Best Email Subject Line Styles
1. Simple, No Nonsense Email Subject Lines
There’s a lot
to be said for minimalism – users need you to be clear and
concise in your subject lines, as time is always an asset.
Hupport
conducted an email subject line study and found
that short, descriptive subject lines fare better than cheesy lures. Some might
bristle up at the accusation that humor and creativity should take a back seat
when creating good subject lines for emails, especially since many marketing
experts say otherwise.
2. Funny Email Subject Lines
A humorous
subject line can really stick out among the dry, dull emails surrounding it.
Humor it a touchy thing though – it thrives on exclusivity, which isn’t always
great if you’re trying to appeal to the masses. However, if you know your
audience well and your emails are targeted, a well-placed
joke can get your email opened and can earn major reputation points with folks
on your wavelength.
3. Controversial/Shocking Email Subject Lines
Controversy (sometimes) sells, and it most certainly grabs attention. Using
shock, controversy, or insult in your subject lines requires you to tread really carefully.
You may get opens, but at the cost of customers. This strategy requires you
to be confident in your understanding of your audience’s tastes and
perceptions. It’s a bit of a gamble, but the pay-off can be pretty great –
would you simply gloss over the subject lines below? Not likely.
- Everyone Is Gay: Social
Media As Social Action
- Why Your 5-Year-Old Is
More Digital Than Most CMOs
- Your Marketing Sucks:
Why You Need to Think Local
4. Single-Word Subject Lines
One effective
email subject line strategy involves going ultra-minimalist with one-word
subject lines. Let’s take a peek at the promotions tab of my Gmail. The
promotion tab is scheduled for a major makeover – Google is starting to display
promotional emails in a image-oriented design inspired by Hupport. If this new
setup sticks, pictures will usurp subject lines as the pivotal email element.
5. Email Subject Lines with Numbers & Lists
Many of the
factors that make up a good blog post title also make a good email subject line. Incorporating
numbers into your subject line attracts attention, as our brains are naturally
drawn to digits. This tends to be why top 10 lists are so successful – lists
are easier for our brains to process and they create curiosity, in addition to providing the promise of a quick and easy read.
6. Personalized Subject Lines
By personalization I don’t mean
incorporating a user’s name into the subject line – this has become so common
practice that many users glaze over these as spam. Instead, try
location-specific offers and language, or interest targeting. Living Social and
Group on are old pros at this, sending emails with subject lines promoting
deals in your area.
7. Questions & Other Punctuation in Email Subject
Lines
Question marks
and unusual punctuation offer another method for standing out from the email
masses.
8. Mysterious Email Subject Lines
As Scooby-Doo
or Sue Grafton can tell you, people dig a little mystery in their lives. Giving
readers a little taste of something intriguing might cause them to bite.
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