Tip of the Week: How to Craft an Irresistible Email Subject Line

We think that it’s safe to say that nobody enjoys their inbox receiving incredulous amounts of emails on a regular basis. Yet, the business owner must maintain their inbox every day, and if a message doesn’t strike them as important, they’ll probably either ignore it or delete it completely. Here’s how you can prevent this from happening.

Depending on who you’re addressing and the context of the email, there are a few different ways you can approach your email heading. One surefire way is to make the subject line relatable and personable.

According to Unbounce, a message with the subject line, “Steve, where are you?” achieved a 43 percent open rate, compared to a Mailchimp report citing the industry average to be 24 percent. This is due to both the personalization of the subject line, as well as the perception that, by not reading the email, the recipient will miss out in some way.

Another great way to reach your email recipient is to include a detail about their recent activities with you. You can use the subject line to catch their attention. For example, you can ask them how their experience was, and customize it to make sure that the message doesn’t get identified as spam. You can do this if someone has recently purchased a new product or service from your company. Doing so establishes a personal connection, and can inspire the recipient to take further action.

Offering a special benefit, like a limited time offer or important information, can also inspire a reader to open the email. Perhaps you could try educating them on how best to perform a certain task, or even a surprising fact. Whatever you decide to include, make sure that it’s either useful or interesting.

On the other hand, if your email is conveying bad news to the reader, it’s best to be honest at all times, as well as authoritative. If the service that you provide is disrupted, it’s best to let them know about the issue, as well as any plans that you have to resolve it.

Basically, the thing to remember is that your message, including the subject line, should be tailored to meet the expectations of the recipient. No two people are the same, and you will have varying purposes in reaching out to them. Your mission should be to make all of your recipients feel like they’re special; otherwise, they’ll suspect that you’re emailing everyone in your contacts, and assume that the message isn’t genuine. This can cause them to put your message in the back of their mind (or in the spam folder).

What are some of your favorite ways to get your emails read? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more great technology tips and tricks.