Email Marketing: Master the Art of the Subject Line

by Victor Green
3 mins read
Woman smiling at laptop

When you’re building an email marketing campaign, chances are you’re spending time planning the best course of action. While you’re carefully crafting your content, however, don’t forget to take the time to master the fundamentals!

Imagine you’ve finally finished your campaign creation process and are ready to start sending out emails. You’re confident that your emails are engaging and will catch your audience’s attention, and you can’t wait to get started. Now, let’s consider the worst-case scenario when it comes to email marketing — no one opens your email. Instead, they send it to their trash or spam folder, and move on with their day. How will that affect your business?

Interesting and interactive content is great, but even the most refined emails will do absolutely nothing if no one opens it. That’s why you should take the time to ensure that you’ve mastered the fundamentals of the marketing email. The most important part? The subject line.

Let’s take a look at some of the best strategies to creating the best subject lines possible.

Young man and woman meeting at a coffee shop

Make it Personal

While this might not be feasible for every market, one of the best things you can do to help increase the chances of the recipient opening your emails is to personalize the subject line. Sp, what does this mean, exactly?

Personalizing the subject line of your emails means including things like the recipient’s first or last name. This suggests the email was made just for them, even if it’s actually being sent out to many different people. Consumers like to feel as though they’re investing in businesses that appreciate them on a more personal level. Including their name in the email and the subject line helps perpetuate that concept.

You can also include a city name, or even a state, in the subject line. Doing this helps the recipient feel as though the email was created for them and has their interests at heart. This vastly increases the chances that it will be opened.

Man hand pushing domino pieces

Make it Impactful

When it comes to subject line creation, there are a few different structures you should consider following. These are subject line structures that have proven to be effective at encouraging readers to open your email. Some of the most popular include those that emphasize:

  • “Reason Why”
  • Benefit
  • Question

When it comes to email subject lines, those that reference “reasons why” are the winners by far. You’ve probably seen this kind of subject line used often, in fact, and for good reason. “Reason why” subject lines refer to the following:

  • 5 Reasons Why Email Marketing is Awesome!
  • Top 3 Reasons Why Subject Lines Are Important

These draw readers in and pique their interest. Use this to your advantage when it comes to your email marketing campaign!

Benefit and question subject lines also help draw the reader in. If someone believes they’re receiving information that has a clear value to them, they’re more likely to read it. Similarly, a subject line that piques a reader’s curiosity is more likely to be opened. These are two structures that are great at encouraging recipients to open up and read their emails.

Woman smiling at cellphone

Make it Short & Sweet

The last thing you want is to create a subject line that’s so long it bores your reader before they reach the end. Keep your subject lines short and to-the-point. Fifty characters is a good length: long enough to catch attention and offer some information about an email’s contents, but short enough to be read quickly and easily.

Use Preview Text

Do you add preview text to your email marketing? You should! Preview text adds just enough to your subject lines to encourage recipients to open them and finish their entertaining read! 

The most important element of your email marketing campaign is the subject line — so don’t allow it to be an afterthought! Take your time to create something engaging, and your readers will thank you.

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