Email marketing is a wonderfully cost-effective marketing tool. But it’s only as effective as the information presented. If your emails lack well-written, customer-relevant content, your subscribers will lose interest and your list will lose value.
Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.
As Corey Eridon wrote on the HubSpot blog, one of the most important parts of a compelling email is a compelling subject line. If it’s interesting, the reader will want to learn more. If it’s not – to the digital trash bin you go. Your excellent email copy will be for naught.
Here are 4 tips to help you write a more powerful subject line:
1. Use action language
Tell the reader what they’ll be able to do when they read your email. “Download,” “learn,” “watch,” – etc. If you want to promote your new webinar, “Register today for our new Sales Strategy Webinar!” is much stronger than “Company XYZ presents new Sales Strategy Webinar.”
Numbered lists are another powerful way to boost open rates. People just respond better to finite parameters. Take the title of this blog post, for example. It would also make a good email subject line. Much better than “Write more compelling emails.” That doesn’t indicate what the reader’s going to get. “5 tips” does.
2. Get segment-specific
You are segmenting your emails, right? According to eMarketer, highly segmented emails have 39% better open rates. Not only should your content be tailored to each different audience, but your subject line should be, too. If you’re selling a food ingredient, the emails you send to purchasing and marketing will be very different, because these audiences care about different things.
To purchasing, you might promote “4 ways to reformulate and cut costs,” while to marketing you might promote “3 things you need to know about package claims.” Trying to talk to everyone is effectively talking to no one. Make your messaging relevant.
3. Clarity trumps catchy
Write a clear, direct subject line first – and then go back and punch it up if necessary. Don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness. The two can exist in harmony – but make sure the reader knows that they’re going to get when they open your email.
4. Make promises you can keep
Rather, make sure your email content pays off the promise you make in the subject line. Don’t employ a grandiose subject line just to drive up your open rate when you’re delivering mediocre content. Readers get irritated when they don’t receive what they expect. And irritated readers quickly become former readers.
Tune in next week for tips 5-9 to learn how to craft a compelling email message, so you can keep your readers clicking!
