You may be weighing the success rate of your email marketing campaigns by metrics like open rates, clickthrough rate, unsubscribe rate, and bounce rate. But do you know the secret to increase the open rate of your emails? If not, let us tell you that the open rate of an email solely depends on the subject line. Let’s not forget that even a tiny increase in your available rates can make a massive difference for your business.
This is why every unopened email can lead to a vast opportunity being lost in achieving revenue. However, customers tend to get tons of emails in their inbox and so the only thing that can make you stand out is the subject line. Since a subject line is the first thing a recipient sees, marketers create a subject line so that the recipient gets a good first impression. But drafting a subject that the recipients can’t resist opening is difficult.
The average open rate is over 14.1%, so you are not alone. Every marketer would have wondered, “What makes a good email subject line?” Any good subject line should convey urgency, curiosity, personalization, value, and offers that appeal to your target audience.
Mastering the art of email marketing subject line should be the top priority of any marketing professional because increasing your open rate will increase your sales.
This guide will share subject lines that will boost your email open rates to as high as 46%.
What is an email open rate?
Analyzing the right metrics for your marketing campaigns is extremely important since email campaigns account for over a 3800% increase in ROI, which is approximately $38 for every $1 invested. And bad open rates have plagued marketing professionals for many years now. An email open rate is one of the most important metrics used to measure the success of email marketing campaigns. It measures the percentage of opened emails for a specific email marketing message.
The open rate usually shows the rate at which you could catch the recipient’s attention with the subject line. The average available rate across all industries is 17%; the studies also show that recipients tend only to open emails that appear relevant to them. A study done by Inverp found that over 47% of recipients opened their emails based on their email subject lines, while the other 69% of subscribers put their emails in the spam box based on their subject lines.
You can calculate your open rates by this formula: Open rate = (total unique opens ÷ total recipients) x 100
Before we show how to make a compelling subject line, let’s look at the different types of subject lines we can create.
What is an email subject line?
For those who don’t know, a subject line is a single-line text a recipient sees after the sender’s name when an email reaches their inbox. Creating eye-catching subject lines will help increase open rates because of natural human principles and psychological tendencies. A subject line can also improve reader engagement and get one step closer to reaching your sales goals. We now know that a subject line has the power to either make or break your email campaigns.
But have you ever wondered what makes email subject lines so important? People nowadays are extremely busy and don’t have the time to check every single sales email they get, and the competition out there is hard enough! Email subject lines are best ways to increase your open rates and grab your B2B leads attention.
Questions that you must ask yourself before drafting an email subject line
1. Who are you selling your products and services to?
Answering this question will help you find your target audience and try to understand their needs, expectations, and pain points. Think of what would be interesting and what would increase the sense of urgency to the recipients.
2. Are they familiar with your company already?
Ask if your target audience already knows about your brand or not. This will help you draft an introductory email and a relevant subject line.
3. What would motivate them to respond?
Your subject line should provide some value and highlight the point of subject line that will encourage them to open and read the email.
4. What are you trying to sell?
You should know the value your products and services will provide your clients. Make sure that your target audience is interested in what you are offering.
5. What is the goal of your email?
You should know what you are aiming to get from your recipients; it can be opens, replies, or conversions. It would help if you determined the goals you want to achieve this will help you construct a better subject line.
6. Do you have any mutual connections with recipients?
Use the information in your subject line if you have mutual connections with the recipients. It will increase the chance of conversions with them.
Types of subject lines you can use to boost your open rates
1. Personalized subject lines
Personalization is one of the most effective email marketing tactics that should frequently be used in email subject lines. Adding a personalized touch to emails can increase your average open rate by 7.4%. Besides adding the subscribers’ names, you can also use colloquial language, location-specific deals, share something personal, or something that implies familiarity.
- Hey (name), I hope you haven’t forgotten us.
- Happy birthday, (Name)! There is a surprise waiting for you.
- Hi, (name), “check out these hand-picked deals.”
- Thanks for subscribing to our email list (name).
- Hey (name), are you still coming?
2. Fear of missing out (FOMO) subject lines
Customers tend to respond better when they get the fear of missing out on something. Words such as “expiring,” “limited,” “urgent,” “breaking,” “important,” or “alert” will make the recipients think that your products are in limited availability and might also bring a sense of time running out to the mind.
- ATTENTION! Your exclusive offer expires today.
- The limited edition (product) goes adieu tonight.
- You only have one day left before the offer expires
- Hurry! The time is running out… grab the offer now!
- “Your 7-figure plan goes bye-bye at midnight”
3. Curiosity subject lines
Humans are said to be curious, so you can leverage this desire for closure by adding elements of curiosity to the subject lines. You can ask a question, promise something or even add a cliffhanger to drive the recipients’ curiosity.
- Don’t open this email!!
- Is this mystery email all about you? Take a sneak peek!
- Ten bizarre tips that can improve your conversion rates
- Want to uncover the secrets to [subject] success?
- Look inside for the hottest [deal/offer] of this summer!
4. Funny subject lines
If a subject line is funny, it will amuse your recipients and encourage them to open the email. Make jokes that your target audience will relate to. If your joke is successful and makes them laugh or smile, they will open your emails.
