You may think that an email subject line doesn’t have much value when it comes to growing your business. However, sometimes it’s the smallest of things that have the biggest impacts. This holds true to your business too. 

EmailAn email (or electronic mail) is a method of exchanging communications through the internet. It is one of the most used features on the web and the number one mean... subject lines are the first thing that catches a reader’s attention when they see an email in their inbox. You know the saying, “First impression is the last impression”. When it comes to emails, it couldn’t be more true. 

This is what email subject lines do for your customers. They make an impression that decides whether the customer will engage with you or not. Obviously, you’d want the former to happen and not the latter. 

There are many ways you can write a subject line. You can make it funny like, “Greg! We are sending you another email!” You can also have follow-up subject lines like, “Your shopping cart has one more thing in it”. 

Most email subject lines show an urgent situation that requires immediate action by the customer. These are the emails about some type of contest or for some seasonal sales. 

You may write the best subject lines for your emails, but they’re best according to you only. To really know whether they work or not, you’d have to test their accuracy. You can do that by creating a mailing list with only a few test subjects. 

Have two different test groups to test your subject lines on. If the test results were successful, then you should use the subject line in your next email. 

In this email, we have included such examples that were effective for people. We have also mentioned a list of tips you should follow to write a better email subject line. 

What is the email subject line? 

The email subject line helps in making the first impression of an email. It’s the tagline of your whole email. It’s something that the reader reads first when they get an email. On the basis of what they’ve read, they decide to open the email. 

By that, you’d understand that in some ways, subject lines affect your click-through rates too. It isn’t just the content of the whole email that gets better ROI. That only happens when the readers click on an email. 

To make more of your customers click on your email, you have to come up with successful email subject lines. The main motive here should be to get that click, rather than making the person delete the entire email. 

You’d ask, “How would I begin with a subject line?”, “What’s the basic thing I should know?” There’s not much to know here. To begin, you should know that it shouldn’t be too descriptive. You shouldn’t include a lot about your product or discount offer in your subject line. 

Keep your subject line brief, sometimes even two words can do the trick. You’re looking for a response like, “Hmm… I’d like to know more about this”. Curiosity isn’t the only element, though. You can also aim to make your customers laugh or chuckle. If you know anything about today’s generation, then you’d know they like humour. 

Your subject line has to be short and simple. But, don’t make it boring or dull. Avoid the clichés that people have been using for decades now. You have to say everything in less than 40 characters in your subject line. So, make sure that it is direct, honest, and interesting. The whole point of email subject lines is to summarize whatever has been written in the email. 

How to write an email subject line 

When writing an email subject line, think about what your audience would want to read. The more you see things from their point of view, the more clicks you’ll get. 

Here are the steps you should follow to write your email subject lines: 

• Use personalization: This is the step that you shouldn’t forget when you’re subject lines. Through the use of personalization, you’ll be able to connect with the audiences on a deeper level. A customer would prefer to get an email where you’ve written their name in the subject line. You can also include their interests in the subject line for personalization. 

• Keep it short and direct: It’s better to be brief with your subject lines. One of the reasons you should do this is because people mostly read their emails on their phones. A subject line with less than 50 characters is recommended. Plus, keep it to the point. When it’s direct, people would want to know more by clicking on the email. 

• Include questions: You should ask questions to your customers in your subject lines. These questions should make them curious. Include open-ended questions in your email subject lines. Make sure that these questions are important. 

• Make it urgent: When the readers read your subject line, they should get a sense of urgency. It must look genuine and not clickbait-y. You can show this urgency in those email subject lines where you’re announcing an offer on limited edition products. Another way is when you want people to participate in a contest.

• Avoid spamming: Lastly, when you’re writing an email subject line, make sure it doesn’t sound like spam. Avoid using capital letters in your subject line. Don’t use too many exclamation marks. Most importantly, make sure that the subject line doesn’t sound too sales-y to the customers. 

