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How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

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Learn 11 great tips for writing subject lines that get emails opened and check out some awesome examples! You can also view the article that this SlideShare presentation is based on at http://bit.ly/Rljmjx. For more examples of standout emails and a regular dose of "email inspiration" subscribe to The Best of Email's newsletter at http://bit.ly/1iSehF7.

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Page 2: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

With over180 billion emails sent and

received worldwide every day in 2013,

today’s average inbox has become a jungle of

emails, some wanted, and many unwanted.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 3: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

then it’s understandable that the battle for our limited inbox-attention

is one of the email marketer’s biggest challenges.

If you consider that it takes just seconds for most of us to scan

our inboxes and decide which emails to open, which to “save

for later” and which to delete without even reading,

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 4: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

Typically, people who are inclined to

opt-in to a newsletter in the first

place will usually subscribe to more

than one, so as an email marketer

you’d do well to presume that your

competitors are vying for your

subscribers’ attention just as fiercely

as you are.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 5: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

And since today’s typical subscribers are time-poor and bestow their

brand-loyalty sparingly, only the cream of email marketers will rise

above the others in their ongoing quest for a guaranteed email “open”.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 6: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

So what can you do to out-open

your competition?

For starters, you must deliver highly

relevant, interesting and useful content.

If you consistently send content that

subscribers find valuable or entertaining,

chances are that they’ll grow more inclined

to open your emails as a matter of habit

(a.k.a. “email marketing nirvana”).

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 7: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

But even if a subscriber enjoys

your content on a regular basis,

some days his inbox is so

overflowing that the sheer

volume of unopened emails is

enough to turn him off opening

any of them.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 8: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

That means that you can’t

ever rest on the laurels of

your email content alone,

you also need to gate it

SO attractively that your

subscribers won’t be able

to resist a peek at it.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 9: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

That “gate” is your subject line,

and mastering the art of writing

effective subject lines is therefore

one of the most important keys to

boosting your email open rates.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 10: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

Here are some tips for writing subject

lines that are irresistibly inviting:

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 11: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

1. Be different.

First, subscribe to your competitor’s newsletters

to get a sense of the most common types of

subject lines they use. Then, review your own

subject lines and see how they stack up.

What you want is to stand out by

giving your subject lines an edge

that the others don’t have.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 12: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Be different”)

“A Look Inside Our Suit Jacket”

Sender: Brooks Brothers

“Meet a Member of the Paul

Mitchell Team”

Sender: Paul Mitchell

“Jessica Alba is our new guest

editor!”

Sender: Piperlime

“Win 1000 Gumballs -

Moosejaw Word Find”

Sender: Moosejaw

“Saving Millions Of Bottles From

Our Oceans & Landfill”

Sender: Billabong

“Make-Up or Break-Up”

Sender: Moosejaw

“Let's hit 500,000.”

Sender: CB2

“Time To Get #AerieREAL!”

Sender: Aerie

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 13: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

2. Make one

piece of content

the “hero” of your

subject line.

The visible part of a subject line is

restricted in length and since too much

information in a limited amount of

space can be daunting to read, make

things easier for your subscribers by

simplifying your offering.

Your newsletter may well contain more

than one piece of content, but for

maximum impact pick the one item you

care about most and make it the hero

of your subject line.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 14: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (Make one piece of content the “hero”)

“The making of an eye-con…”

Sender: Sephora

“The Truth About The 30-Hour

Work Week”

Sender: Fast Company

“The science behind why diets

usually don't work”

Sender: TED.com

“The Great Indoors”

Sender: Etsy

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 15: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

3. Make your subscribers curious.

Sometimes, spelling things out

directly is the most sensible

strategy, but in some situations a

little intrigue can be a powerful

motivator to dig deeper.

Using a little cryptic mystery in

your subject line can be so

tantalizing (if done well) that

your subscribers literally won’t

be able to resist opening the

email to see what it’s all about.

NOTE: If you’re going to use the ‘curiosity tactic’, be sure to

live up to the implied intrigue in your email content. If you

imply something promising in your subject line only to under-

deliver once the email is opened, this tactic will lose its effect.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 16: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Make your subscribers curious”)

“Which undies are you?”

Sender: Bonds

“The surprising secret to healthy hair”

Sender: Living Proof

“What could be better than Lobster & Steak?”

Sender: Bonefish Grill

“The top 10 designs of 2013. Hint: there are only 9.”

Sender: Threadless

“Easiest $10 Ever”

Sender: Moosejaw

“What’s cozy, crazy, and striped all over?”