- Since we can’t all hit the jackpot, here is an offer you will like!
- We are the real deal (unlike Pinocchio). Have a look!
- Winter is coming ….so is our end-of-the-year offers.
- Making spreadsheets never felt so good”.
- “New! Vacation on Mars”.
5. Vanity subject lines
Vanity, also known as an ego boost subject line, will be an effective way to drive attention. People love to be liked, accepted, and even revered by others, and everybody has at least a little vanity. So, draft an email that makes them feel better than their peers.
- Hey (name), we are in need of your refined taste.
- Don’t settle for anything lesser than the best.
- You will look good in our newest collection!
- Are you as ready as ever?
- You deserve so much better!
6. Incentive subject lines
Providing sales, offers, discounts, or other incentives like free shipping will improve your open rates. Numerous studies have also proved that customers purchase when they receive a discount or an offer.
- Psst!! Up to 75% OFF is happening right now!
- Congrats on getting free shipping for your next purchase
- 25 % OFF + Thanksgiving shopping deals
- Only 1 Day Left! Huge Black Friday 50% OFF SALE!
- 25% OFF!! Code GIFT25! It ends in 24 hours!
7. Retargeting subject line
The retargeting subject line has only one goal: to reach out to the subscribers to complete the action they couldn’t complete the last time. You can push the conversion rates up to 30%. These emails will help you bring your subscribers back to your sales process.
- Great news! Your selected items are now back in stock.
- Did you forget this discount coupon last time?
- Hey, forget something. Get a 30% off.
- The price dropped for something in your cart.
- It looks like you missed out on these new features.
8. Pain points subject lines
These subject lines will help you address the recipients’ pain points and invoke the reader’s curiosity. But for this, you need to have a good grip over the ideal buyer persona and do in-depth research on your target audience.
- Fuel your automation efforts in just a few simple steps
- Learn how to code in just a few days!
- Easy hacks for higher engagement rates
- Get over your [relevant pain point] with these tips
- Top strategies to increase clickthrough rate
If you are sending holiday-based email campaigns or are looking for more such subject lines. Then our Black Friday subject lines will help you close those deals.
Strategies for email subject lines
1. Test your email subject lines
It is essential to A/B test your email subject lines because the subject has the power to attract different people, and the email list also keeps growing. So, you can form two or more subject lines and the A/B test variations on a small portion of your audience, this way, you will find out which subject line performs better.
2. Find your audience’s voice
You should do in-depth research to find the audience’s voice; it may be time-consuming but will benefit you greatly. You can do a few things to get started: conduct multiple customer surveys, schedule interviews with clients, analyze the qualitative data, and identify trends.
3. Be descriptive and clear
While making your email subject line, it is essential to be clear and direct. Use specific words carefully, as minute changes can have huge rewards. Avoid using generic or clique sentences such as, “Thanks for subscribing!” or “Click here to buy now,” as they seem rather impersonal.
4. Optimize for mobile
While optimizing the subject line for mobile, keep it within a certain number of characters. If you go beyond the character length, it won’t be visible on the mobile, and the recipient might not open it. Keep your subject lines short and get straight to the point. The optimal length appears to be between 6 to 10 words.
- The perfect solution to your (pain point)
- (Name), want to learn more about (solution)?
- We have an exclusive discount for you!
5. Segment your email list
If you segment your email list, you can create curated subject lines and content based on their needs, wants, and expectations. You can also segment the list based on demographics, interests, location, and purchase history. The recipients can relate to your subject lines and open them.
- We have compiled these product recommendations just for you!
- Get 25% off (product or service category) today online.
- Learn more about (pain point) here.
6. Create a sense of urgency
If a product has an ample supply, the customers may not hurry to purchase the product. So, if you want your clients to be in a rush to buy your products and services, then you have to leverage your subject lines to create a sense of urgency. Showing scarcity and limited availability of a product or service because it can increase its perceived value.
- Don’t miss out; you have one day left!
- Hurry before it’s too late. Limited stock left!!
- Tonight only: Limited period offer for (name).
7. Add emojis
You can add the correct number of emojis and make your subject line stand out pretty quickly. You can get creative with different emojis, but make sure the emoji is relevant. According to a study by Experian, using emojis in your subject lines can increase your open rates by 45%. Examples:
- Do you have time for a virtual coffee chat? ☕
- The 🔑 to unlocking marketing success
- (Name), awesome to meet you at the (Event)😊
Endnote
Any good subject line can skyrocket the entire sales process to produce more sales for any product or service. And since email marketing changes extremely fast, you need to implement strategies for creating the best email marketing subject lines. You can use the tried and tested subject line given above, and we are sure you will increase your open rate by 46%. We hope the strategies and tips above help you create an email subject line.
About the author
Sid Wilson
Sid Wilson is DataCaptive's foremost Business Development Manager, who is an expert in attracting new clients, researching new market opportunities, and overseeing growth projects. He is passionate about helping out marketers by spreading knowledge on remarketing, content marketing, and the latest tech trends of the B2B industry. His blogs will give you all the necessary facts and you can boost your business. When he is not working, you can find him binge-watching, hiking and going on long drives.
