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.

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

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.

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”.

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”).

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.

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.

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.

Here are some tips for writing subject
lines that are irresistibly inviting:

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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! :-)

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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…”
“You'll never believe who Peter's having
Breakfast with?”
Sender: Peter Alexander

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.

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!

EXAMPLES (“Make it bold, interesting or controversial”)
“IOS 7 Is Reportedly Making
People Sick”
“Love Stinks”
Sender: Etsy Dudes
Introducing the best-fitting
pants EVER”
Sender: LOFT
“Allergic to America”
Sender: Narratively

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.

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”
“To save or to splurge?
(Insert shoulder shrug here.)”
Sender: Rue La La

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.

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

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.

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.

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”
“#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

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.

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).

This presentation was created by Noya Lizor,
Head Honcho at The Best of Email, a hub for showcasing
standout emails by marketers who are “getting email right”.
Visit www.thebestofemail.com to learn more about:

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

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