We are continuing our series on email marketing for beginners with the topic of email subject lines.
Email Subject Lines
I want to give you some pointers, some ideas about what to use for your email subject lines, and, of course, some things to avoid. So let’s hop right in. Number one in tips or suggestions is:
Keep your subject line brief.
The ideal length of your subject line will vary because, depending on if someone is reading the email from their phone or a mobile device, from a tablet or from a desktop computer, it’s going to change what they see in terms of the subject line. So if it’s shorter, it’s better because they can see more of the actual subject line. You also want to build curiosity. You want people to be curious enough to actually open the email. So create curiosity and grab their attention so that they will be willing to open the email.
Test subject lines.
Another thing that you can do is to test your subject lines. Most email service providers, such as ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, MailerLite, and MailChimp, have the option to test between two subject lines to see which one performs better. Also, a way that you can entice them to open is to use urgency. Generate urgency to capture the attention of your audience and also to encourage them to not wait to open this email.
Personalize.
You can also personalize it. There are ways that you can… using the software, the email service provider, you can put their first name in the subject line itself.
You can use questions.
If you’re sending a sales email, consider using a question. Questions provide them just enough information to help them pique their curiosity, like I said before, and want to open the email.
Use numbers.
You might use numbers to refer to the title of your list, the page length of the offer you might be offering, or a specific discount; you know, those types of things.
Use emojis.
Also, an encouraging and enticing thing to want to open. Something that I learned this past year is to use emojis. Use emojis carefully, but you can use emojis because they add, you know, some visual appeal to your subject line. And so you have to be careful with them and make sure they’re not offensive, but using them can encourage people to open your emails.
Be very specific and clear in your subject line. It should indicate the content, but also the purpose of your email. Make sure that your email subject line is relevant to what is actually in the email, because it’s so important that once they open it, they actually get something that they’re expecting from the email.
Dos and Don’ts.
Okay, so I’m going to now share with you some don’ts of email subject lines. Because, you know, there’s some dos and don’ts.
Let’s start with the don’ts.
Not using preheader text.
When it comes to email subject lines, you know, I like to do research when it comes to sharing these items with you. I used a website this time called myemma.com, and I will reference that in the show notes. So, myemma.com says, these are just a few of the things, not all of them.
Don’t forget the preheader text.
When you open your email and you see who the email is from in the largest text, then you see this subject line in a little bit smaller text, then you see some text that looks kind of like it’s grayed out, that is what is called preheader text.
So many people don’t even know what that is. But it can really make or break your open rates because it kind of gives them a little bit more information than is in this subject line. If you don’t put any preheader text, it takes the first like line or two from the email itself and puts it there. So if you want to really take advantage of that, you would put specific text in preheader text.
Another no-no is…
Not optimizing your emails for mobile.
According to myemma.com, 81% regularly use their smartphone to check emails. So it’s critical that your emails, including your subject lines, are optimized.
Don’t shout.
A huge no-no is shouting in your subject lines. Do you know how you shout on, in text? That is by using all caps. So avoid using all caps in your subject line.
Don’t use special characters.
Another no-no is special characters. These are characters like a $ sign, a # sign, an @ symbol, an & symbol. And the reason you don’t want to use these is it triggers the spam. It triggers spam and your, so your emails may end up in the spam folder. That’s not what we want.
Don’t use spammy words.
You also don’t want to fill your subject line with spammy words. Spammy words, again, are going to end you up in the spam folder, and it will also damage your reputation as a sender.
Don’t use one-word subject lines.
One-word subject lines are another no-no. Keeping them short is a good idea, but not too short is important. You’re unlikely to have someone open your email if you just use a one-word subject line. It also makes you appear lazy, unprofessional, and spammy.
Great subject line examples.
All right, now I want to share some awesome subject lines and I’m going to go over to my email. I actually saved some of the emails that I believe are great subject lines. So one of those comes from the article on HubSpot.com, the name of the article is 157 of the best email subject lines. I, again, will make sure that I put this in the notes section so you can go and check it out. I’m just going to read a few of these because I don’t want this podcast episode to just keep going on and on.
I’ll do five great subject lines:
The timer’s going off on your cart. Now this is only, obviously, if you have a shopping cart and you’re using that and you can track it and that sort of thing. So that’s not a very relevant one to us, but I did really like it.
Some other ones are Three ways to improve __________ and you fill in the blank. Three ways to improve your writing, three ways to improve your garden, three ways to improve your skincare, whatever it is that is relevant to you that uses that number. And it also gives them something they want. Don’t open this email. That’s just piquing your curiosity. So that is a great one.
Another great one is another fill in the blank one for us. It would be do not commit these _____ atrocities. So depending on what your subject is in this particular instance, the subject was Instagram atrocities. But it might be writing atrocities. It might be, you know, like I said before, gardening atrocities.
There’s so many fill in the blank ones that you can personalize or optimize to your particular subject. Another one is everything you ever wanted to know about ____ but were too afraid to ask. All of these fill in the blank help entice them in your specific subject area. Watch out for this _____ scam, you know, because there’s different types of scams that go around.
So I hope that these give you some good examples of email subject lines to start out with, to avoid, what to avoid, what to do, and what not to do– all the do’s and don’ts. And I hope this was super helpful. I will say I’m going to put a couple more of our podcast episodes in the show notes that go along with this, because I’ve done this subject several times in just different ways.
And also, if you do not have an email service provider, like MailerLite, MailChimp, etc., or you don’t have an email list and you’re looking to build your email list, I highly recommend doing so. And if that is something you need help with, myself and my team at Alyssa Avant and Company would love to help you. So please don’t be afraid to reach out.
Questions? Join the Group!
If you have specific questions about hosting a virtual summit, I’d love to get those because that would help me to make sure that I’m covering everything that you’re interested in knowing during this series on the podcast. You can submit your questions inside The Christian Business Advantage Facebook group. I look forward to seeing you there!
