Email Marketing: Subject Lines That Produce Opens
Anne Holland, President and Publisher of MarktingSherpa has written a terrific post on email marketing. She discusses the ever-present, ever-worrisome question of how to write a subject line to maximize open rate.
Her post centers on a recent study undertaken by MailChimp, who have some equally excellent things to say on the subject. MailChimp analyzed 40 million emails and show a handful that enjoyed high open rates and another that showed dismal results.
Whether the reader will be surprised by the outcome will, of course, depend heavily on expectations. But whatever your view, the results almost speak for themselves.
Simple and direct wins, hands down.
Other studies tend to confirm at least one other aspect of the test. Subject lines which include a company name that readers recognize and respect gets the highest percentage of opens. Like most, I get more mail than I can comfortably sift through. Like most, I scan the ‘From’ address, followed by the subject.
Putting the company name in the subject itself helps to reinforce that ‘From someone I know and want to hear from’ aspect.
10% off! and other such enticements work well only when the email is from someone you are inclined or ready to purchase from anyway. If you’re not in the market for a camera, even if you love cameras, it’s pointless to offer 10% or even 50% off. Unless…
Unless, you combine those simple, non-pushy subject lines with a little behavioral targeting technique. (See bottom.)
If you know a certain percentage of recipients are likely to be shopping for a gift, or in the market for a camera, then 10% off will help rather than hurt. It makes the email appear as wanted information rather than spam.
Creative email marketers are beginning to merge BT with contextual techniques to achieve just the kind of synergy we’ve been recommending.
Add the kind of tailoring of subject lines Marketing Sherpa discusses to your toolbox and you’ve got a winning combination. What kind is that? MailChimp puts it better than I could:
“This is going to sound “stupid simple” to a lot of people, but here goes: Your subject line should (drum roll please): Describe the subject of your email. Yep, that’s it.”
P.S. Ms. Holland’s post came to me in the form of an email. And I opened it. Then, contrary to my usual practice, read it twice. Yep, that’s it.