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Broaching the subject line

Sometimes the hardest sentences to write are the shortest – a snappy quote that just isn’t sounding snappy enough, the new product tagline that has to sum up everything in no more than four words total and of course your email newsletter subject lines. We are all inundated with daily emails and, beyond the crucial business ones and the recipe you just have to try from your mum, it becomes a game of filtering out the interesting from the ‘straight to trash’ emails.

Ideally your newsletter subject line will need to catch the viewer’s attention, make a good impression of the email within before enticing them to click to open. So you are probably wondering how to do this? Don’t worry, we’ve put together some ideas.

  1. Like everything, it needs to be in line with your brand style, so you will know how formal or informal that should be.
  2. Keep it short and sweet, we generally advise that 5-7 words is a good benchmark – don’t forget that in many mail programs some of the subject gets cut off!
  3. Never let it sound spammy – ALL CAPS, salesy words, and over the top usage of !!! – are brilliant indicators for people to delete that message.
  4. Capture their imagination with an interesting subject line, possibly one that can intrigue or provide an incentive to open such as a time-limited offer.

Examples of clickable subject lines

Your Ticket To Savings – Take up to 45% off premium
Why it works… here the company has utilised splitting the subject the most engaging part is ‘Savings’ but for those that can see it the offer is expanded. The use of ‘Your Ticket’ sounds exclusive and provides a personal touch.

We’ve got your bank holiday weekend sorted
Why it works… the casual tone will appeal to an informal target audience as it sounds like an email you might receive from a friend.

Don’t miss our £6 PIZZAS!
Why it works… straight away your attention is drawn to the possibility of missing out and we all hate missing out.