Writing Email Subject Lines That Get Readers to Open Your Emails by Zac Johnson. Available from <https://www.business.com/articles/zac-johnson-writing-compelling-email-subject-lines/> [ Last Modified: June 27, 2017]
Creating compelling email subject lines so readers want to open your email is both an art and a science. Zac Johnson offers five tips to use in your email marketing campaigns.
Email marketing is huge, and it can build long-term loyalty quickly when done the right way. Think about it: When someone subscribes to your email list, they are interested in receiving more quality content or product information from you.
You can easily increase engagement and sales by sending out an email message once or twice a week. But this strategy is only useful if your email messages are being opened by recipients. For this reason, it’s important that before you send out a message, you do your research and find out what makes a great headline or subject line.
I’ve worked with clients on developing and honing their email marketing strategy. Below I share a few important things to keep a close eye on before sending your first autoresponder as well as some quality resources and guides to help you with your own email marketing campaigns.
Keep email subject lines short
When you have a subject line that is too long, it gets cut off when it’s delivered to recipients’ inboxes. For this reason, you should make your subject lines no longer than 50 characters. The shorter the number of characters, the quicker the person viewing it will understand what your message is about.
A short, catchy subject line will grab readers’ attention, and they’ll want to open your email. Remember, when people receive an email message, they’ll scan through their inbox looking to see what catches their eye right away. Here are a few useful tips to create great looking emails and newsletters.
Include the recipient’s first name
Depending on the type of email marketing service you are using, you may be able to add custom fields to the message, including one that allows you to add the recipient’s first name. When you send the message, it arrives with the sender’s name first followed by the rest of the subject line. The reason these messages have a higher open rate is that they have a personal touch. When people see their first name in the subject line, it naturally catches their attention, plus they feel that you’ve created a custom message for them.
Don’t make false promises
Email open rates increase as you build credibility. For this reason, it’s important not to make false promises and to always deliver the product or content you promise. This can best be accomplished by creating better email ad copy, then delivering on whatever it is you are offering in exchange for the email signup. If you don’t, you’ll slowly start to lose subscribers and they’ll stop opening your messages. Without trust, you’ll have lower open rates, and this will make it harder for you to get your message across.
Add keywords in the subject line
Some of the best email subject lines include the main keyword associated with your niche. Keep in mind that these people are on your list because they resonate with your brand and the content you provide. To keep these people opening your messages, it’s important to include a keyword that represents your brand so they’ll be enticed to open and click through to whatever offer you have available.
Think about blog titles
Many times when I write email subject lines, I think about my content blog titles. Why? It’s because they’ve been well researched, include my keywords and have high click-through rates. The same strategy can be used when writing your email messages, because your main objective is to make them enticing so people will open them.
Since your email marketing will be closely associated with your blog, it’s a great idea to skim through content that has the highest engagement. Look at the title and what keywords you included to increase engagement, because the same strategy can be applied to your next email send. If you are just starting out, here’s a great resource on writing great blog titles so you can apply the same strategies your email marketing.
Improve your email marketing ROI in 2017
With the right email subject line, you’ll ensure that your message reaches the inbox of the right recipients and that it gets read. Understand that an email message is only valuable if it converts into the intended desired action.
Writing Email Subject Lines That Get Readers to Open Your Emails by Zac Johnson. Available from <https://www.business.com/articles/zac-johnson-writing-compelling-email-subject-lines/> [ Last Modified: June 27, 2017]