How long does it take to make a good first impression?
Seven…seconds!
You read correctly, not hours or minutes, but seconds.
An email subject line that is catchy will grab the attention of the recipient and make them want to open the email.
If your email subject is not interesting, your readers will not open the email, even if the body is amazing.
Email marketing has one of the highest returns on investment out of all marketing strategies, with a $32 return for every $1 spent. Email marketing is also favored by marketers because it is easy to customize and change on the fly.
What is an Email Open Rate?
The email open rate tells you what percentage of your subscribers have opened an email.
The rates of your email being opened depend on various factors such as how interesting the subject line is, how relevant the email is to the subscriber, how personalized the email is, and the quality of the email’s content.
A 20-40% open rate can be considered healthy. Various factors, such as the subject line, impact open rates.
Email Subject Line – A Defining Parameter
Almost half of all email recipients will open an email based solely on the subject line, while nearly three-quarters of recipients will report an email as spam solely based on the subject line.
As you can see, the subject line of an email has a direct impact on the email’s open rates.
The subject line is the most important part of an email as it determines whether people will read it or trash it.
Personalized email subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened than non-personalized subject lines. So, the more interesting and attention-grabbing the subject line is, the more likely people will be to open the email.
Now that you know how important it is to have a line in your email that will catch customers’ attention, let’s take a look at some of the best email marketing subject lines from 2022.
How to write great email subject lines
- Hook them immediately. Use interesting words, a compelling stat, a relatable phrase, or convey the value.
- Have fun with them. An ample amount of alliteration attracts! And rhyming. And song lyrics. And emojis. Those tiny little communication miracles of the metaverse.
- Write conversationally. Write like a human being. Even if your brand has a more serious tone, it’s still best to use a conversational style for readability and friendliness. For example, use contractions like “you’re” rather than “you are.”
- Call readers to action. It’s never a bad idea to try a call to action phrase in your email subject line. This makes it clear what your email is about and readers like that.
- Ask a question: Asking your readers a question, as opposed to a standard statement, immediately engages them. Questions enter an instant dialogue with users, making them more likely to be opened.
- Rough day?
- Are you making these X mistakes?
- Will you save 50%?
- Look at your own inbox. If you see great subject lines that you think will work for your business, snag’em! Tweak to your liking and adjust to your brand voice.
- Emphasize scarcity: We have a deep, inherent terror of being left behind, of missing out. That flock mentality was a survival instinct once, but now it’s just another way of adding urgency to our subject lines.
- Pay X for Y (48 hours only!)
- Ends today! 36-hours outlet sale. This is your last chance…
- 5 hours only!
- Use brackets and parentheses: These are a good way to call out important information without caps, or to organize lots of information.
- Use you/your. While name-calling is on the out, it’s still considered a best practice to use “you” and “your” wording to speak directly and comfortably with readers.
- Be specific. Even if you’re incorporating an element of mystery into your subject line, it should still give the reader some idea of what they can expect.
Catchy email subject lines
There are many methods you can use to capture your readers’ attention. You could be
Controversial (just be careful with this one)
- Your Marketing Sucks: Why You Need to Think Local
- Why Your 5-Year-Old Is More Digital Than Most CMOs
- Pet Training Best Practices Need a Redo: Here’s Why
Conversational
- Cat’s outta the bag! Surprise sale tomorrow—up to 50% off!
- It’s confirmed: Our prices are lower than the temperature outside—come on in!
- Pressure’s on: How much can you save this week?
- Wait what? Game-changing tips you’ll wish you knew sooner.
Poetic
- Marketing attribution: Tips & Types, Which One is Right?
- How’d we do? Help us help you?
- 2024 Ecommerce Trends: The Old & New, Tried & True
Punny
- Join the Rover pack on social!
- Click click click BOOM dynamite.
- New arrivals! Seriously cool (warm) jackets.
- Last chance to score savings on game-time gear!
Inquisitive
- Hmm no posts last week? [Tips if you’re stuck!]
- Madison, are you making these lawn care mistakes?
- 30 seconds to spare? [3-click survey!]
Lyrical (this is a big one)
- LEAN STARTUP: Baby Got (Feed)Back – Putting the Lean in Learn
- Oops [figure in the news] did it again…
- Shine bright like a…[something unexpected here]?
- [Topic]: You. you. you. oughta. kno-ow.
Inspired by current events
- [Trend] might be all the rate…but we’ve got something even better
- Kristen, take a break from [event] with [your product]
- [Event] ends [date] but our sale carries on!
- 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Y
Follow up email subject lines
In some cases, a simple “Re: [original subject line]” works just fine for follow-up emails. If you’ve tried this to no avail or if this is part of a nurture series, consider these:
- [Name], did our guide help?
- Another resource for you, [Name]!
- Your recent download—any questions?
- Any questions on the quote we sent over?
- Touching base re: gutter cleaning estimate
- [Name] here, following up on your floor plan
- Hi [Name], checking in since our last chat
Holiday email subject lines
I may be biased, but I think LOCALiQ is great for holiday subject lines. Here’s the list:
- August email subject lines
- September email subject lines
- October email subject lines
- November email subject lines
- December email subject lines
- January email subject lines
- February email subject lines
- March email subject lines
- April email subject lines
You should also consider writing a holiday customer greeting email.
Good email subject lines
While it can be helpful to have a creative marketing strategy to distinguish your brand and connect with your audience, sometimes it is best to keep things simple. Your users will appreciate being able to understand what the email is about without having to put any thought into it. Good email subject lines can be direct and to the point.
