All the great email design and persuasive copy in the world doesn’t matter if your audience doesn’t open your emails. Most people’s inboxes are perpetually full, which makes it hard to cut through the noise. How to Increase Open Rates with Better Email Subject Lines. Even your most loyal subscribers can’t open every email, especially if your email subject lines don’t catch their attention.
The key to success is to capture your recipients’ attention and make them eager to open your email. The only way to achieve this is to optimize what they see when they check their inbox: the subject line, the from field, and the pre-header. Here’s how to make all of these elements work together for better campaigns.
What is a good subject line?
The subject line is the first thing most recipients see, even before the sender’s name. This means a great subject line is your first line of defense against instant deletion.
But what makes a subject line effective? Even a witty, humorous phrase isn’t enough. Your subject line has to say the right thing to your audience—and be quickly digestible. Here are the goals of every subject line:
It expresses your brand. Think about the value you offer, the experience you provide, and the overall vibe you embrace. For example, if your brand is very “fresh” and geared toward young people, you might want to use a short, punchy subject line with emojis.
It explains what’s in the email
While a little teasing is fine (e.g. “Open to discover XYZ…”), don’t be too vague. Generic subject lines are easy to ignore. Strike a balance between “cryptic” and “literal.”
It’s not too long—and it’s not too short. There’s a sweet spot for subject line length. Short ones (e.g. “Amazing Deal!”) are just as ineffective as long ones. Unfortunately, email clients indonesia telegram data are not consistent about the number of characters they display before cutting them off. Some studies suggest that 41-55 characters is the ideal length. We recommend keeping it short, as many smartphone clients will truncate subject lines at around 40 characters.
Additionally, all of your subject lines should be consistent. This doesn’t mean that every campaign will be the same. However, your audience will eventually learn to pick your emails out from the crowd. If you wildly change your tone or format between campaigns, you’ll lose them.
Curved Methods for Creating Compelling Subject Lines
Once you understand the mechanics of a good subject aws as a scalability engine for software development line, it’s time to craft one that will increase your open rates. The CURVE framework explains the five key elements to a successful subject line:
Curiosity
Compelling subject lines pique the recipient’s interest without giving away big secrets. (As we mentioned above, aim to strike a balance between intrigue and simple descriptions.) Find a way to get your audience excited about the content of your email. Curiosity-driven subject lines often ask a question, such as “Ready to level up your marketing?”
Avoid quizzing your recipients here. A question that deb directory could have a negative answer, like “Are you ready for tax season?” is not nearly as compelling as a subject line that hints at the benefits you offer, like “Eager to get the best tax refund possible?”
urgent
People are in a hurry – but they’re also full of FOMO (fear of missing out). They’re more likely to open an email if they feel they might otherwise lose out on a benefit. Therefore, a subject line that expresses urgency can be very effective.
Don’t be too demanding, though. Subject lines that shout “Open Now!” or “Limited Time Offer!” are aggressive, not urgent. They can easily backfire if the recipient decides they have better things to do. (Plus, they might trigger spam filters.) Instead, focus it on the benefit, like “Last Chance for Email Marketing Secrets!”
Relevance
Obviously, you never want to send an email to someone who isn’t interested in your product. But that doesn’t just mean once you’re interested. That is, you have to send messages that are relevant to each recipient’s situation , especially when they’ll be receiving your email. For example, a new customer or someone who just joined your list might not find a loyalty program or big-ticket item very appealing. These campaigns are best sent to established customers.
Of course, every email should be connected to your target audience’s problem. The subject line is the first hint of this. Make sure you click into why someone is receiving your email.
On that note: be mindful of your segmentation. If someone joined your list because they downloaded a free ebook about Google Ads, it would be silly to follow up with an offer for a paid Instagram course. It’s not a matter of getting them to engage with you.
value
When people check their inboxes, they’re making decisions quickly. As they read each subject line, they’re asking themselves, “Is this email worth opening?” If they delete yours, there’s no second chance. That’s why you need to communicate the value of your email — succinctly and quickly! ( Learn more about how brevity is critical to good email marketing results .)
As we mentioned above, you should focus as much as possible on the benefits to your customers. But value also comes from the experience. Is your subject line trustworthy? Inspiring? Exciting? Can the recipient truly understand what’s in store for them?
emotion
Finally, there’s emotion. Sometimes, ambiguous subject lines work, like for basic account management emails (like “Your order has been shipped”). But for marketing emails, you should think of your subject line as a conversation starter. What can you say that will get people thinking? What do you think of your email marketing campaign? Are you excited about it? Do you want to build a strong connection with your audience? Let those emotions shine (but don’t get too wacky).
