2 posts tagged with "Email Marketing Strategies"

Email subject line best practices are crucial for email marketing success. What happens when you craft the perfect email, but no one opens it? You could have written the best content in the world, but if your email doesn't entice subscribers to open it, all that hard work will likely go to waste. This is the painful reality of email marketing. No matter how great your email is, if it doesn't entice subscribers to open it, all that hard work will likely go to waste.

With Blocfree's email template builder, you can craft stunning, engaging emails that improve email deliverability deliver results.

The Anatomy of a Great Email Subject Line​

Creating a sense of urgency is often the best way to get your target audience’s attention. Why? The fear of missing out (FOMO) on an opportunity. If you want to convey a sense of urgency in your cold emails, you can use power words (and phrases), such as:

• Limited Time Offer
• Don’t Miss Out
• Last Chance
• Today Only
• Important
• Breaking
• Urgent

Now, keep in mind. You should avoid flooding your recipients’ inboxs with dozens of “urgent” emails. Instead, send emails that count down a window of opportunity.

Build Curiosity to Encourage Email Opens​

Great subject lines can convey a sense of thrill and mystery. Still, there’s a fine line between sending an intriguing email and an obscure one.

For example, if you’re a marketing influencer, you might use the subject line “Wondering how I made $200K with YouTube?”

This brief subject line will pique your audience's curiosity when sending SEO outreach emails. A subject line that says, “I wonder what’s inside” is probably too enigmatic and off-putting.

When creating curiosity in your email subject lines, focus on the five dimensions of curiosity:

• Deprivation sensitivity: a knowledge gap that needs to be filled
• Joyous exploration: fascination with a subject or concept
• Social curiosity: a desire to learn more about other people
• Stress tolerance: the willingness to embrace confusion, doubt, and other forms of distress
• Thrill-seeking: a desire for adventure

Use Email Subject Lines to Highlight Offers​

Everyone loves a reward. It’s the basis of human psychology. You can use a subject line to highlight a new deal, incentive, or promotional offer.

For example, the subject line “Free Shipping on [product]” entices recipients to place their order to save on shipping costs. People love discounted and free items, especially if their inboxes contain hundreds of other useless or junk messages.

Personalize Your Email Subject Lines​

Personalization is an integral component of any email marketing campaign. When you refer to your recipients personably, they are more inclined to open your emails.

Examples of email personalization include “Tracy, we missed you.” Calling someone by their first name is an excellent way to break down the barriers of corporate communications and get their attention.

Email Subject Lines Should Be Timely and Relevant​

The email's subject line must also be relevant to the recipient’s daily life. Otherwise, you’ll send irrelevant email content and have them end up in the spam folder.

Here’s an example of a timely email subject, “Outdoor lighting solutions for summer.” Outdoor lighting is a popular home improvement product for summertime to enjoy the outdoors in the warm weather (even after the sun has gone down).

This also works well as an email warmup strategy, where you segment your email list and send a timely email promotion to improve your sender reputation.

Optimize Subject Line Length for Email Success​

Length is one of the most important aspects of a great subject line. A popular misconception is that short subject lines always perform better than longer ones.

A 2021 Gartner study found that longer subject lines (70 characters) performed competitively with shorter ones. To find the best length for your campaign, you should run an A/B test to make a data-driven decision.

Your Versatile Email Template Builder​

Create, share, and publish easily with Blocfree's email template builder. Blocfree is an email HTML editor that allows you to quickly create/edit emails and use it with multiple platforms like:

• Mailgun
• Sendgrid and others

Effortlessly craft email, SMS, and push templates with our intuitive email template builder. Collaborate seamlessly with your team and quickly publish content to your preferred platform.

Use Blocfree's email template builder for free today!

Related Reading​

• Email Design Best Practices

28 Email Subject Line Best Practices​

1. Keep It Short and Sweet​

When it comes to email subject lines, less is more. Aim for around three words. Twilio SendGrid has analyzed emails sent through our system, and our subject line data reveals that recipients prefer and will be more likely to open a subject line when it’s three words. Does that mean if you think you have the perfect subject line at four words, you should change it around completely? No, guidelines and trends are just that—they are not a universal law.

Still, finding yourself in a writer’s block? Consider putting a spin on puns or easily recognizable phrases. Although these phrases are trite and lazy by themselves, when you alter or put a personal spin on a pun applicable to your brand or service, you usually catch people’s attention because they were expecting to read something else.

