Here’s a perfectly reasonable e-mail subject line:
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Now, cut it off after 42 characters, like some e-mail software does, and see how it reads. Yikes!
The subject line is the one chance that PR pros have to entice stakeholders to open and read through e-mails. Once they opt to receive e-mail messages, there is no guarantee that they will actually view them—the inbox is an entirely personal sphere, and recipients regularly exercise the freedom to delete messages they find unappealing.
BE APPEALING
Appealing subject lines are essential to increasing open rates. Here are five tips to keep in mind:
1. Make the final cut: As the above example indicates, e-mail platforms all set different limitations on the length of subject lines—often to the detriment of the sender. As your subject line is at risk of being cut, it is crucial to put the most important words at the beginning of the subject to ensure that a shrunken line gets the point across without losing its integrity.
While the length may vary between anything from 25 to 160 characters, the majority of U.S. e-mail recipients view subject lines of between 38 and 47 characters. So it’s a good idea to keep your subject line below 50 characters. Alternatively, test various truncated subject lines before committing to a full-fledged send. (You can find free truncation tools online.)
2. Tout the benefits: One of the questions most prevalent for recipients when deciding whether or not to read your e-mail is, “What’s in it for me?” Use your subject line to point out the benefit of reading the e-mail. Whether it’s the inside scoop on a special promotion or valuable information on a new industry development, make sure that the subject line indicates that the e-mail is of value to the reader.
Intrigue readers even further through personalization and tone. E-mail marketing is, after all, about building and maintaining relationships. Personalized e-mails (and subject lines) perform better than impersonal ones, e.g. “Ryan, you are eligible for an account upgrade.” No one likes being treated as one of the masses, after all. Depending on your audience, a personal, colloquial tone has also proven to be effective, provided it reflects your brand voice.
3. From whom? The “from” line goes hand-in-hand with your subject line; make sure it’s recognizable to recipients. Avoid using personalized names unless that name is inherently associated with your company, like Richard Branson and Virgin or Steve Jobs and Apple. Also, avoid repetition. If the company name is used as the “from” name, there’s no need to repeat it in the subject line. It wastes valuable characters on information your readers already have.
Your subject line also must be related to the message content. Include some relevant key words to pique your recipients’ interest, but keep it simple and to the point. Subject lines shouldn’t take an effort to read.
4. Engage; don’t sell. Buzz and promotional words do draw attention and incentivize, but don’t cram them in the subject line. An e-mail is not an advertisement; you’re engaging, not selling. When you answer a sales call you get annoyed that the person disrupted you in the privacy of your own home. Similarly, seeing a pushy subject line in their inbox is sometimes enough to make readers hit the delete key.
Also take into account that certain words trigger alerts for spam filters. Yes, there is such a thing as a spam keyword. Examples of such words are “free,” “you,” “mortgage” and “order now.” Complete lists of most frequently used spam keywords are available online. Excessive punctuation (like capitals and exclamation marks) also triggers spam filters. Not only that, it’s a cheap trick: It might be a matter of urgency for you, but is it really so urgent for your target?
5. The proof is in the test. It’s the only way to know how effective your subject line is. Most e-mail service providers will provide you with an A/B split testing tool, allowing you to test variations of your subject line against each other. Think strategically about what it is you want to test: different lengths, tones, word placements.
Taking the time to heed these practices can help you stimulate curiosity through alluring subject lines that incite awareness and, most importantly, further action. PRN
[Editor’s note: Looking for more tactical how-to content? Visit PR News’ Subscriber Resource Center at www.prnewsonline.com/subscriber_resources.html.]
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This article is written by Barbara Ulmi, head of marketing at e-mail solutions company GraphicMail. She can be reached at [email protected].