One thing in email marketing is 100% certain…
More than 82% of email senders use subject lines all wrong (yes, that’s my very scientific, very specific opinion).
Your subject line is your first impression…
… And, if you get it wrong, you’re at risk for being considered spam, losing deliverability to your prospects, and even getting sent to junk folders.
And, if you’re spending money and time on sending an email, you NEED an ROI. So then the key becomes how do we make sure that from right out of the gate our emails get read?
Studies show that the roughly 25% of the workday is sifting through emails… This has become a major topic for productivity and self-help guides that encourage people to delete fast, delete often and unsubscribe as much as possible.
In spite of all of that, the use of email by consumers is indeed growing and the whole world of email marketing is changing… But so is the competition.
(Check out this 2016 Email Trends Inforgraphic by Digital Information World for more…)
So how do we compete in this world?
Start by improving your subject lines.
Real Talk About Higher Converting Subject Lines
Make sure they match your content.
So many people write subject lines first, then ramble on when they write their email. What few people know is that the spam filters are ALWAYS watching. If a spam filter skims your subject line and then skims the body of your email and feels that they’re drastically different or not consistent enough, you could be marked as spam. Moral of the story: Make sure that your subject line is relevant to what you’re talking about in the email.
Constantly worrying about subject line length is stupid.
That’s right… I said it. So many potentially great marketers have this dire urge to increase conversions and improve their marketing skills in the email world, then they fall into this trap. It sounds something like this…
… They spend 10 minutes writing and proofreading an email that they’re sure will get the clicks they’re after…
… then they spend 30 minutes on lettercount.com trying to get the subject line within the latest character count “best practice” for subject lines for that day.
The truth is, what works for one person, might not work for you.
The real zinger? I have subject lines that are four letters that convert around 47% and then I have 32 character count subject lines that beat that with 49.5% open rates.
The fact of the matter is that the subject line is about the content, your relationship with the customer or prospect and what you’re after. When you stop worrying about fitting your subject line into the flavor of the day mentality, you will write stronger subject lines, that make more sense, and build more trust in your prospects, thus resulting in more clicks.
$crew your ESP.
Well, don’t take that too literally. You do indeed need them if you’re going to market to customers and prospects via email, but don’t let them call too much of the shots.
I see so many great entrepreneurs have great messages in their head, then when they go to write, they get off track.
Why? (It’s kinda embarrassing, so brace yourself.)
Because sometimes the ESP tells them that they MUST submit a subject line before moving to body copy.
Then all of the energy in their head that was holding that amazing message gets pushed to one single line and suddenly the magic goes away.
Now, they’re getting played the ESP.
How about this?
Set a dummy subject line.
Throw the letter “A” in there.
Or put a # sign.
Move on.
Write the email then go back to it later.
You are the boss, Boss!
Are you making one of the biggest email mistakes of all time?
Chances are, you can relate to making one of these mistakes before, but I’m here to let you in on one of the biggest secrets of all time.
The BIGGEST mistake entrepreneurs make when launching and adjusting their email campaigns is this…
They fail to realize that each and every email that is sent has 3 parts to it that make up the actual subject line.
No, it’s not subject, verb, adjective.
Want to give it another guess?
The 3 Components to Every Subject Line That Generate Unbelievable Opens
1. The Sender
Believe it or not, when you send from info@yourcompanyname.com, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
When your email, along with the estimated 140 emails someone receives each day according to the Radicati Group, arrives in the reader’s inbox, usually to the left of the subject line, even before they actually see the subject line, they see that sender name.
Make it memorable and real.
Send from you.
Ie. Not a robot account.
No one wants to read an email from info@ or worse, DONOTREPLY@ (how unwelcoming is that?).
Send from Julie@ or some person from your company, showing that a real person is wanting to have a real conversation.
With that said, see if your domain offers an email address for you and stop sending from your personal email. Sending from @gmail or @yahoo can drop your professional appearance instantly. Why do that when most domain hosts allow you one email address that ends with @yourprofessionaldomainnamehere.com?
Sometimes, if your company name is trusted and well-known, you can use the best of both worlds. Send from a real person’s name, but put your company name beside it. Oftentimes, you can set how your name will appear, so you can have it read Mike at MaxYourSales or Aly [Sassy Startup].
Giving them more information and reminding them of how they know you can definitely work to your advantage in enticing them to click.
2. The Subject Line Itself
Then, of course, there’s the subject line itself.
Again, there’s no holy grail or perfect formula, but there are a few things that could help.
- Personalize. Use their name.
- Tease what’s inside the email. Is it an ebook? Are you following up on a past request with more goodies? Are you making a big announcement?
- Don’t try to squeeze it all in. The goal of the subject line is to get the open. It doesn’t have to be a novel. Get to the point quickly.
- Add urgency. Give them a reason to open right here, right now.
3. The Preheader
Have you ever noticed that right after the subject line, there’s a little preview of what’s inside the email?
Spoiler alert: That’s not always what’s inside the email.
*gasp*
Like many things in marketing, there’s a way to tweak this short line of copy, typically called the preheader, to tease the open even more.
Use this to entice the open even more. Follow up on your subject line. Offer a few more details. Give them an idea of what you’re going to cover in the email.
It’s EXTRA space. There are NO RULES.
One of my top-performing subject line/ preheader combos is:
Subject Line: The #1 Thing They’re Not Telling You About Your XXXXX
Preheader: This is a dirty rotten trick, %%First Name%%. Don’t fall for it.
Unlike where you buy your home or office, ALL REAL ESTATE IN EMAIL IS GOOD REAL ESTATE.
Take up all the square characters you can get!
Don’t Guess. Swipe our Best Subject Lines Now.
That’s right. We know that sometimes when you’re staring at that blank space to the right or below the words subject in your ESP, you can go completely blank.
Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered.
Try out some of our top performing subject lines when you claim your Email Subject Line Swipe File here.