By Alan Graner
The subject line is the most important part of your email. It alone most often determines whether your message will be opened. And not to add too much pressure, it must accomplish this in just a few seconds.
To help increase your open rate, here are 23 suggestions:
- Act as this is your only shot.
- Stay under 65 characters. Long subject lines get cut off.
- Make it relevant. It should address a reader’s pain points, wants, needs and desires.
- Promise a solution to their problems/pain points.
- Be clear about what you’re offering.
- Put a number in the subject line. It indicates there’s some meaty information in your email.
- Ask a question that piques their curiosity or makes them consider a problem you pose.
- Promise to reveal “secrets” that can help them be more productive, efficient or increase their bottom line.
- Make it personal. The simple act of adding their name can increase open rates.
- Create a sense of urgency. Let the reader know your offer is only good for a limited time.
- Avoid hype and eliminate sales jargon.
- Remember that “you” is a powerful word.
- Challenge conventional thinking.
- Promise X number of tips. This suggests a log of good information in small, digestible bites.
- Offer exclusivity. This makes the reader feel important.
- Offer startling news about your industry/competition.
- Make it newsworthy.
- Avoid humor. As the great adman David Ogilvy admonished, “People don’t buy from clowns.”
- Remember that specifics are more powerful than generalities.
- Don’t mislead. You will be dismissed as a liar at best, a scam artist at worst.
- Make an offer they can’t refuse.
- Choose your words carefully. Often a single word change can affect open rates.
- Avoid words that trigger the spam filter. Hubspot offers “The Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words at https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30684/the-ultimate-list-of-email-spam-trigger-words.aspx
What tips would you add?
Image: Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license via Pixabay.
About the author
Alan Graner is Chief Creative Officer at Daly-Swartz Public Relations, an Orange County, CA business public relations and marketing content firm. For content that makes you stand out from the crowd, email Jeffrey Swartz at jeffreyswartz@dsprel.com. Or visit www.dsprel.com.
