6 Tips & Practices For The Best Email Subject Lines
Do you know that in 2016, there are approximately 4.6 billion active email accounts in the world and the number is expected to reach 5.5 billion in 2019 [1]? With a total population of 7.5 billion today, it means that each person has at least one or more email accounts. Email is ubiquitous in workplace culture, not only is it used for communication or information sharing, it can also be utilized as a powerful marketing tool for businesses, especially in E-commerce.
When receiving an email, most people would quickly scan the subject line to decide whether to open or ignore the email. Therefore, it is critical to customize your email subject line and make sure it can raise receiver’s interest to click. Here are 6 tips to help you write an appealing email subject line:
Keep it short and simple
With more than 40% of emails being opened on mobile devices [2], it is best to keep your email subject line within 50 characters or less to avoid the title being cut-off. Your email subject line should be as short and simple as possible so that the receiver can easily view the entire subject line. Also, try to exclude meaningless wording or frivolous details. For example, if you are sending a review request email, instead of having “Leave a review for your recent purchase – order #2518762”, “Leave a review for your recent purchase” looks much better and simpler.
Customized and make them feel special
Incorporating personalization techniques like name and location into email subject lines is another way to increase engagement. Using the term “you” or “yours” to indicate that the email is specifically targeted and you’re addressing them directly. However, using recipient’s first name in the email subject line has become way too common and many people classifying this as a spam technique [3]. So be careful when using recipient’s first or last name in the email subject lines and make sure that the rest of the content includes worthwhile information. You can also personalize the email by including a city location or use language and interest-targeting.
Create a sense of urgency or scarcity
“50% OFF, OFFER ENDS TODAY!” is one of the most common example of sales email that creates scarcity and urgency to tell recipients they must act now. Subject lines that create a sense of urgency and scarcity can lead to a 22% increase in email open-rate [4]. Urgency relies on a sense that time is running out and scarcity refers to the fear of missing out by using keywords such as “Limited” or “While Supplies Last.” From psychological marketing perspective, when people feel a sense of urgency or scarcity, they are more likely to take immediate action. You can incorporate urgency in the language in the subject lines to promote your email content.
Controversial or interesting
A good email subject line grabs attention, and controversy can surely help you do that. Using controversial or shocking content in your email subject lines can sometimes sell, but you will need to be very careful with the topic and make critical balance between controversy and information. Controversial statement is often used in the news headlines because they grab readers’ attention and make them want to question the truth by digging into more. This strategy can also be applied to email subject lines. However, you have to be confident about what you’re saying, know your target audiences well, and be sure not to provide over-misleading content.
Include numbers or figures
Numbers work because they stand out more than text. Human brains are naturally drawn to digits as numbers are easier to process and read [3]. By incorporating numbers or lists in your email subject lines, it can guide recipients toward taking actions. You can use percentage, order, rank, dollar, lists etc. to make your email subject lines visually stand out and encourage people to click.
Use question marks
Using question marks is another common technique to help increase email open-rate. Email subject lines that ask a question are useful because they appeal to recipients’ curiosity. This will create an immediate engagement which entice the readers to find out the answer by clicking into the email.
By following the key tips listed above, you can start exploring the best subject lines for your Amazon feedback and review request emails. Try out these techniques and boost your feedback and reviews!
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Reference
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/456519/forecast-number-of-active-email-accounts-worldwide/[2] http://www.contactmonkey.com/blog/portfolio-items/funnelholic-blog-top-5-best-practices-for-email-subject-lines
[3] http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/31/email-subject-lines
[4] https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/subject-line-stats-open-rates-slideshare#sm.000004fzapn47adliqjxb57jna87n