On the back of our post on the Nudge Effect, we thought it would be worth taking a brief look at subject lines, as these are arguably one of the most important elements of an email. We have therefore come up with 5 tips for killer subject lines: 1. Find out who’s opening your emails on what devices The rule of thumb we have tended to use is, subject lines should get the message across in the first 60 characters. However as the diversity of devices increases, optimum length for subject lines becomes more complex. You could have more than 60 characters if your readers are using big widescreen monitors, or significantly less if people are opening them on smartphones. To be sure that your subjects are the right length you need to know your readers. If you can get this data from your email system then great. But if you can’t, analysis of your website visitors will give you some good pointers, especially if you focus on visits coming from email click throughs (Google Analytics will give you this data). 2. Use a spell checker It might sound obvious but so many marketers fail to check this most basic requirement. It is so easy to thoroughly proof read the content only to miss the glaring typo in the subject line. And remember, email system spellcheckers often don’t include the subject line by default! 3. Make sure it is spam free To ensure your subject line is spam filter friendly, make sure you avoid the use of capital letters and exclamation marks. There’s no one word that will get your message filtered out, but the most important thing is to just make sure your email doesn’t look like spam, and be sure to test it through the main spam filters before sending. 4. Think like your readers Put yourself in the position of one of your readers. When you write your subject line think to yourself “if I were to see this subject line would it make me want to open it and find out more?” 5. Seek inspiration from the emails you receive If you are like me you will receive quite a few marketing emails in your inbox. Also, why not sign up to a few of your competitors’ email newsletters and those of other organisations relevant to what you do (especially those who you think are good at marketing). See what they do and take inspiration from the best! Lastly, remember the nudge effect. The effort you put into your subject lines will not be wasted.