Sender: Kate Spade Saturday

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 17: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

4. Be quirky or really funny.

Let’s face it, the average inbox isn’t

exactly the stuff of fun and laughter.

When we see a bunch of unopened

newsletters in our inbox, we usually

suspect that they contain some sort of

offer and we “brace ourselves” for the

predictable marketing pitch.

So when we come across a subject

line that’s unexpectedly funny or truly

clever, it’s like a breath of fresh air an

otherwise dull and predictable inbox.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 18: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

The moment that the corners of our

mouths begin to form a smile or blurt out a

giggle in response to a funny subject line is

the moment that our inclination to open

the email multiplies exponentially, if for no

other reason than to reward the marketer’s

effort to entertain rather than bore us.

Humour goes a long way (good humour,

that is! :-)

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 19: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Be quirky or funny”)

“Wish You Were Beer”

Sender: Etsy

“It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... no,

it's a plane.”

Sender: Threadless

“Don't go topless. Shop our

tees, sweaters, and more.”

Sender: Rue La La

“Give a gift wrapped cow this

Christmas”

Sender: Hot Rum Cow

“This email is bigger on the

inside.”

Sender: Threadless

“It's National Men's Day - We

Support Your Package! Free Brief!”

Sender: American Apparel

“We lied last time. THESE are the

best Moosejaw jackets ever.”

Sender: Moosejaw

“Oil-vey”

Sender: Dean & DeLuca

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 20: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

5. Make it urgent. If your message is time sensitive or if you have something to

promote that your subscribers would find valuable and would

be upset to miss out on, then adding an element of urgency to

your subject line is appropriate and can be very effective.

A few caveats to this tip though:

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 21: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

1. Use it sparingly. If you use the

element of urgency too frequently,

subscribers will learn to anticipate

that most your emails seem to be

urgent, and once urgency becomes

the norm it will lose its effect.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 22: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

2. Use it honestly. Don’t abuse the

element of urgency by applying it to

promotions that aren’t all that urgent,

because this too will ruin the effect for

promotions that genuinely are urgent.

Something that may seem like a priority

for you as the promoter may not seem

so urgent to your subscribers, so

consider carefully whether the element

of urgency is truly appropriate before

you use it.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 23: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

3. Be creative, not predictable.

So many subject lines these days begin

with frenzied pleas like “Don’t miss out!”,

“Last chance!” and the all-annoying

“Hurry!”, that their excessive overuse

actually diminishes the sense of urgency

instead of increasing it.

So to give credibility to the element of

urgency in your subject lines, be creative

and try to stay away from the irritatingly

clichéd and overused calls-to-action.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 24: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Make it urgent”)

“Laneway - A Must Have Denim for Summer.”

Sender: Billabong

“Not to be dramatic, but this is your last chance.”

Sender: Rue La La

“Just in: the limited-edition Beck frames”

Sender: Warby Parker

“A $500 prize could be just a sketch away….”

Sender: ModCloth

“Vote now! Choose the #BeckhamforHM ad

that will appear in the Super Bowl”

Sender: H&M

“There's an expiration date on this one”

Sender: Madewell

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 25: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

6. Make it conversational. Back in the early days of email marketing, subject lines used to sound

relatively formal, probably because they were still regarded as just

another type of “correspondence via email”.

Happily, we’ve loosened up a lot since then thanks to the advent of

about a million new messaging options that call for virtually no

formality at all, and this informality has trickled into our inboxes too.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 26: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

When we send and receive emails, we are

after all just people trying to talk to each

other, right? So sometimes the best way to

connect with subscribers in the subject line

is to say what you want to say as though

they were right in front of you.

A conversational approach makes you sound

more accessible and makes the subject of

the email sound more relatable.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 27: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Make it conversational”)

“Repeat outfit syndrome? We understand.”

Sender: Madewell

“Yay, you signed up.”

Sender: TOMS

“One date. Two outfits. Decisions, decisions.”

Sender: Madewell

“Introducing the totes amazing new lunchbox!”

Sender: Smiggle

“Let’s talk about this incredible trench…”

Sender: Kate Spade Saturday

“You'll never believe who Peter's having

Breakfast with?”

Sender: Peter Alexander

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 28: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

7. Make it bold, interesting

or controversial.

Ever come across a well-written teaser

for a juicy piece of news or a provocative

statement that didn’t make you want to

learn more about it?

If your answer is “yes” then either the

teaser wasn’t well-written or it wasn’t

written in a language that you can read.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 29: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

Subject lines that are based on a bold or

interesting statement or on something

that sounds controversial are a great

way to pique a subscriber’s curiosity.

