Let’s face it: getting people’s attention in their inbox is like trying to get a 3-year-old to sit down. People are bombarded with email, much of it unwanted, and they’re distracted by so many other things. And yet, email marketing can have an ROI of as much as 4,300%. So how can you get your marketing emails opened and get people to click or buy from them?
The secret is in the subject line. If you make it engaging and enticing, recipients can’t help but click to read your emails.
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The Shorter, the Better
It’s challenging to fit everything you want to say into a short email subject line (most email clients display no more than 50 characters), but if you can keep it short, you’ll get more clicks. Studies show that subject lines with 30 or fewer characters have the highest open rates.
Use it: Try testing out two versions of your subject line for one email. See if the shorter one does get more opens.
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Don’t Be Negative
It’s important to carefully think through your word choice with email subject lines. Negative words like “don’t” or “can’t” can be off-putting and discourage people from clicking to read your emails.
Use it: Use positive language. Rather than saying “This sale can’t be missed,” try framing it as “Shop the must-see sale.”
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Make it Urgent
Why should people open your email today rather than in a month? You need to create a sense of urgency so they open it as soon as they receive it. Use pressing language like these words to get people to take action fast:
- Limited time
- Act now
- Only a few spots left
- Time is ticking
- Running out
Use it: Test out an email with two versions of your subject line, one with the urgent phrasing, and see which gets more clicks.
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Personalize It
Rather than feeling like the recipient of a mass email sent to thousands of subscribers, imagine how a customer would feel if you spoke directly to them in the subject line. “Beth, your free offer is here” is an example of how you can really personalize an email without manually sending one email at a time; most email marketing platforms let you insert first name from the contact info you have into a subject line and the email itself.
Use it: Craft your subject line so that the recipient feels like you sent it to only her. Test out a few versions to see which gets the best response rate.
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Pay Attention to What Your Customers Want
If you’re using CRM (customer relationship management) software, you have tons of data on your customers that you can use to tweak your emails and improve your open rates. See what products people are looking at or inquiring about, as well as items that are complementary to others that your customers have purchased. For example, if you a group of customers purchase dolls from your website, you can send an email to that group with a special offer for dresses or accessories for dolls.
Use it: Spend some time with your CRM to see what data you can glean that will help take your email marketing to new heights.
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Pique Interest
The best subject lines are those that make people so curious they can’t help but click to read your email. You can do this with tantalizing language, like “How much will you save today?” or “The single most important accessory to impress your boss.”
Use it: Look through your inbox to get inspiration from subject lines that ignite your curiosity.
With a little practice, your subject lines will get better and will encourage more people to open and read your emails. It’s well worth the time to A/B test a few subject lines to get a sense for how your subscribers respond to some of these tactics.
At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a huge variety of verticals. Learn about all of Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.