Succinct
- 10% Storewide – December 1-12
- Enjoy 15% off + Free shipping
- Get ready for Easter with [company]
Cut and dry
- PODCAST: 5 Steps to Accelerate Career Growth
- [GUIDE]: Name of Guide
- Tax Tips Webinar Monday @1pm
Informative
- [Important news event]: What You Need to Know
- Our hours are changing!
- Your order has shipped. Yippee!
Cold email subject lines
If you want to grow your business using cold emails, you need to start by creating a good subject line. I personally don’t like subject lines that say “quick question,” so try some of these alternatives instead.
- [Your company + their company]…2 minutes later today?
- Read your blog post on [topic]
- Tips to improve [company name]’s X
- Congrats on [latest achievement]!
- A [better/easier/faster] way to [goal]
- Resources for [company]…take or leave! (this is the BYAF concept)
- A new solution for [pain point]
- [Achieving goal] is easier than ever now with [your company name]
- Your thoughts on [what you specialize in/the pain point you solve]?
- How do you compare to [competitor]? Touchy subject?
Introduction email subject lines
- We oughta get to know each other…
- [Name] here, from [business]
- Introducing [Name] to [Name]
- Inquiring about [topic]
- Hi [Name]! Referral from [Name]
- Reaching out to you via [Referrer’s Name]
- Fellow [college] alumni reaching out.
- Fellow [niche] business owner looking to connect.
- Looking to chat with [role]s like you.
- Reaching out about [niche/topic].
- Nice meeting you, Shana!
- Continuing our conversation from [event]
- Great to meet you at [event name] last night!
- Mention something specific you talked about
- As promised: the invoice tool I use!
Referral email subject lines
- Give $10, get $10, in 10.
- Refer a friend and get $20!
- Refer friends. Get points. Cash in. Repeat!
- Join our referral program it’s free (and super easy).
- Refer your friends and save!
- New referral program! Free to join!
Email Subject Line Best Practices
We’ve seen some of the best email subject line examples from the internet. It’s time to craft the perfect subject line for your email campaign:
1. Keep it short and simple. Be precise
Almost 77% of emails are read on the phone, so it is important to have a short and clear subject line. Otherwise, the reader might overlook important information or be disinterested.
It is best to keep your subject lines short, around 50 characters, so that your followers can read the entire subject. Think about the most important words and exclude unnecessary details.
An order with the number #XXXX is being processed.
Use precise subject lines to increase the effectiveness of your email communications. For example, use ‘Increase your sales by 60%’ rather than ‘How to increase your sales.’
2. Avoid ‘no-reply’ sender name
An email address with a person’s name (like Ro***@yo*********.com) will be more likely to be accepted by an individual than a company name. A familiar name ID gives the feeling that readers are dealing with a real person rather than an abstract concept.
You should never send emails with a no-reply sender name as they are likely to end up in spam and will be ignored.
3. Avoid using ALL CAPS
lower case subject lines are more attractive to readers than those that are fully capitalized.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SPEND THIS HOLIDAY??
I feel like someone is always yelling at me.
Use simple and engaging language instead of complex words to get your reader’s attention.
4. Segment your lists
It is best to send emails that your recipients will find useful.
Email personalization is a way to increase open rates by sending the right content to the right person. Segmenting your email list will help you achieve this goal.
CRM software can help automatically segment your lists.
5. Avoid making false promises
Don’t make promises in your subject line that you don’t deliver on in the body of your email. This is called “clickbait” and is usually looked down on.
If you constantly give your subscribers links that don’t work, they will not trust you.
6. Use numbers and values
Your email is more likely to be noticed if the subject line contains numbers.
Use numbers to make your text more attractive to readers. Mentioning specific values for discounts or referring to the size of your listicle, for example, can help draw readers in.
7. Make the recipient feel special
Personalization is very important, as people want to feel valued.
Choose sentences that instantly grab the recipient’s attention and make them feel special. Here are some great examples:
- “You’re invited!”
- “For our beloved customers only”
- “An exclusive offer for you”
8. Give an engaging pretext
The pretext is the text that appears in the inbox next to the subject line.
The preview text is partly visible to the recipient, which can impact readability. To keep the preview text precise and engaging, it should be customized to suit your recipient.
9. User personalization token
An increase in clickthrough rates was seen when the recipient’s first name was used in the subject line of marketing emails.
Adding the owner’s first name in the subject line can help create a bond. For example, Wag!, a dog walking company, uses the dog’s name in the subject line.
10. Use questions to get attention
Questions in the subject line can be a way to get someone’s attention.
“Are you making these SEO mistakes?”
“Do you know what went wrong with your website?”
The following subject lines are likely to resonate with your audience and be difficult to resist.
11. Start with action-oriented verbs
The subject line of an email can prompt readers to take action. For example, an email subject line inviting people to a dinner with a hockey legend might say, “Dine with Bruins legend Bobby Orr.”
12. A/B test your subject lines
It is always best to A/B test your subject lines to see what your audience responds best to.
Email A/B testing lets you see what works best in getting people to click on your emails, so you can make improvements based on the results.
This blog post is meant to inspire you to write more creative and successful email subject lines. As a marketer, you need to be able to understand how your campaigns are performing. This can’t be done by hand. There are lots of tools available to help you figure out your open and clickthrough rates, segment your audiences, and test different subject lines.
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