But as with the caveats for some of the

previous tips, this is another one that

should be used sparingly. If too many of

your subject lines sound controversial

then eventually your subscribers might

start thinking of you as nothing more

than a drama queen!

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 30: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Make it bold, interesting or controversial”)

“IOS 7 Is Reportedly Making

People Sick”

Sender: Fast Company

“Love Stinks”

Sender: Etsy Dudes

Introducing the best-fitting

pants EVER”

Sender: LOFT

“Allergic to America”

Sender: Narratively

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 31: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

8. Make it strike a chord.

If you can make your subject line

relatable to your subscribers so that

they feel that you really “get” them,

then this instant affinity can be just

the thing that inspires them to

open your email and check out the

rest of your message.

The best email marketers know their audiences well enough to

understand what makes them tick, sparks their interest and inspires

them into action, whether it’s a common concern, goal or interest.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 32: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (“Make it strike a chord”)

“Obsessed with finding the perfect jeans? Us too.”

Sender: Madewell

“Bags, Undoubtedly a Girl's Best Friend”

Sender: Sambag

“A few tidbits on sizing & fit”

Sender: ModCloth

“When you find the one, you just know.

Same goes for dresses.”

Sender: Rue La La

“Californian Camper Van Adventures?

Yeah Dude”

Sender: Kate Spade Saturday

“To save or to splurge?

(Insert shoulder shrug here.)”

Sender: Rue La La

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 33: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

9. Don’t make it too “salesy” There are only so many subject lines containing the words “40% off!” and “Sale!”

that a typical subscriber can be bombarded with before they permanently numb

his excitement over the opportunity to “save” because this opportunity simply

repeats itself too frequently to carry any special appeal or warrant urgent action.

If you care about the sanity of your subscribers and understand the merits of

selling in moderation, you should apply this philosophy to your retail emails too.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 34: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (Don’t make it too “salesy”)

“The leather jacket to end all

leather jackets (+ an extra 25%

off sale)” - Sender: Madewell

“100s of dresses are here.

Where are you?”

Sender: Rue La La

“more offers than you can poke

a pencil at!”

Sender: Smiggle

“It pays to be a morning

person.”

Sender: Banana Republic

“Dun dun dunnnnn.”

Sender: Rue La La

“This sale is undead for 9 more

hours. (Then it's just dead.)”

Sender: Threadless

“A Fiver off Five Products.”

Sender: Firebox

“Groundhog, shmoundhog: 25%

off what you need for spring”

Sender: J.Crew

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 35: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

10. Use ‘how to’, ‘numbered lists’ and

‘trending keywords’.

People appreciate an opportunity to

learn something new about subjects

that interest them, so ‘how to’ subject

lines (like “How to write subject lines

that get emails opened”) and

‘numbered list’ subject lines (like “11

killer tips to writing highly clickable

subject lines”) are still effective despite

their widespread use.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 36: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

Also, if you keep up with trending keywords that are relevant to

your industry or your audience, using them in your subject lines

can be a great way to add timely and topical relevance to your

messages, making them a lot more appealing to click on.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 37: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

EXAMPLES (Use ‘how to’, ‘numbered lists’ and ‘trending keywords’)

“How to Tie a Tie”

Sender: Brooks Brothers

“The infographic guide to

responsive email design”

Sender: Litmus

“11 Expert Tips To Help You Be

More Productive In 2014”

Sender: Fast Company

“#AmericaIsBeautiful: The Coca-

Cola Ad That Has Everyone

Talking “ - Sender: Coca Cola

“How to nail the Slips

& Camis trend”

Sender: Sportsgirl

“Get a gift for a guy & learn 3

ways to wrap it!”

Sender: ModCloth

“How to beat stage fright”

Sender: TED.com

“How chefs cut onions”

Sender: PureWow

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 38: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

11. Never overpromise, mislead or lie.

Most of us have a very low tolerance

level for email marketers who trick us

into opening an email only to find that

the content within isn’t even remotely

relevant to the premise of the subject

line. The disdain we feel for the

marketer or brand when this happens

is usually swift and permanent.

www.thebestofemail.com

Page 39: How to write subject lines that get emails opened (with awesome examples from great brands!)

As the ancient sages used to say:

“Open a marketing email with a bogus

subject line once – shame on the marketer.

Open a marketing email with a bogus

subject line twice – shame on you!”

So don’t fib in your subject lines (ever).

www.thebestofemail.com