Back in my newspaper days, I never considered myself a headline writer. That’s what editors were for, and I focused instead on weaving together descriptively delicious sentences that milked every letter into a narrative.
Like newspapers themselves, a lot has changed since then. Content must be produced and packaged much more succinctly to score and sustain the busy reader’s attention. These days, even the best-written long-form will fall on deaf ears without a sexy way to shorten the story into a tweet.
In many ways, the limitation 140-characters has honed my headline-writing skills. And those skills are best exercised to craft Email Subject Lines. (Cue the suspenseful music, fit for a scene where one word makes the difference between your email becoming a sales machine – or being banished into the Trash, never to be seen again.)
In other words, email subject lines are a big deal. Some say you have 3 seconds to capture attention in an inbox, but today’s mobile environment is way more urgent than that. Based on the “From” column alone, I’ll delete handfuls of messages without ever glancing to the subject line. The next lucky rung of suitors gets at least a blink of my attention. Let’s face it – you probably have a fraction of a second in the inbox before my mouse clicks read, delete, or ignores you altogether.
For email subjects that steal attention, write like a newspaper editor writing breaking news headlines.
1. Package the Story
The first rule of journalism is the Pyramid Rule: The most important information in your story comes first, and the unnecessary details fall later. The same rule works for press releases, where news breaks in the first sentence.
In both cases, the headline is the pinnacle of this story-summarizing snippet. If your headline doesn’t actually proclaim what the ensuing story is about, no one will read it – and if they do, they’ll feel cheated when the headline fails to deliver its promise.
First and foremost, make sure the darn subject line packages what’s inside.
2. Choose Your Words Wisely
In a newsroom deadline setting where ever letter counts, word choice must be purposeful. In email marketing, the purpose you serve is your consumer, so your subject line should zero in on them.
In an advice-packed webinar called “The Science of Email Marketing,” Hubspot’s Dan Zarella spelled this out in detail. According to Hubspot, the most clicked emails include these words in the subject line:
- Awesome
- eBook
- Free
- Guide
- Helpful
- How
- Improve
- More
- Sales
- Secrets
- Skills
- Video
- Watch
Think about it – all of these words describe the value of the message, what’s in it for the reader. You’re gonna get awesome secrets to improve your skills – free! What ego wouldn’t be compelled by that – especially if it’s personalized with my name (hint, hint)? When the consumer is the center of your message – and your subject line – they’re more likely to click and act.
On the contrary, the least clicked email subject lines contained these words:
- Advantage
- Consultation
- Enjoyed
- Evaluation
- Fast
- Implementing
- Important
- Please
- Today
Sounds more formal, less exciting, and kinda pushy, doesn’t it? These are words businesses – not people – use. Technical jargon is one thing, but it’s just as bad to use dry, generic words that focus more on what the company wants than what the consumer gets.
And, of course, it goes without saying: Avoid spam triggers! Most ESPs have built-in spam filters, but when we’re writing for the financial industry where a lot of trigger terms are commonplace lingo in our copy, I keep a list like this posted at my desk as a quick reference.
3. Size Does Matter
I can’t remember where I read that 8 is the magic number, but it’s always worked for me. If for no other reason than aesthetics, a subject line with 8 words reads easier than 5 or 10. Others say the shorter the better.
The best rule here is to read the first two rules. In as few & purposefully selected words as possible, tell the reader what value they’ll find inside. And, as a last-minute check, run it through the awesome free test at SubjectLine.com. You’ll get a score and some some tips to improve it (see how I made that about YOU?)
>> Need help crafting email copy that converts? Contact Bantamedia today to create content that attracts clicks and clients. >>
Image by Muhammad Ribkhan from Pixabay