Subject Lines: 5 Tips to Getting Clicks

Email marketing can be one of the most effective (and economical) ways to reach your customers. But it can’t be done without some hard work – and nothing is harder than nailing the perfect subject line. But getting the subject line just right is key to ensuring that your email marketing efforts are being opened and read.
Consumers receive a staggering amount of emails in a day, so getting through with a message that resonates with your target audience is essential to generating clicks, leads, and conversion through email marketing. And this crowded marketplace doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. The first line of defense against unwanted email is the subject line – so composing the right subject is critical to email success. Here are five tips to generating the perfect email subject line:

1. Keep it Real – Nobody likes to be lied to, and your subject lines should be scrupulously honest. That’s not to say there can’t be a little healthy hyperbole, but you’ll turn customers off if you promise the world and deliver a marble. Your subject lines should provide a window into the content of your email with accurate and engaging copy. Make it catchy, but make it true.
2. Keep it Short – Write the perfect subject line, then write it again half as long. Make it concise and pithy, otherwise you’ll be destined for the trash can. Long subject lines get cut off (especially on mobile, where most consumers read their email) or lose people’s attention, but either way you only have a few words to get your message across. Short sounds easy, but being engaging and concise at the same time requires practice and skill.
3. Keep it Concrete – Many of the rules that apply to a good call-to-action also apply to writing top-notch subject lines. You want to lead with strong verbs and keep the benefits concrete. Abstract ideas can be great, but they don’t motivate actions; so find a way to promise real, concrete benefits based on consumer action. Use real benefits to grow your business and leave the abstract ideas for discussions over coffee.
4. Keep it Exclusive – We all love to feel special. Tap into that desire for exclusivity by crafting email subject lines that promise something special to your loyal/favorite/VIP customers. Even if the offer isn’t all that exclusive (see tip 1 above), casting it as a limited offer will greatly increase your click rate. Or offer real exclusive offers based on customer loyalty and generate even more business from your best customers.
5. Keep it Personal – Use personalization tokens to include the recipient’s name in the subject line. This simple step can take a message from spam to valuable offer in an instant. For most people, their email address is out there with thousands of marketers – but their name is a more personal connection so use it to your advantage. As a bonus, make sure your email comes from a personal name (Jane Doe of Fusion Group USA) rather than a generic email (noreply@fusiongroupusa).

Email marketing is a powerful tool, but only if consumers are actually opening, reading, and clicking. And the key to getting read is getting past the subject line gatekeeper. There’s plenty more to say about crafting email subject lines that resonate, but by following these five easy tips you can greatly increase your chances of converting business through email.
Fusion Group USA offers full-service email marketing – including content creation, template building, subject line optimization, and data-tracking. If you want to harness this modern form of advertising for your business contact us today and set up a free consultation – we have the designers, coders, and writers to craft the perfect email marketing campaign and get you the results you want.