How to Write Email Subject Lines Your Readers Can’t Resist

Well-written subject lines are the key to a successful email marketing campaign, as they are the main influence on whether an email is opened or not. And with email marketing having the greatest return on investment (ROI) out of all other marketing channels, investing time and energy into writing effective subject lines is certainly worthwhile.

Subject lines can be tricky due to character limitations and it’s prime marketing real estate so you have to make every word count. With different email platforms showing different subject line lengths, aiming for 40-60 characters is a good goal to ensure your subject line isn’t cut off and part of your message is missed.

As professional marketers and copywriters, Taste the Local Difference has written a lot of emails. Read on to learn about how to improve your subject line writing skills and increase your email marketing capabilities!

But first, some email marketing basics!

What’s in a subject line?

Subject lines consist of three pieces: the sender, subject line, and text preview, sometimes called a preview, email preview, or snippet. 

While the subject line is the most important piece to consider, the preview offers an opportunity to provide more context to the information in the subject line. It works alongside your subject line to encourage the reader to open your email and serves as a description of the content of the email.

But take note, the amount of preview text that appears is unpredictable. Readers can alter their inbox preferences to see all, some, or no preview, so prioritize your key messaging in the subject line rather than the preview.

P.S. The sender line probably seems straightforward, but make sure to include your business name instead of or in addition to your personal name. Having a business name in the inbox lends credibility and professionalism to your email.

Before you start writing, have a target audience brainstorm session.

The first step in writing to any audience is to think about who you’re writing to. People don’t have time to read information that isn’t relevant to them. So be sure your communications are consistent with their interests.

As you’re brainstorming, it’s helpful to get specific; imagine them as a real person with personality, interests, and problems. That way, you can write to their specific needs and desires, making it more likely you’ll form a genuine connection.

Now, the details!

Follow these guidelines to make your next email marketing campaign a success.

Lead with the most compelling information.

This is the most straightforward way to write email subject lines. If you are offering something of value to your audience, be upfront and tell them! 

If something is free, let them know before they even open the email what’s inside.

If they have 24 hours left to sign up for your CSA, tell them!

This subject line clearly explains how the recipient can get free jam! And the preview adds urgency, which can boost open rates.

Personalize your subject lines to your reader.

No one likes to feel like they are lost in a crowd. Here are a few ways you can add personalization to your emails:

• Use “you” or “your” in the subject line

• It instantly makes the reader consider how the information is relevant to them.

• Add a merge tag

• If you collect first names in addition to email addresses, you can insert a merge tag into the subject line that will insert the recipient’s name.

• Segment your list

• Thinking back to your target audience–maybe you have multiple! And you’ll have better success with email marketing if you cater your emails to each specific audience.

• Two segments for a farm business might include farmer’s market customers and wholesale customers.

We used a merge tag to include the first name “Sarah,” and incorporated “your” to increase personalization. The preview was used to add urgency.

Use curiosity.

Appeal to your audience’s curious side – drop a hint about something inside your email they’ll find so interesting they just have to open your email.

Who doesn’t want to know about an amazing tomato!? The message paired with the ellipses adds intrigue to this subject line to encourage a curious reader to open the email.

Solve a problem.

Since you’ve done your target audience brainstorming, you have an idea of some of the struggles your audience is dealing with. Use your subject line to offer a solution to one of their problems. Some ways to solve a problem might include emphasizing convenience or providing tips for a specific problem.

A point of resistance with CSA customers is often that there’s too much produce. Solve a problem for them by providing resources for how they can preserve their share.

Make your email fun using emojis!

But don’t go overboard! Using one or two relevant, appropriately-placed emojis is ideal. Too many will make your email look unprofessional and spammy, and may discourage opens.

The two fire emojis reiterate the message, and add a bright color to the email, making it stand out.

Some email subject line best practices:

Use an email subject line tester.

The worst thing that can happen in email marketing is that your emails end up in a spam folder, appearing untrustworthy and never to be seen again. Thankfully, email subject line testers exist and can double-check your subject lines for spam red flags and several other important factors, including:

• Appropriate length

• Use of urgency

• Personalization

• Overuse of emojis

When you find something that works, stick with it.

After sending an email, always check your analytics to see how well your email performed. To assess the performance of your subject lines, pay close attention to your open rates. Make note of which types of subject lines receive the highest open rate, and keep using those!

Evaluate other key metrics such as your click-through rate, which assesses how many clicks your buttons and links receive, and unsubscribes. Unsubscribes can be caused by many different factors in an email, so if you receive a high rate on one particular email, take notes and make adjustments for the future!

Make sure the subject line matches the content.

It can be tempting to be funny or to include a catchy phrase in your subject lines, but make sure it’s helping you achieve your end goal which is to have the recipient open your email. 

And most importantly, don’t write a click-bait subject line if it has nothing to do with the content of your email! If you trick someone into opening an email, and the recipient’s expectations aren’t met, you can almost guarantee an unsubscribe.

Want some help with emails?

Taste the Local Difference loves to support our clients as they grow their business with email marketing!

We’ll make sure you’re sending beautiful, on-brand emails to an audience that wants to hear from you. From outlining your business’ unique goals to generating content ideas to creating an email marketing calendar, we can be your trustworthy email marketing partner. Get in touch to get started!