How To Write Effective E-mail SUBJECT Lines
How To Write Effective E-mail SUBJECT Lines
If you’re using email to generate leads or make sales you’re probably spending a lot of time honing your message and making sure that it’s persuasive. But do you give equal time thought and attention to the short “SUBJECT” line that introduces your main message?
If you don’t then be afraid. Very afraid. You see it doesn’t matter how compelling your email offer is or how brilliantly your message is written. If your subject line isn’t working right your email will never get opened and your campaign will be a failure.
That’s right. The humble little subject line that announces your email to the world has an enormous influence on campaign results and can make or break you.
Want to handle subject lines the right way? Here are some thoughts that might prove extremely useful . . .
1. Think of the subject line as if it were an envelope.
When you’re creating a paper direct mail package you know you have to come up with a killer envelope. If the envelope doesn’t get opened the letter doesn’t get read and you don’t make the sale. Same thing with the subject line. It determines whether the prospect will read your message or trash it.
Of course getting someone to open a paper envelope is a heck of a lot easier than getting past the subject line. Why? Because with a paper envelope you have plenty of space to write teaser copy and add photography or illustration if it’s appropriate. You can create something unique that stands out from all the other mail in the pile and screams out benefits that will get the prospect to read the letter within.
Subject lines all look the same and have to be kept short. Never exceed forty characters including spaces. This means that every subject line must communicate extremely quickly. We’ll take a look at how to do that in a minute but for now start thinking of the subject line as one of the keys to email marketing success not an afterthought!
2. Subject lines are well worth testing.
Robert Mendez www.nethawk.net is an email list broker/manager who handles countless emailings and is a great source of information. I asked him about his take on subject lines. Here’s what he said “You should always test subject lines if you have enough names. Five thousand names is the minimum you need for an email test cell. It’s worth doing some testing because a strong subject line can double the response.”
Let’s look at that again on instant replay! “A strong subject line can double the response” increase it by 100. In other words a 4 response rate can turn into an 8 response rate just by using the right subject line!
3. Some thoughts about saying “FREE” in the subject line.
Some people hesitate to use the word “free” in the subject line because they’re afraid they will turn people off. For example in an issue of Softletter Michael D’Arrigo Direct Marketing Manager at ScanSoft is quoted as saying”For us we’ve found that a subject line with ‘free’ is the kiss of death. It will be viewed as spam and won’t be opened.”
Email marketers also have the related concern that if they use the word “free” in the subject line a filter will kick out their message and it will never get read. I personally believe that this is just another suburban legend and that you really don’t have to sweat it. True. There is some filtering based on IP numbers that takes place at the ISP level. And some corporations do some filtering. And yes some packaged applications let consumers use filtering. BUT this is only a big problem if you’re selling businesstoconsumer junk!
I believe that if you use “free” in the subject line in welltargeted B2B emails that offer the prospect something of value your message will sail right through unfiltered. Let me add that I know as a personal FACT that one of hightech’s most aggressive emailers uses the word “free” in the subject line and that this line is the consistent winner against other subject lines in rigorous headtohead tests.
The bottom line? I would not give up on one of the most motivating words in our language because of spam or filter fears. You should definitely do some testing!
4. The right way to write subject lines.
Here’s a mini case study that shows you how to think about putting a subject line together. Here’s the subject line from an email sent by a major marketer that targets small and growing businesses.
SUBJECT: Who’s minding the store?
If you click through to find out more you get to the message: “Small businesses are more vulnerable to crime than is generally realized yet the risks to them are not publicized and too few take steps to protect themselves says a new study. Don’t wait until you are a victim of a crime take steps now to thwart the bad guys. Here are a few tips” . . . etc.
So what’s going on here? Well the message itself certainly goes on to provide valuable information that small business managers should know. But instead of saying so directly in the subject line the writer went for a “teaser” approach: “Who’s minding the store?” This teaser subject line might be O.K. in an ad or flyer but is I would argue a big loser as a subject line. Why? Because no benefit is mentioned.
Let’s rewrite the subject line and see if we can do a better job of motivating the reader. We could slice it and dice it a bunch of ways:
SUBJECT: Five ways to prevent store theft
SUBJECT: How to improve store security
SUBJECT: Stop store thieves in their tracks
SUBJECT: Don’t let thieves steal you blind
SUBJECT: Crime prevention basics
SUBJECT: How to prevent store theft
You get the idea. The takeaway message? The subject line is a vitally important part of email campaign success and should be the subject of your close attention!
About the writer: Ivan Levison is an awardwinning direct response freelance copywriter. Download a free copy of his new report “101 Ways To Double Your Response Rates!” at http://www.levison.com/subscribe. Contact Ivan any time at ivanlevison.com
Related posts:
