: Want to write for us? – like the straightforwardness of it

…and a few sinners:

U.S. Snowboarding News B.: Yongpyong SBX World Cup Canceled – brief, consistent… too informative – why would you want to open it if it’s all there?

Manchester Library and Service Information: Evening classes, Manchester Archives on Flickr, free half term fun and lots more – see lesson 1 – too many ideas, too much information – I’m dazed and confused

Tobi: Brighten Your Sunday with Vivienne Westwood Anglomania​, 7 For All Mankind, COMUNE, Theory and more – too much again – and it goes on to the second line!

One good idea to get attention is a branded subject – proved in research to enhance the open rates as it guarantees recognition. Since the From field might display your email address not name, it’s handy to have it in the subject, and naturally – at the front.

Another one is personalization: nothing gets me more focused than to hear/read my name (heard about the cocktail party effect?). However, as metrics show, it’s only justified in certain cases: in transactional emails, requests, reminders, welcome and goodbye emails they’re ok, but in commercial offers they often resemble typical spam subjects and could carry negative connotations.

So,

Boots: Hi Hanna, welcome to Boots makes me warm-hearted, but

Englishtips.org: hanna-a, your Englishtip​s Weekly Newsletter​ does not.

3. Rethink Your Preheaders

With the Gmail text teaser viewer you get some extra space. It’s kind of like the second chance to grasp attention. So don’t waste it on clichés that we’re all bored with:

…when you can use a nice trick boosting open rates:

Those who click shall be rewarded:

The initial lines of an email also need rethinking, as they often follow up on the subject line. It’s a simple exercise, but if neglected, you might end up like this:

4. Proofread, Then Send

It’s human to make mistakes, but this is merely sloppy:

5. Test For Best

Don’t trust your instincts if you can test them. ExpertSender split test feature offers you to try out 5 different subject lines (as well as From fields, email bodies and mailing dates). This means a 5 times higher success rate. You only risk running out of ideas before getting to the 5^th line.

Now, do you still think that subject line is only a few insignificant words?