Quick note: To emojis or not to emojis? Most email marketers don’t use these icons, so they can be a great way to stand out from the crowd. However, emojis are a bit cartoonish and have a whimsical, youthful vibe that may not align with your brand. If you want to try emojis, A/B test your subject lines with and without emojis to see if they drive results.
Use the curve method
You don’t need to include all of these elements in every subject line. Have at least two if you want good results. If you only have two, make them relevant and valuable. Nothing else will cut through the noise.
(In our 10 commandments of email marketing. )
Use the From field to open more content
The subject line is often the first thing people see, but it’s not the only thing. The sender address is crucial to increasing your open rate.
The human touch is important here. An email from “XYZ Company” is far less enticing than one from a real person. At the same time, you don’t want to look like a stranger. Add authority and recognizability by mixing the two, like “Elsbeth from SharpSpring.”
A relevant From field encourages people to open your emails by instilling trust. Additionally, the more “corporate” the From field appears, the more deceptive it will look — especially if someone doesn’t recognize your brand name.
Avoid using a “no-reply” email address for any marketing emails. Not only does it violate CAN-SPAM and GDPR regulations, but it sends a clear message that you’re only interested in one-way communications. This can quickly undermine your brand-building efforts and hurt your open rates and credibility. (Note: It’s generally OK to use no-reply email addresses for transactional emails, such as order confirmations.)
How to use preheader to increase open rate
A preheader is a snippet of text that appears as a “preview” in some email clients. It’s usually the content above the email header, hence the name. Don’t waste this valuable opportunity to increase your open rates!
Because the pre-header doubles as a preview (and appears next to your subject line), it’s the perfect way to expand your pitch. Your subject line should be able to stand on its own—some email clients won’t display pre-headers—but your pre-header can add more context and entice people to open your email.
After crafting the perfect subject line, consider a pre-headline that complements your message. If you use the CURVE method, your subject line may include some kind of “teaser” that is relevant to your audience. Use a pre-headline to add compelling details or spark curiosity. You have about 50-70 characters of space, so there’s room to be creative!
Here’s an example from The Sole Society:
Subject line: It’s time to get comfortable
Headline: Sweaters, booties and must-haves
The subject line itself is great: it blends urgency and emotional cues. But the pre-subject text gives recipients a chance to visualize the offer. Now, not only are they thinking about getting cozy, but they’re also thinking about buying some cozy items.
Here’s another example from Adobe Creative Cloud:
Subject line: Make your choice quickly
Header Text: Learn how to cut out complex objects in Photoshop with this quick tutorial
This marketing email focuses on providing value rather than driving sales. The subject line is necessary for the reader, but it also hints at the content. And there’s also a sense of urgency. Here, the preheader text is extremely important because it spells out the offer. Recipients know exactly what they’ll find in the email, which makes them more likely to open it.
A quick note: While you don’t need to add a custom preheader, if you don’t, many recipients will see something like “Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view it in a web browser” – which is not appealing at all! So take the time to craft your own preheader for better results. We also recommend A/B testing your preheader.
Why You Need to Personalize Your Subject Line
Now that you know how to optimize your subject lines and preheaders, it’s time to switch things up a bit. Just as personalized email content can increase click-through rates, personalized subject lines will entice recipients to open your emails.
First, people subconsciously view their emails as places for (a) conversations and (b) information. This is why many people hesitate to respond to obvious marketing emails. By including their name, you instantly make your email more relevant.
Secondly, many marketing emails don’t use personalization. So by including the recipient’s name in the subject line, you can draw their attention to your email. This makes emails with personalized subject lines 26% more likely to be opened.
However, personalization done poorly can backfire. Before you try to personalize your subject line, make sure:
- Your contact list contains everyone’s name.
- All the names on your list are spelled accurately. (If you’re using lead capture submissions to build your list, this shouldn’t be a problem. But if you’re inputting data from another source, like a handwritten email sign-up sheet, watch out for spelling errors.)
- All the fields in your list are assigned correctly, e.g. first and last name are not swapped. (Nothing is worse than getting an email that’s personalized for my last name instead of my first name!)
Misspelled names and misconfigured personalization can derail your marketing campaign. Always test, test, test before you send.
A final word of warning: avoid using personalization in your first email. Ironically, it seems spammy because many unethical marketers use personalization to trick their recipients. Keep it general at first, then use personalization after your recipients warm up to you.
it’s over
Your open rate is unpredictable. People are fickle and may not open your emails for any number of reasons. However, the more you can spark their interest and instill trust, the higher your open rate will be. So, take the time to craft a compelling subject line using the CURVE method, and don’t forget to tweak your preheader and From fields!
In the next part of this series, we’ll dive deeper into how to write subject lines that encourage people to open your emails. Get ready to learn some copywriting secrets in Part 2!
