Whether you’re working for a big brand or a small business, you’re probably sending out marketing emails to utilise a free avenue for marketing your service or products.
The question is: are you having success reaching the highest levels of engagement from your email campaign?
We have several subject line secrets to increase your open rate.
The power of urgency – I might lose out
People tend to open emails that insinuate scarcity or lack or in other terms, emails that create massive FOMO.
Travel companies use this one like crazy which is why you’ll constantly see “Only 2 seats left!” on flight websites and “Only 1 room left on these dates!” on hotel booking websites.
When a customer feels as if they may lose out on the great deal they’re browsing, they’re more likely to take action.
The magic of freebies – What can you offer me?
You want your email subscribers to feel as though they get special promotions and personalised deals for being a part of your email list.
The idea is to come off genuine when offering your freebies to avoid look spammy and present your brand in a way that is more like, “I am grateful for you, so I will give you x.” This is why you see big brands sharing things like, “To celebrate hitting 20,000 email subscribers, we’re giving away x!”
Recent things people care about – I want you to stay current
Just as new trending content will result in better SEO, it also results in more email clicks. People tend to want to read about current affairs and breaking news so it is important to stay relevant and news-like. Your creative job is to connect breaking news with your industry and brand. For example, if you’re a coffee shop, you could create a subject line like, “Construction has begun on Route 66 this week, time to get a coffee and avoid the traffic!”
The power of curiosity – You’ve peaked my interest
Curiosity is human nature, after all. Email subject lines that generate curiosity and create a personal connection will increase your open rate. Essentially, give your readers a taste of the email content but don’t give it all away in the subject line. Give your subscribers a reason to click! Instead of the subject line, “Tiny houses are the new trend”, use the subject line, “Who has the better home? The traditional or the tiny house owner?” Readers will want to know the answer! Stimulating curiosity to click on your content, whatever it may be, will result in significantly higher open rate, click-through rate and traffic to the website.
Personalised messages – This must be for me
Personalised messages increases click-through rates and improves conversions. Successful digital marketing involves consistently improving both of these. There are several ways to personalise an email subject line including using the person’s name, sending a birthday email, and acknowledging their location.
Bonus tip: Offer your subscriber something free on their birthday!
Personal stories – I connect with that
People love to read about a shared experience. Titles that reflect a personal story have subjects lines like, “I earned 10,000 AUD in 1 month with this health app.” Storytelling is a wildly effective content marketing strategy with a high success rate. It’s definitely worth giving it a go and writing a story to share with your readers.
The emoji phenomenon – I like your personality
Businesses are using emojis to make their brand appear more human and inviting 😉. The wink emoji for example, can communicate to your reader that you’re being playful which improves their enjoyment and they feel the interaction is more personal, despite the fact it’s online.
Create trust – You seem like a trustworthy source
Make sure that your email marketing is engaging but also informative and consistent to inspire trust and increase open rate. Email banners are a great way to make an email more attractive and inspire trust with subscribers. Creating an e-newsletter with consistent branding and design is a great way to connect with your customers whilst maintaining the appearance of being a reliable source.
Avoid looking spammy – Stop yelling at me…
STOP USING CAPLOCKS IN YOUR EMAILS!!! Because you’re putting yourself in the spam filter whilst annoying your potential customers. Also, you read that as someone yelling, yeah? So did all your subscribers – not the kind of image you want to portray I’m sure.
You want to be open and friendly so keep it short, genuine and be specific.
Don’t just pay attention to email open rate. Also have a look at your unique click rate. A unique click is when the customer not only clicks to open your email, but when they actually click on the content within the email that takes them to your article, website, product, or incentive.
Online marketing is all about conversion rates and conversion rates are all about how engaged your readers are with the content you’re creating. The best way to engage your readers is to peak their interest, stay current, be a good storyteller, create urgency, keep design consistent but information interesting, and be personal to connect.
