Email subject is one of the most fundamental aspects in email marketing. Most of the time, emails with poorly written subjects are automatically placed in the Spam folder. Furthermore, they can tarnish your reputation as a professional.
Email is one of your best channels for staying in touch with and engaging customers. If your customers aren’t opening your emails, then you’re missing tons of sales and relationship-building opportunities. Without further ado, here are eight elements of a superb email subject line that you might want to incorporate in your company’s email marketing strategy:
1. Self-Interest Factor
These are your bread and butter subject lines – you should be using them most frequently. They are usually direct and speak to a specific benefit your audience will gain by opening the email. Self-interest subject lines also help pre-qualify openers by giving them a clue about your email’s body content.
2. Curiosity
If self-interest subject lines work because they communicate a direct benefit of opening the email, curiosity-based ones succeed for the exact opposite reason. These peak the interest of subscribers without giving away too much information, leading to higher opens. Be careful though, because curiosity-based subject lines can get old fast and are the most likely to miss their mark.
3. Offer Freebies
People love free stuffs and would like to spend more if there is an “incentive”, no matter how small it is. So does your email list. When you are giving something away or selling something your subscribers would be interested in, directly stating that in your subject line is a great way to convince them to open the email and learn more.
4. Urgency/Scarcity Factor
This is the most powerful type of subject line you have at your disposal. Subject lines that communicate urgency and scarcity tell readers they must act now. Too many of these can lead to list exhaustion so use sparingly and, of course, only when there is truly a deadline, limited quantity or limited availability.
5. Humanity
Sometimes you just need to thank your subscribers or send them a holiday greeting. Don’t forget to remind your list about the person or people behind your products.
6. News Update
Keeping your audience informed about new developments in your field builds authority and keeps your open rates high. These subject lines often work well when combined with a curiosity element.
7. Social Proof
A fundamental characteristic of humans is that we look to the behavior of others when making decisions. You can leverage this in your email subject lines by mentioning individual’s success stories, familiar names, or highlighting how many people are already using a product or service.
8. Tell a Story
Telling a story, or at least teasing the beginning of one, in your subject line is a unique way to highlight a benefit and get the open rate you’re looking for.