Subject lines V: Copywriting and inspiration
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on November 25, 2008
Part I: Length
Part II: Objectives
Part III: Branding
Part IV: Personalization
If you review all that's written on subject lines, you'll discover a number of traits and reactions a winning subject line might contain and/or evoke. Such as...
Good luck with that.
Let's back up a little and recall our original premise: think of a subject line as a work of art. There is no one single formula that guarantees success, but there are approaches and concepts that have proved useful in creating a masterpiece.
We've already covered length, branding and personalization. What other factors can help build that winner?
Let's take the proposition that the subject line copy is driving interest first and action second.
A recent Return Path consumer survey found that the most effective subject lines for catching attention were those that "...clearly state the offer."
A MailChimp study also found a correlation between higher open rates and email subject lines that "...describe the subject of your email...the best subject lines tell what's inside."
Dialog-Mail found a similar correlation in their study (in German).
There are issues with surveys, but the message is relevant and repeated by many experts: a clear, concise, specific description of the email's contents is a good start. Examples:
Possibilities include making the subject more relevant:
Though this broad approach is well-established it is NOT your only choice.
You may, for example, find value in focusing on curiosity as a driver of action (a factor also highlighted by consumers in the Return Path survey). Can questions or teasers encourage opens and responses?
As Loren McDonald wrote back in early 2006:
"There is no sure-fire formula...What works in one campaign might bomb with the next. A discount offer should be worded differently from an upsell, and both are different from a breaking-news announcement."
Which is why experts place so much emphasis on testing (see part VI).
If all that seems challenging, there are sources of inspiration out there. For starters you can draw on insights from other parts of your business:
There are yet more aspects to consider in the subject line creation process (really), like testing, frontloading, style, legal issues and deliverability concerns. All that to come in the final part of the series...
More on subject lines | Tags: email marketing, subject lines
Part II: Objectives
Part III: Branding
Part IV: Personalization
If you review all that's written on subject lines, you'll discover a number of traits and reactions a winning subject line might contain and/or evoke. Such as...
Good luck with that.
Let's back up a little and recall our original premise: think of a subject line as a work of art. There is no one single formula that guarantees success, but there are approaches and concepts that have proved useful in creating a masterpiece.
We've already covered length, branding and personalization. What other factors can help build that winner?
Copy approaches
Let's take the proposition that the subject line copy is driving interest first and action second.
A recent Return Path consumer survey found that the most effective subject lines for catching attention were those that "...clearly state the offer."
A MailChimp study also found a correlation between higher open rates and email subject lines that "...describe the subject of your email...the best subject lines tell what's inside."
Dialog-Mail found a similar correlation in their study (in German).
There are issues with surveys, but the message is relevant and repeated by many experts: a clear, concise, specific description of the email's contents is a good start. Examples:
- 20% off new t-shirts
- How to lower shopping cart abandonment rates
Possibilities include making the subject more relevant:
- 20% off new t-shirts for women (when you know the gender of the recipient)
- 20% off new t-shirts: sale ends Thursday
- How to lower shopping cart abandonment rates by 10%
- 20% off new t-shirts: be the envy of your friends
- 20% off new t-shirts: exclusive email offer
Though this broad approach is well-established it is NOT your only choice.
You may, for example, find value in focusing on curiosity as a driver of action (a factor also highlighted by consumers in the Return Path survey). Can questions or teasers encourage opens and responses?
- Want to boost sign-up numbers?
- Is this our best offer ever?
- What do you think?
- You'll laugh, but...
- Ooops, sorry...
As Loren McDonald wrote back in early 2006:
"There is no sure-fire formula...What works in one campaign might bomb with the next. A discount offer should be worded differently from an upsell, and both are different from a breaking-news announcement."
Which is why experts place so much emphasis on testing (see part VI).
Inspiration
If all that seems challenging, there are sources of inspiration out there. For starters you can draw on insights from other parts of your business:
- What are popular blog post titles?
- What calls to action or links drive the most clicks at your website?
- What are your most successful PPC ad headlines?
- What are your competitors doing? Do they seem to have found a winning subject line approach? (Warning: you may be in the test sample that gets the losing subject line or your competitors may not be properly testing or analyzing their subject lines!)
- Chad White's RetailEmail blog includes a regular review of retailer subject lines
- Sundeep Kapur is running through some "subject lines that work" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
- The Smith-Harmon and eROI blogs regularly showcase good email examples
- You'll find numerous examples and copywriting tips in the articles listed here
There are yet more aspects to consider in the subject line creation process (really), like testing, frontloading, style, legal issues and deliverability concerns. All that to come in the final part of the series...
More on subject lines | Tags: email marketing, subject lines
[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
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1 Comments:
"There is no sure-fire formula...What works in one campaign might bomb with the next."
This might be a problem for many marketers. I think a lot of marketers are looking for a formula that will work with every campaign, instead of trying to find the right formula for their current campaign.
Jeff Kempf, marketing intern at eROI
By 
Jeff Kempf, on
26 November, 2008
