In today’s fast-paced business environment, email overload is a reality. Nearly everyone’s mailbox is filled with email communications, from prospects to media contacts, all of which are fighting for the recipient’s time and attention.
Most individuals spend a fraction of a second reviewing email subject fields to filter out unnecessary or irrelevant messages. Even if the entire body of the email contains information that is valuable and useful to their business, if the subject field does not immediately capture their attention, they will go on to the next message in their inboxes.
What is the subject in an email ?
The subject line of an email is the single line of text people see when they receive your email. This one line of text can often determine whether an email is opened or sent straight to trash, so make sure it’s optimized toward your audience.
The subject of your email is perhaps the most important few words in the entire email. It is the first impression, it is your tagline, it is the reason the recipient will, or will not open it. The purpose of the subject line is to get the person reading to say three simple words: “Tell me more.”
Good email subject lines can make a powerful impact on your readers. The words you choose for your email subject lines can have a big impact on whether or not the hard work you’ve put into your email will pay off. No matter how sophisticated or well-crafted your email campaigns are, they are worthless if your target audience doesn’t open the email.
Getting subscribers to open your emails is the first step towards getting them to convert. And the subject line plays a pivotal role in driving opens.
There are general guidelines to create an eye-catching subject line for your Email.
Personalize your email subject line
Over 26% of emails with a personalized subject line have better chances to be opened, due to their unique and specific approach. Research shows that personalizing your subject line doesn’t necessarily mean including the recipient’s name, new ways have emerged. For example, you can personalize emails with demographic information or offer deals based on your customer’s past purchases.
Keep it simple & brief
Subject lines need to quickly grab the recipient’s attention. It’s estimated that subject lines with 50 characters or less result in 12% higher open rates and 75% higher click-through rates than emails with longer subject lines.
Match with the customers’ interest
Subject lines have to be interesting and unique. Stay away from over-used words and clichés, and try to present your audience with a hook that captures their attention and incentivizes them to learn more by opening the email.
Offer Value
The best subject lines communicate the promise of value. In other words, your subject line has to convince the recipient that the email contains information or messaging that will improve their lives and/or their businesses.
Build Trust
Trustworthiness is a priority for brands that understand the importance of subject lines. The information contained in your email should be consistent with the promise you make in the subject line. Also, it’s critical to make sure that your subject line is free of spelling or grammatical errors to preserve credibility with your audience.
Promote time sensitivity
Limited-time offers and expiration dates in a subject line can create a sense of urgency, encouraging recipients to open an email right away, rather than waiting until a later date. If you do promote a deadline for something, however, make sure to follow through. Readers will take notice.
Express exclusivity
Readers respond well to offers for a select group, both in concept and wording. In addition to “exclusive,” words such as “private” and “invitation” work well.
Front-load the benefit
Clearly state the benefit at the beginning to get the most out of the subject line’s reading pane. Plus, pay attention to the anchor words. For those recipients who see the subject line in its entirety, for example, make sure to anchor important words on both ends of the line — their eyes will go from the first words to the last.
Keep the language user-centric
Focus on what’s in it for recipients, for example, using words such as “you” and “your” versus “we” and “our.”
- Capitalize on recipients’ curiosity
In other words, create subject lines that pique interest and entice users to open the email. For example, 64% of your colleagues couldn’t identify this mood disorder — can you?
- Align the subject line with the headline and call to action
If recipients completely skip overall email body copy — and many may — they should be able to understand the gist of the email by simply reading the subject line, headline, and call-to-action buttons. And all three should either match or read like a story.
What Is the Perfect Length for a Subject Line?
The length requirements of a subject line are influenced by the device recipients are using or the performance of your previous lines. Check the open rates of your past emails and analyze which subject lines performed best.
However, 61% of emails were opened on mobile devices, which implies that the characters should be kept at a low count. Therefore, an ideal line should be at around 41 characters, to be sure that no words are automatically cut off irrespective of the device being used.
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Author – Buddira Edirisooriya
