Email subject lines are like the display case of your store – they make a HUGE impact on your customers decision on whether to engage with what you’re offering.
Just like a well-designed display attracts shoppers, compelling subject lines draw readers in and set you up for further engagement and conversions.
According to Forbes 2024 Email Marketing Report, 61% of consumers typically only spend about 8 seconds in an email. 23.5% of emails are scanned over within 2-8 seconds and 15% of emails are glanced at for less than two seconds.
I sneeze slower than that.
The point is, you don’t have much time to hold attention let alone grab it. If they have a crowded inbox like I do (oops) then they’re only going to want to read emails that stand out to them. This is why email subject lines are so crucial.
Let’s get into it.
Your Email Subject Lines NEED to Capture Attention
You may have not known this, but the average open rate of an email is 22% across all industries. This means that your email has a 1 in 5 shot of being opened. While that’s better than my free throw percentage, it’s still not great.
To boost your open rates, your subject lines need to give viewers a persuading reason to open the email and engage. This involves understanding terms or phrases that resonate with them and will help catch their interest.
It’s not only about grabbing attention however, it’s about being relevant. Emails are a great way to promote other forms of content, promotions/sales, and keep your audience engaged with your brand. Keeping things exciting and consistent with your brand builds the connection and trust you have with your audience.
Tips on Getting Your Subject Lines to Stand Out
1. Include Numbers
I would bet that most of your audience’s inboxes are overflowing with average, vague, or dull email subject lines. The more specific and straightforward yours is, the easier it will be for people to notice. What’s more straightforward than numbers? They immediately show value or provide proof of your services, and intrigue readers to click through to learn more.
Example:
“Save money on your next purchase!”
Versus
“Save $200 on your next purchase!”
I don’t know about you, but those numbers visually just stick out a lot more to me. They make things feel more concrete. They’re precise and set clear expectations for what the email contains. All this to say, numbers are a great way to be specific and show your audience exactly what they’re getting.
2. Keep it Short and Sweet While Providing Context
I’ll continue to say it again and again, BE SPECIFIC. The more you can curate your content (in this case email subject lines) to be relatable to your audience, the more enticed they’ll be to read through it.
Your customer should open the email with existing expectations of what to find in the email. So, if it’s an email containing delicious recipes, make sure the subject reflects that. For example, if you’re sending an email to promote your newest appetizer recipes, say something like “5 Easy Appetizer Recipes for Your Next Dinner Party”.
This includes a number, introduces the context, and briefly relates to the persona offering specific value to them.
3. Create a Sense of Urgency
Urgency is a very powerful motivator for humans. Think about it. If you see something super awesome and feel like time is running out for you to get it, you are more likely to purchase it sooner rather than later.
If your subject line communicates a sense of urgency somehow, your reader is going to want to know what they might miss out on if they wait. Thus, they open the email actively engaging with it to understand.
Examples of Words and Phrases the Create Urgency:
- Limited Time ONLY
- Act Now
- Don’t Miss Out
- Last chance
- Hurry!
- Offer Expires Soon
- Get it Before It’s Gone
- Limited Availability
4. Keep Things Relevant
If people read the subject line of your email and it’s talking about something COMPLETELY unrelated to their needs or interests, it’s going straight to the archive. Or worse…. The trash.
Make sure you understand what your target personas desired transformation is. What are their pain points, desires, goals, and needs? Figure those out and speak directly to them.
Think about a conversation you would have with someone over coffee. Would you continually just cut them off, talk about a new subject they care nothing about, and disregard everything you know about them? Hopefully not!
Figure out what’s valuable to them specifically and communicate that through your subject line.
5. Don’t Be Afraid of Getting Personal (use first names, send emails on birthdays, etc.)
Let’s never forget that the purpose of sending emails is to build the relationship with your customers in some way shape or form. As with any normal human relationship, the more personal and relevant your communication is to them, the more they will trust you and feel connected to your brand.
It’s like the feeling you get when you get a personal letter in the mail. I’m not talking about those “To our neighbor” ads that pop up every now and then. I’m talking about a birthday letter from grandma or thank you letter from a friend.
It’s those personalized messages that you’d much rather spend time reading rather than the generic, computer-generated, mass produced ones. When your emails feel more personalized they feel more genuine.
6. Ask a Question
Asking a question in your subject line is a great way to get viewers to open your email – especially if the question hits home with your focus persona. Think about what your personas spend time asking themselves and how this email can provide answers for them.
For example, if your audience is a business owner you could say something like, “Are you struggling to find the right new hires?” This sentence speaks to a very specific pain point. They may be experiencing it. You want to understand their challenges, and write the subject line to show them how the answer to their problems is in your email.
7. Grab Attention with Your Preview Text
Preview text is that very brief line you see right after the bolded subject line. It kinda acts as the shortest elevator pitch to ever exist. It’s just a few words that, if well-crafted, can be the difference between your email getting opened or not.
It’s a great way to highlight the value/small wins your email is offering. Whether it’s to promote a sale, blog post, new product, or really whatever, use your preview text to give them a hint about the topic. Keep it short, clear, and enticing so they’ll be curious enough to explore more.
Let’s Talk About A/B Testing
A/B Testing (aka split tests) are IMPORTANT.
Like Frodo getting the ring all the way to Mordor important.
Your company is unique. Your personas are unique. Finding the best way to connect with them may very well be unique. This is why testing various things is so important, it allows you to try a variety of things and test what works better.
Split testing is running multiple tests of different versions of a piece of content or version of your website. In the case of subject lines, it would entail sending the same email with different subject lines to two (or however many versions you’re testing) to a small percentage of your list.
You can then evaluate (or most CRMS detect which performs better) and send that to the remaining majority of your list.
Over time you’ll start to observe trends in the winning subject lines and start crafting them to match what has previously worked!
Don’t Forget About Feedback
Let’s not forget a key part of improvement here – feedback. I’d be lost without the feedback my mentors give me. It’s funny because I feel like there’s this weird stigma around feedback, as if anything less than perfect the first time is unacceptable.
Take that belief and throw it out the window. I’m serious. If that’s your belief, get rid of it and leave it far behind because feedback is critical for improvement in every aspect of your life! (ESPECIALLY business!)
Use the tips we talked about today, split test everything, and never be afraid to present your ideas to fellow team members. Find what works, tweak what doesn’t, and always be willing to refine your approach. Remember, improvement is a journey and every piece of progress is valuable!
If you could use some further insight on how to optimize your email subject lines and marketing campaigns, schedule a consultation with us! We’ll walk through your current approach and talk about how we can optimize your content to get more conversions!
