Email marketing has a lot of different moving parts — starting with the infamous subject line.
The subject of an email message must succinctly convey brand voice while intriguing consumers to dive further into the inside contents, and marketers are the lucky few who get to make it happen. In short, email subject lines are a delicate art.
Those who get it right often follow specific best practices. Listed below are five of them. Check them out to learn how you can create email subject lines your subscribers won't be able to resist.
Leverage current trends
In 2021, one thing is for certain: Most consumers live, eat and breathe the internet. Shoppers of all backgrounds have immediate access to the top trends on a daily basis. While this may seem like an unhealthy concept, marketers have many reasons to celebrate.
Digital marketing offers brands the ability to communicate with consumers at any time, for any reason. Including trendy catch phrases or goods and services increases brand relevance in the lives of consumers who are already showing interest in these topics. By demonstrating an understanding of modern culture, businesses also present as trustworthy, knowledgeable sources to email subscribers, making it more likely that subscribers will not only open that email, but tune in for more.
Add urgency
A staple in marketing psychology, urgency marketing can dramatically increase positive reception of a brand’s email marketing. It can also motivate higher open rates when added to subject lines.
Brands have been known to use urgency marketing to create a fear of missing out (FOMO) that motivates consumers to take action. This FOMO, typically prompted by limited-time offers and flash sales, fuels many shoppers to make purchases.
It can also be relevant in email subject lines. If there's a limited-time offer inside, including it in the subject line can motivate consumers to open. So can psychology elements like social proof. Many of these are already inside of brand emails — pulling them into the subject line will help improve it.
Keep it short
Consumers are busy and oftentimes don't have time (or patience) for lengthy information.
In addition, thanks to social media platforms like Twitter, people have gotten used to receiving content in small chunks. And for many, this has become a preference. That's not to say consumers aren’t interested in learning as much as possible about a new service or discount being offered — only that many want it to take less time.
Keeping subject lines short can help.
Marketers can achieve this by saying only what’s necessary in the subject line and also by picking one angle and sticking to it. They can think of it as helping to eliminate extra time spent reading the subject line so as to encourage subscribers to use that energy looking over the inside copy.
Make it personal
Feeling a connection to brands tends to be important to the average consumer. Personalizing a subject line is a quick and easy way marketers can change how the email is received.
Adding correct pronouns or including a subscriber’s name in the subject line helps the shopper associate themselves with brand material such as an email or service.
The subtle acknowledgement that personalization offers has the potential to peak their interest just enough to make them open the email.
Be catchy
Similar to a fun commercial jingle, an interesting email subject can remain in a subscriber’s mind for days.
For many marketers, this is a dream come true. Staying top of mind can be quite difficult. Maintaining relevance continues to be a top priority for many brands, and offering a catchy subject line is one creative way to accomplish that goal.
Catchy subject lines often include pieces of the other tactics mentioned above, like leveraging current trends. Considering how you might be able to leverage a trend with subject-line content that entertains the subscriber can help start the brainstorming process.
The tips above are just a few that can help brands craft stronger subject lines — but they each offer a chance to increase opens and email marketing performance.
