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Coming up with email subject lines that actually work can range anywhere from fun to tedious to downright anxiety-inducing. But whether you write email subject lines because you love flexing your creative muscles, do it because you have to, or begrudgingly pen every single word, it’s nonetheless crucial that you know how to write email subject lines that work and that get clicked.
A compelling subject line is a critical element of an effective outbound email marketing strategy. In this post, we’ll give you 9 subject lines ideas to take your next campaign to the next level.
1. Personalized: “Hey Cassandra!”
Nothing grabs a person’s attention more than seeing their own name in an email subject. Personalized emails feel more, well, personal, and this means they’re more likely to be opened. However, don’t preface the name with “Dear,” as that’s likely to trigger a filter.
2. Exigencies: “Two days only”
People love to procrastinate. That’s probably why email subject lines that work include ones that create a sense of urgency. Make recipients feel like putting off your email will mean missing out and they’ll be more likely to click through—22 percent more likely, in fact.
3. Well-Timed: “Best place to get wings for tonight’s game”
Subjects with an impeccable sense of timing can be just as effective as ones with a sense of urgency. For one, people are more likely to pay attention if they’ve got a concrete timeframe they’re dealing with. Moreover, an email that’s well timed is highly relevant, so it’s likely to be clicked.
4. Funny: “Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”
This subject from Groupon is a perfect example of how to use humour to sell your emails. Puns also work, as long as they’re not too obscure, but you can also be witty, clever, cheesy, or otherwise entertaining. The key is to grab attention, and making someone chuckle at their screen is a great start.
5. Conversational: “Oh goody, another reason to love Fridays”
A conversational tone is a good approach because it’s informal, friendlier, and more welcoming. To create conversational email subject lines that work, use sentence case, abbreviations, informal words, appropriate slang, and be helpful instead of pushy.
6. Short and To the Point: “Your order has been shipped”
Over half of emails are opened first on a mobile device, and that means short and sweet is the name of the subject game. Think of it like the ultimate Twitter challenge: 50 characters or less. This makes it easy for people who are just scanning to get the gist of your email quickly and easily.
7. Exclusivity: “Here’s a gift just for you”
Make recipients feel like they’re part of an exclusive club and you’re guaranteed to get more click-throughs. Exclusivity makes people feel special, but it also tugs on the FOMO (fear of missing out) heartstrings, because nobody wants to miss a chance to be part of something special.
8. Pose a Question: “Are you making these terrible marketing mistakes?”
This is a highly effective way to craft email subject lines that work. Of course, in order to be effective, the question must be compelling, targeted, and relevant to the recipient. Otherwise, you’ll miss the mark and the email will be deleted faster than you can say “return to sender.”
9. Numbers: “8 ways to improve your love life”
People love listicles as much as they love a good laugh, so including numbers in your subject is always a good idea. However, steer clear of #1, as that’s bound to trigger filters.
It’s great to experiment with different approaches to crafting email subject lines that work, but the only way to gauge your success is with A/B testing. With Clickback’s email lead generation software, you can be sure that you’re writing the most effective subjects possible, and guarantee that your hard work gets seen by the most people.
