6 Quick Steps to a
More Powerful Subject Line
Dear Business Builder,
Happy Friday and it’s nice to see you back. In today’s issue of In the ‘Net Trenches I’m going to talk about one of the most forgotten aspects of many an e-mail campaign – the subject line.
In e-mail marketing, you typically have three key components:
- Your Subject Line
- Your E-mail
- Your Landing Page
Your subject line is your first line of attack in your e-mail marketing arsenal. Your subject line is what dictates your open rate … or how many prospects will actually see your e-mail. It stands to reason; the more people that open your e-mails, the more potential prospects will actually respond or buy from you.
Are you starting to see why this one little piece of copy is more important than you might have thought?
Done properly, a subject line can not only entice more prospects to open your e-mails … but done well it can also pre-sell your offer and get your prospect saying yes with just 35 characters of text.
6 Subject Line Tactics Guaranteed to Get the Open!
1. Ask A Question – Questions make great subject lines. A carefully crafted question has the ability to get your prospect focused on saying yes to your offer before you even make it.
Here are a few examples from my inbox I think do an excellent job:
Who else wants to lose 30 pounds in 90 days?
Do you burn with the desire to write short stories?
Did you get enough fiber today?
2. Leave Em Hanging – Make your subject line an incomplete thought that can only be finished by opening your e-mail. The desire to get the answer to the clue will get the open every time …
Here are a few good ones:
Starts in 20 minutes …
What the _______?…
Julie, there will never be a better time …
3. Spike Their Curiosity – Curiosity killed the cat and so did the subject line. Curiosity driven subject lines can drive your open rates through the roof. I’ve seen them easily double open rates in head-to-head tests.
Here are few I like:
It’s a Heart Surgeon Conspiracy …
How to leverage 100 stocks through a single investment …
Crank up your speakers …
4. Make It Personal – It’s no doubt your prospects are weeding through their in-box looking for personal e-mail. Just adding their first name in the subject line has been proven over and over to improve open rates … but let’s take personal one step further …
What do you think of these?
Julie, I apologize …
“Why didn’t you tell me, Julie?”
Julie, John said you should …
5. Use The News – Topicality is an extremely motivating factor especially in markets that are driven by what’s going on in the news … financial, political and health newsletter publishing immediately come to mind. But, use your imagination and I’ll bet you can find ways to piggyback on news stories in your e-mail marketing efforts too.
Here are several examples:
Bernanke Should Take a Hike!
China denounces dollar … gold & oil exploding … what to do …
Angioplasty as Good as Bypass Surgery?
6. Create A Sense Of Urgency – Subject lines with a good sense of urgency scream "open me now otherwise you’re going to miss something really important!"
Here are a few examples you could try:
Urgent – You need to read this
Urgent Health Alert – Dissolve Deadly Artery Plaque
Urgent Strategy Update – 10 hours left to register
3 quick subject line rules to live by …
When it comes to creating subject lines here are 3 quick rules of thumb …
- Keep it short – Subject lines should be short, punchy and to the point so they can be easily read at a glance. Keep subject lines to approximately 35 characters (not including spaces) or less.
- When in doubt hire a copywriter – If you have a professional copywriter writing your e-mail copy and your landing pages, be sure to have them include a handful of subject lines to test at the same time.
- Avoid the hype – Leave overly salesy subject lines to Amazon.com and E-bay. Quote discounts and special offers in your subject lines only if your customers know you well and buy from you frequently. Otherwise stick to subject lines that don’t reveal the offer right upfront … and avoid subject lines that scream “Caution: you’re about to be sold!”
One last thought before I go …
The from line on your e-mail messages can be just as important as the subject line when it comes to getting the open. If your prospects and customers are used to dealing with you personally (most typical in info-publishing), then the from line should have your name.
On the contrary, if you are selling hard goods and your customers and prospects are used to purchasing from your company, then the e-mail should come from your company name.
Word to the wise, avoid having a from line that looks something like this … support@domain.com or customerservice@domain.com … this is the kiss of death.
Hope that helped and have a great weekend!
Until next week,
Julie McManus
Editor, In the ‘Net Trenches
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
And Web Media Goddess
P.S. Are you in the ‘net trenches? Do you need help? Send
me an e-mail to AskJulie@MakepeaceTotalPackage.com and
I just might answer your question in an upcoming issue.
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