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<\/p>\nYet, here we are.<\/p>\n
About to talk about email marketing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The truth is, email marketing is far from dead<\/strong>. In fact, if you’re thinking about using email marketing in your business (you should be), consider the following stats:<\/p>\n Let’s all agree right now, email marketing isn’t going anywhere.<\/p>\n It’s growing and it’s going to continue to grow whether you’re on board or not. The good news is, it’s definitely not too late to get started using email marketing, so get on board<\/strong>.<\/p>\n An email subject line has ONLY ONE GOAL: to get the reader to open the email. Period. Full stop.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The truth is, we skim our inboxes<\/strong> so standing out from the crowd is essential<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n We’re all guilty of it. It’s how we’ve been trained,<\/em> thanks to the barrage of emails we receive on a daily basis. Skimming email subject lines while scrolling and gratuitously smashing the “delete” button is a necessary evil.<\/p>\n It’s a survival skill.<\/p>\n Pictured: anyone with an email account going through their inbox.<\/p><\/div>\n The indecisive weak among us get buried under the crushing weight of an impossible graveyard of unread emails. (I know – pretty dramatic, right? I should write novels.)<\/p>\n In all seriousness though, I asked everyday people on social media to screenshot their number of unread emails<\/strong>. The following are some of the responses I received. This is what you’re fighting through.<\/p>\n It’s because of this universal inbox truth that I’ve compiled a list of tips all designed to help make sure your emails:<\/p>\n Let’s get to it – here are the tips.<\/p>\n There isn’t a direct correlation to the open ratio vs number of characters in a subject line<\/a>. However, most emails are read on mobile devices and if your subject line takes too long to read, it will get canned for sure.<\/p>\n 28-39 characters seems to be the sweet spot but definitely shoot for less than 50 characters to make sure your subject line isn’t truncated or hard to read.<\/p>\n Here is a screenshot of my inbox on my phone this morning:<\/p>\n The first email from the Daily Stoic<\/a> (awesome site by the way, highly recommend it) does a great job of catching my attention and keeping their subject line from being truncated.<\/p>\n Even the email from Inner Warrior Apparel<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0is spot on. “Happiness in 10 seconds.”\u00a0<\/strong> It’s short, to the point and interesting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The subject lines of the Michael Hyatt and Jeff Bullas emails are both truncated on mobile at unfortunate places.<\/p>\n They’re cut off right at the point where the sentence might start to make sense<\/strong> but on mobile, I’m not entirely sure what I’m getting when I open those emails.<\/p>\n Urgency or “fear of missing out” (FOMO for the marketers out there!) is an old sales strategy that is still around today because it works. We have an deep rooted, evolutionary fear of being left behind.<\/p>\n Phrases like “24 hours left<\/strong>” or “ending today<\/strong>” work great to accomplish this, especially when talking about special offers or sales.<\/p>\n Just like anything, however, this strategy should be used in moderation. If all of your emails feel “urgent” your readers will likely start unsubscribing because they don’t want to always feel anxious when they see your email arrive in their inbox.<\/p>\n The following list of words should be avoided when writing your subject lines. The words should be avoided because you’ll come off looking spammy, desperate, clueless or all of the above.<\/p>\n If you have to use one of these occasionally it’s not the end of the world but avoid when you can and look for synonyms when possible.<\/p>\n While being vague can pique a reader’s curiosity and can work sometimes, it’s a dangerous game to play.<\/p>\n If you make your reader feel even slightly deceived you’ve likely lost them forever.<\/strong><\/p>\n Why? Why would you lie to me? I subscribed! I SUBSCRIBED!<\/p><\/div>\n Unless you’re specifically sending emails to the Hardy Boys<\/strong> (probably just dated myself there) don’t make the subject line a mystery. Whatever the topic of your email is about, allude to it in the subject line<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Not Pictured: a responsible use of my time.<\/p><\/div>\n You don’t have to give everything away in the subject line but let the reader know WHY<\/strong> they should open your email.<\/p>\n Along these same lines, don’t promise anything in the subject line that your email can’t deliver on.<\/p>\n\n
Ok, email marketing isn’t dead<\/h2>\n
How to write email subject lines that get opened<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n\n
1. Keep your subject line to less than 50 characters<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n2. Convey a sense of urgency<\/h3>\n
3. Words you should avoid using in your email marketing subject lines<\/h3>\n
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4. Be clear about the value of the email<\/h3>\n
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