Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Choosing a Good Email Subject Line

Posted by Unknown at 1:42 pm Labels: , , , , , ,
Along with concise content and good timing, choosing a good subject line for your email is one of the most crucial things to consider. Email marketing is a convenient, yet problematic way of promoting your website or product.

The email subject line must grab the reader’s attention and keep retain it - meaning it has to be catchy and interesting enough for the recipient to take time to open and read your mail. On the basis that ‘You only have one chance to make a first impression’, the subject line is very often the only impression an email makes upon a customer - so mastering the magical one-liner is essential.
Some of the important points you should consider when writing your email subject line for a marketing campaign are:

Use the Recipient’s Name
Try to observe your own reactions when you’re reading the subject lines of emails that you’ve received, the ones that are sure to grab your attention are the ones with your name in the subject line.  Adding the recipient’s name gives conveys the impression that the email was sent personally to the reader. It’s important to note, however, that appending names on every email that has nothing else personalised in it, is a little too gimmicky. So be sure to include something personalised for the customer in the body of the email, otherwise don’t use their names to personalise the subject line.

Solution-Oriented Subject
Rather than using a brand or product name on the subject line, consider writing your subject to propose a solution. For instance, a website that sells and is promoting, antivirus software could have the following subject line; “How to get your computer protected from all viruses” rather than a product oriented subject such as “Brand New Antivirus software released”.

Keep it Intriguing
Leave the customers hanging by putting ellipsis on the subject line(...). This suggests that there is a continuation on the topic, thereby arousing curiosity.
Restrict information to Top ten lists
There is something interesting and attention grabbing about a top ten list because readers tend to like to see valuable information in scannable, bite-size chunks. A concise, informative list delivers more value than endless paragraphs - even if they contain the same amount of information.

KISS – Keep it Short and Simple
The ‘KISS Principle’ is well known in the field of marketing but seems harder to achieve in email marketing. Try to get your message across in two words rather than half-a-dozen as this will allow it to stand out from the rest of the content in the customer’s inbox.

The above points are just some of the basic guidelines you need to follow to create an email marketing campaign that is effective and won’t end up on the recipient’s trash folder. Try to keep in mind that choosing and using the right combination of words is vital in creating that all important, attention-grabbing, email subject line.

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