5 Best email subject line examples 

There are times when you’re stuck when writing your email subject line. Following are some examples of brands who’ve written successful email subject lines for you take to inspiration from: 

Boloco:

Boloco is a restaurant chain based in America. Their subject line included, “real baseball fans eat burritos”. This was simple and funny. Such subject lines will make your customers smile and laugh. 

Fluent City:

Fluent City offers language classes to people. In their subject line, they wrote, “The winners of the postcard contest are…”. By writing this subject line, they made an announcement in the subject line only. Such subject lines are useful when you want to make an exciting announcement to your customers. 

The Tropical Travellers:

They’re are a group of vacation concierges. They also help people in their destination weddings. When they wrote their subject line, they aimed to make the customers curious. For their line, they included “Destination Weddings…Want Rock Star Treatment?” Not only this made people curious, but after reading the email subject line, they really wanted to know the answer to this question. 

Strong Women, Strong Girls:

Strong Women, Strong Girls or SWSG is a non-profit organization with its branches in Pittsburgh and Boston. In their subject line, they included an open-ended question. They just asked their customers if they knew, “Who was Wonder Woman’s Role Model?” Such questions make the readers curious and interested to read the email. 

Bisque Imports:

Bisque Imports is a brand that sells pottery paints, unpainted ceramic bisque, and DIY arts. When they wrote an email introducing new products, they kept it simple. Instead of using too many words, they used an acronym – “TGIF!”. Such a subject line expresses more emotions but uses fewer words. 

Tips and Best Practices 

Your email subject lines have a big impact on the whole email marketing system. Sometimes, even a word or emoticon can create problems for your business.

You wouldn’t want that to happen when you send your emails. So, when you’re writing an email subject line, you should pay attention to every word. 

It’s through these words that your customers will understand your sentiments behind that email. Simply including someone’s name can make a huge difference. 

Here are some best practices and tips you should know when you’re writing your email subject lines.

• Use emoticons: If you want to make your customers happy, then don’t listen to people who tell you emoticons are unprofessional. Emoticons are literally placed in the email subject lines to convey the emotion behind the whole email. If you’re sending a thank you email, then add a smiling emoticon. If you wish to make your customers feel excited, then use the emoticon with star eyes

• Look at examples: It’s possible that when you’re writing your subject lines, you’d be confused about what you should write. It’s very common, and many people go through it. But instead of scratching your head, you should look at some successful examples. This way, you’ll find some inspiration. 

• Use a sender name: When you’re sending an email, you should write your name or another familiar name. When the customer reads the email with your name on it, they’ll feel connected. Most people use the company name, but writing your own name would be less intimidating and more personal. 

• Don’t use no-reply: This shouldn’t come as a surprise. You should either write your company name or your name in the subject line. Don’t use the no-reply subject line, as it may look like spam to the customer. 

In Conclusion

An email subject line is the main tag line of the email you’re writing. The CTRs of your emails depend as much on subject lines as they do on the emails. The email subject lines don’t have to be too descriptive about the product. They have to be short and simple. 

These lines should make the customer feel excited to know what really is in the email. Many email marketers would tell you that subject lines should have a sense of urgency in them. You can only use a limited number of characters in your subject lines, and they should be interesting. 

Avoid writing everything in capital letters and including many exclamation marks in them. You may make use of emoticons in your subject lines. Many marketers encourage the use of emoticons. 

You’d notice how much change a single emoticon can bring in the tone of your subject line. In addition to that, you should use personalization in your subject lines. Include your customer’s name or their interest in it. 

The sender should also include their name in the email. When they’d do this, the reader will recognize the name and feel connected to the business. Avoid using “no-reply” in your subject lines. These aren’t encouraged and customers feel that such emails are spam. 

You can also include questions in your subject lines. They should be open-ended questions and should sound intriguing too. When you write such questions, the customers usually open the emails to know the answers. 

Another good practice when you’re writing subject lines is to be direct. You shouldn’t use clickbait words in your subject lines. Always be honest and genuine to your customers when you write the subject lines.