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The famous phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is often very valid. We all know though, if an email doesn't have a convincing, succinct subject line it will often grace Deleted Items before being given the chance of being opened. According to research by the Email Sender and Provider Coalition, a massive 73% of people make the decision to report an email as spam or junk from the subject line. It's widely acknowledge that 50 characters is the limit for a Subject Line displayed by most email clients. If you thought keeping to Twitter's 140 limit was difficult, email subject lines are certainly best left for the experts! To help out beginners, we have devised 10 best practice rules we consider essential for writing an effective subject line, helping to boost your open rates and subscriber retention. 1st Commandment: Decide on your subject line earlyAdmit it, your subject line is the last thing you think about, right? It's often the final step in sending out an email campaign, so we're all guilty of forgetting about it. What's worse, we only give it a few seconds thought when we get to entering it. As mentioned in the statistic above though, getting the subject line right is crucial in order for your email to be read. As you plan an email campaign, start thinking about the most relevant subject line according to the email's content. You may find yourself tweaking the line as your email is being developed. 2nd Commandment: Test your email listIf your email has no impending deadline, you can always try different subject lines to different segments of your email lists. You can then use the best performing one for the rest of your subscribers. Try to plan your email campaign in order to add an extra day in for testing subject lines. You can always try subject lines from from trends that seem to work elsewhere (newspapers are an obvious example), even from subject lines in marketing emails you yourself click on. 3rd Commandment: Consider the From LineRather obviously, the "From" line tells the recipient who the email was sent by. Consequently, you don't need to repeat the company name in your subject line. This gives you valuable space for a more detailed subject. Branding a subject line is good though, especially if takes up little space. By keeping a small element of continuity, the recipient can quickly spot your email if it slips into their Junk Folder. 4th Commandment: Be SuccinctAs mentioned, 50 characters is typically the amount displayed by email clients. You could write more in your subject line for those that display more, just ensure you don't cut through a word and that the important bits are within the first 50 characters. Testing is important here. Be sure to have different email clients installed so you can test the length of your subject line before sending to your subscribers. 5th Commandment: Make it PersonalIf you use clever email sending software, it's possible to personalise a subject line with database interactivity. Like Amazon or eBay, subject lines can be personalised based according to preferences, interests or past purchases. Of course, especially this time of year, people often are purchasing for others, so make it easy for the recipient to change their preferences. 6th Commandment: Urgency drives actionCome sales season, you can drive action by creating urgency through deadlines. Don't let the recipient forget about your email when you could include information in your subject lines such as "Order by midnight,” “Last day to ensure Xmas delivery.” You could also plan this technique leading up to the event, reminding subscribers they have “5 Days Left…” and then the day before following it up it with “Only 24 Hours Left….”. 7th Commandment : Avoid Spam FiltersYou might think your subject is pretty snappy, but others might just find it spammy! You can check the content of your subject line with a tool like Spam Check. The report will highlight keywords that are particularly disliked by spam filters. Unsurprisingly, extensive use of capital letters and exclamation points are frowned upon. It tends to look unprofessional anyway, so if possible, avoid. 8th Commandment: Don't Discount FreeFree is one of those words spam filters don't especially like, but by tightening up the rest of your email to make it spam free, you can use it without too much trouble. The reality is, people are still responsive to "Free," so often the benefits outweigh messages lost from over zealous spam filters. Just be sure not to use it as the first word in the subject line. 9th Commandment: Be HonestThere is nothing worse than having a subject line that promises the world yet the email doesn't back up the lofty claims. If there is an offer or particular product/service mentioned, make sure it is highly visible within the email. Even if an email isn't technically spam (they've subscribed, after all), it's an instant way of becoming distrusted if you don't follow this golden rule. 10th Commandment: Don't Get ComplacentSadly, what works in one email campaign might be a disaster in the next. Whatever you do, don't keep repeating the same subject line just because you thought it worked the first time. It's important to stand out each time whilst retaining a familiar feel to establish trust with the recipient.
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