Better Subject Lines
A well-crafted subject line will get more people to open your emails and you’ll get better results from your nurture mailings.
Here are a few tips to help you write great subject lines.
Do…
1. Keep it simple and action-oriented.
Tell people what’s inside your email (don’t get cutesy or mislead them just to get them to open the message). Make it easy to understand what’s in the email that benefits them.
2. Use keywords.
You want people to save your emails and be able to find them later. If you use the keywords they are likely to search on in your subject line, it will be easier to find.
3. Test and measure.
Try different things and see what works best for your audience. You might try personalizing (use their name in the subject line), being positive vs. negative (Stay vs Don’t Go), and quantifying (10 Tips vs. Tips).
Don’t…
Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
1. Don’t use the same subject every time.
Don’t make the mistake so many people do and use “Mary’s Email Newsletter” – that doesn’t give people enough of a reason to open the message. Tell them what’s inside.
2. Don’t put your company name at the beginning of the subject line.
Use your name or your company’s name as the sender instead. Remember that many people are viewing partial subject lines (some phones display only 10 characters) so you want to get the most important information up front.
3. If you use the word “free” don’t put it at the beginning, use all caps or add an exclamation point.
It is OK to use the word “free” (it’s pretty powerful, after all). Just don’t over-use it, and don’t make it look spammy.
One last tip… After you’ve written your subject line, put it aside for a few hours to a day. Then come back to it and look at it as if you were one of the people receiving the email.
Imagine that you are busy and are looking for an excuse to delete as many messages as possible. Would you save and open it?
If not, spend a little more time crafting a better subject line. It’s worth the effort.
Judy is my Nurture Marketing Mentor and owner of ProResource LLC
