17 Hacks for Writing Irresistible Subject Lines

More than 82% of marketers use email as a channel for implementing their digital marketing strategies. This makes email marketing one of the most important techniques to directly reach your target audience. This strategy has a high ROI in every industry.

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People, no matter what they say, do judge emails based on their subject lines. While they may appear to be a minor component of your message, they’re actually one of the first impressions you make on your email readers. They're also a marketer's ticket to stand out in a congested inbox and improve your email campaign in the long run.

On average, people spend 10 seconds reading a brand email. Do you want your email content to be read, opened and clicked? Everything starts with the subject line.

Having an impact from the very beginning is required to grab the attention of your target audience. As a result, your subject line holds a lot of power and you should use it wisely. Your readers are likely to absorb that one line more than they will the entire message of the email. It’s your golden chance to woo your audience and make your brand stand apart.

Some of the best email subject lines that have the capacity to convert have a few common underlying factors. When you keep these factors in mind, you’re more like to come up with email subjects that get your user interested.

Key practices for composing the best email subject line

1. Recognize your target market

The material you publish is determined by your target audience. This also applies to your headlines. Understanding your target will help you choose the right words to entice them to open your email.

2. Make use of resources

Tools can assist you in creating the greatest email subject lines for your target audience. A lot of them, such as Omnisend’s Email Subject Line Tester, are free and simple to use. These tools will assist you in creating email subject lines that increase open rates and decrease the likelihood of your email being filtered as spam.

3. Split-testing

Create several subject line changes for each email you send and see which one performs best. Split testing, also known as A/B testing, increases the likelihood of utilizing a subject line that motivates your audience to take action. After all, companies that implement A/B testing for their emails generate an ROI of 48:1.

So how do you make the most of subject lines and position your email to reach your goals? Continue reading for some tried-and-true advice on how to improve your subject lines and increase email interaction.

To learn more about how to optimize and enhance your email strategy, listen to our interview with Nikki Elbaz on The Strategic Marketing Show:

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17 remarkable tips you should put into action right away

1. Avoid using title case

Title cases may make sense for books, but when it comes to email subject lines you want to sound a bit more informal and relatable. When you’re constructing a subject line with the aim of connecting with people, a conversational tone comes across in a more genuine manner. Getting rid of the title case for your email makes it appear like it’s from a friend and not some brand’s bot.

2. Keep it short—no more than five words

What length should your email subject lines be? Nearly 88% of all emails are opened on a mobile device, which means there isn't much room for characters. Keep it to roughly 50 characters and no more than five words by using short, snappy words. Users will be able to see the entire message and take action faster as a result of this.

3. Make the subject and the copy complement one other

Under the subject line, most email applications provide a preview of the message text. This might be lengthy (about eight to 12 words), but because your subject line is your email's ‘implied promise’, make sure your inside language takes up where it left off and clearly fulfills that promise. Many people make the mistake of mixing up the preview text and the subject line, but we urge that you keep them separate.

4. Make your subject lines unique

Personalizing subject lines gives subscribers the impression that the email you're sending was written specifically for them. According to one study, emails with unique subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened, so include a first name or other specific detail in your subject line.

5.  Instill a sense of urgency in your audience

You don't want readers to skim over your subject line after reading it. Consider utilizing phrases like ‘urgent’ and ‘breaking’, which are regarded as the most potent words that imply time sensitivity, followed by ‘important’ and ‘alert’, to motivate readers to receive your emails straight away.

Verbs are action words that describe what a person, place or thing is capable of. They not only sound more dynamic in your subject lines, but they also imply a call to action. Even if the action you want them to perform is obvious, most web users will not convert without it.

6. Use invites and announcements

Both ‘announcement’ and ‘you're invited’ have a significant effect on open rates. You also don't have to lie in order to send an ‘invitation.’ An ‘invitation’ could be for anything from a webinar to a white paper for subscribers only.

7. ‘Thank you’ is a good way to get people's attention

In any email subject line, ‘thank you’ is one of the most striking two-word combinations. It implies a genuine, even reciprocal relationship between your brand and email readers, not simply because it resonates profoundly with others in a world where relationships matter.

8. Make use of emojis and numbers

The power of numbers is seductive. Adding a number in your subject line is known to increase the click-through rate by 206%. B2B businesses in conservative industries may still resist using emojis, but it's time for them to catch up. Emojis increased open rates in B2C advertising emails by as much as 15% when used strategically to reinforce the content and 56% of brands use emojis in their emails.

9. Test a variety of topics

Users who aren't interested will quickly move on because most subject lines focus on a particular issue. Using various concepts in a subject line will help you get more people to open your email. A merchant that lists two or three of the user's top purchasing categories, for example, only needs to hit on one ‘winner’ per message.

10. Make the most of your ‘From’ name

Emails sent to a specific person are more likely to be opened than those addressed to an organization. Your email subject line will be far more likely to be viewed as a result of this. However, make sure your subscribers are familiar with your name, or it could backfire. 74% of marketers believe that emails with targeted personalization improve customer engagement rates.

11. Concentrate on the source of the discomfort

We've all heard that email subject lines should highlight a benefit that your prospect is looking for. Many marketers, on the other hand, have had significant success by emphasizing pain points in the email topic. They might jump if it's a good match for their requirements.

12. Don’t mix an inquiry and an exclamation in one subject

Here's an example of a subject line that will likely end up in a recipient's spam folder: ‘Do you need a quick answer? Take action right now!’

In the example above, the quick solution isn't the issue. It's also not ‘act now’, despite the fact that those are well-known spam terms in email marketing – it's a combination of both phrases.

Emails with both a question mark and an exclamation mark in the subject line are frequently flagged as spam by webservers. This format is not only overused, but it also alienates your viewers. Open-ended queries demonstrate a lack of knowledge – any smart marketer knows their prospects better than that.

13. Speak directly to your audience

This is a simple approach to gain some huge victories if your email subscriber list is categorized properly. Directly addressing a certain audience is an excellent method to grab their attention and pique their interest in opening your email. 98% of millennials check their email every few hours, so find out the most appropriate timing for your target audience and shoot an email to stay on top of their email list.

14. Use literary devices like alliteration and rhyming

Alliteration is a literary tactic that has been used for ages to make a message more memorable. A little alliteration can help to break up the monotony of an overflowing inbox. It isn't required to put it on every word in a subject line, however. The most challenging subject line to write is one that rhymes. You must make your point clear, keep it short and still get the rhyme scheme you desire. When a subject line ends in a rhyme, it sounds more appealing.

15. Don't take advantage of ‘free’

It's simple to believe that the word ‘free’ will attract readers, but in many email campaign, it underperforms when compared to its smaller brother ‘freebie’, and it can also trigger spam filters. Instead of using the word ‘free,’ use more descriptive phrasing.

16. Get to the point as quickly as possible

The primary goal of a subject line is to persuade your reader to open your email. Getting right to the point is a terrific method to get readers to understand the email's purpose and encourage them to click.

Another wonderful technique to come up with a memorable subject line is to answer a question that the majority of your viewers ask. In fact, some of the most effective email subject lines are questions.

17. Go with the flow of the season

Seasons and special holidays can be used to create topical and relevant subject lines. People are frequently elated at such moments, and capitalizing on the positive energy will help you attract attention. Using phrases like spring, Valentine's Day or Christmas, for example, will almost certainly increase the number of people who open your email.

Wrapping up

When done correctly, email campaigns may create an engaging, personalized experience that leads to prospects becoming valuable customers. Use email analytics to track your results as you try out these techniques; you might be surprised at what works for you.