The average person probably has countless unopened emails in their inbox. The truth is that the majority of those emails will never get more than a cursory glance before being deleted. People just can’t absorb all the information they are bombarded with on a daily basis—which means most marketing emails go straight into the trash bin.
What Separates A Good Subject Line From A Great One?
So how do you prevent your company’s emails from becoming one of the unopened and ignored? Well, to start, you’ll need a killer subject line, something that grabs attention and holds it long enough to get a click, at the very least.
Don’t Lead With a Question
While rhetorical questions are good for capturing attention in, say, Toastmaster speeches, they’re not quite as effective in emails. Subject line questions communicate a lack of confidence in what you’re saying and imply that you don’t actually know the answer. Questions in subject lines should be used rarely and sparingly—so think twice before leading with a question.
Address Their Pain Points
Identify your client’s pain point, and use that to your advantage. A pain point is your customer’s problem or need, and when you know what it is, you can use it to capture their attention. It’s simple psychology; if you know their issues, you probably know how to solve them, which will lead to more messages opened.
Write Using Active Voice
In an email format, you have a split second to make an impact. Take control immediately by using active rather than passive voice in your writing. It’s much more compelling, authoritative, and shows that you are a no-nonsense person who gets straight to the point.
Grab Their Attention
Subject lines need to grab your customer’s attention. The string of words you choose can make or break your engagement and can mean the difference between a 10% and a 30% open rate. Think carefully about what will grab your client’s attention as you have a very brief window of opportunity to make an impression.
Avoid Spammy Tactics
You may think you’re grabbing attention with words like “FREE” and “$$$” in your subject line, when in fact, you’re grabbing a one-way ticket to the spam folder. So don’t shoot yourself in the foot by using spam phrases: check your ‘spam score’ using this email deliverability test.
