Archive for Subject Lines
New Rules for Sexy Subject Line
Source: Dylan Boyd, iMedia Connection, August 23, 2010
Article Highlights:
- Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with length and characters
- If you want to grow a mature email program, spend considerable time and energy testing a variety of offers
- Avoid using your sender name as a repetitive part of the subject line, and personalize only where it makes sense
Are you Insulting readers? Subject line lessons from Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail
Source: By Mark Brownlow, MarketingProfs
It’s hard to imagine there’s much new to say about subject lines, yet most of us fall into two traps once we’ve settled on a particular approach.
Our first mistake is to assume all that matters is how the subject line looks in the inbox.
Our second mistake is the tendency to assess each potential subject line in its entirety, irrespective of how long it is. Which can lead to some accidental embarassment…
Truncation traps: 3 more subject line lessons
Source: By Mark Brownlow, Email Marketing Reports
Limitations in email and webmail interfaces might leave your subject line looking a little odd.
If a subject line gets truncated on its way to your subscriber’s inbox, cautions Mark Brownlow at Email Marketing Reports, it can do more than cause a “wry smile” or a “little embarrassment.” It can cause outright confusion, or it can tell your customers something you didn’t even mean to say. Horrors!
Creating Powerful Subject Lines
Source: Christina Galbornetti, Director Creative Services, V12 Group
Initial Impact
The email subject line means the difference between an open and a delete. Although segmenting your audience maximizes an email’s relevance, the subject line needs to have a compelling offer/reason/benefit to encourage higher opens. It is perhaps the MOST important component of any email campaign. It’s equal in importance to the headline on an outer envelope of a direct marketing piece. You’ve got precious seconds to grab the reader’s attention to take action and click to open your email, especially for mobile users on the go.
Your first point of contact is the subject line which also creates the initial impression about your brand and business. Branding is essential within the subject line to identify the sender and add value to your communications.
SPAM Score and Subject Lines
One of the elements heavily weighted in the scoring process is the email subject line. Some of the variables that factor into the subject line score are subject line content, use of punctuation, and use of uppercase characters. These factors are key to subject line evaluation because they may typify how spammers utilize subject lines. (Tommi Pryor, www.winningcampaigns.org) Avoid common Spam Trigger words and phrases and utilize open source spam filter programs such as SpamAssassin to help assess the likelihood your email will be blocked as Spam.
Subject Line Length
There are conflicting reports of what length works best for email subject lines, but here are some stats to consider and/or test:
- The first 45-50 characters of any subject line should clearly state a benefit or offer
- The subject line should be a maximum of 8 to 10 words to get immediate attention
- The average email viewer can display 60 characters in the subject line before it is cut off or truncated
- Short subject lines under 50 characters increase the open rate as do long subject lines over 70 characters, but that those falling in between at 51-69 characters decrease the open rate
- Refrain from the use of punctuation or other non-text characters in your subject line
The ultimate goal of the subject line is to reach an audience that is literally bombarded with email advertising and convince them to open your email.
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