The following subject line from a smoothie delivery company puts a twist on the phrase,

“No way, Jose.”

Re: Yes way, Frose!

The accompanying email included cocktail recipes that you could make with its smoothies—one of which is a rose smoothie. I am opening that email!

Compelling Email Subject Lines​

You only have 50-70 characters to work with so get to the point quickly. Note that it is only 40-50 characters if the message is displayed on a mobile device. Keep your subject lines as close to 50 characters as you can. If it’s too short, then it’s less likely to make the recipient want to open.

2. Write the Subject Line Last​

When pulling together an email campaign, you may have an idea for your subject line. But until you’ve selected all copy pieces and written accompanying snippets and headlines, you won’t have the full picture of what you’re trying to explain. And as a result, distilling your content into one line of text will prove quite challenging.

There are, of course, exceptions to this tip. Sometimes, a flash of brilliance occurs and the subject line almost writes itself before finishing other steps. For cases when that doesn’t happen, wait until you've finalized every other piece of content before attacking the headline or subject line.

3. Be Specific—and Urgent​

Think of the subject line as your first CTA or touchpoint with your recipient. You've lost them if you don’t draw them right away. And while humor and wit are usually rewarded, remember to give your recipient some taste of what’s inside. To achieve this, try to use action verbs that resonate with your audience as much as possible.

Verbs are a writer’s best friend because they help you do more with less, which will always be in your favor. I recently received an email from Strava that draws on the inherently competitive nature of Strava users and uses an appropriate verb in its subject line:How fast can you run a mile?

4. Experiment with Your Approach​

No single (legal) email list is the same, meaning you won’t know how your audience will react to your subject lines until you send them something. Fortunately, subject lines are some of the simplest email components to test. Consider sending two or more subject lines to different email list segments.

One subject line may be a bold subject line that pushes the envelope, while the other could be a more traditional and literal subject line. The options are endless. For more on testing and experimenting in your campaigns, read up on some common questions and answers to A/B testing.

5. Avoid Excessive Frills​

We’re likely guilty of adding in exclamation points or being tempted to WRITE IN ALL CAPS TO GET OUR POINT ACROSS. We use these language tools to help us emphasize, but often these tactics lose or agitate the recipient. Tread extra lightly when considering hitting your caps lock or using excessive exclamation points or other symbols. Allow your subscribers to react to the meat of your copy instead of the frills.

One modern exception to this rule, depending on your industry, is using emojis. Emojis can work great for some campaigns (such as marketing to millennials). For others, they fall flat. See the previous tip about testing to find the right balance for your email program. Emojis also allow you to use fewer characters, so if they work for your engagement, go for it.

6. Have Fun​

Don’t forget that writing subject lines can be fun and a great place to explore/try new things with your writing style. Subject lines are short but mighty nuggets of content that set the pace for all following email engagement events.

7. Personalization​

Incorporate the recipient's name or other personalized details when relevant. Personalized subject lines stand out and feel more appropriate to the recipient.

8. Relevance​

Make sure your subject line aligns with the content of the email. Misleading subject lines can lead to unsubscribes or recipients marking your emails as spam.

9. Curiosity​

Pique the recipient's curiosity by using intriguing phrases or asking questions that leave them wanting to know more.

10. Value-oriented​

Highlight the benefits or value the recipient will gain from opening the email. How will they be better off after reading it?

11. Actionable language​

Use action-oriented verbs and phrases that encourage recipients to take action, like:

• Get started
• Discover
• Learn how

12. Segmentation​

Tailor your subject lines to different audience segments, addressing their specific needs or interests.

13. Emoji Use​

In some cases, emojis can add visual appeal and personality to subject lines. However, use them sparingly and make sure they're relevant to the content.

14. Test Different Approaches​

Experiment with various subject lines to see what resonates best with your audience. Examples could include humor, emotional appeals, or straightforward descriptions.

15. Numbers and Lists​

Subject lines with numbers (e.g., "10 Tips for...") tend to attract attention because they suggest a clear and organized format for the content within the email.

16. Trendy​

Incorporate references to trending topics, memes, or cultural events, but only if relevant to your content and audience.

17. Wordplay​

Play with words, puns, or humor that align with your brand's tone and personality.

18. Show Your Brand’s Personality​

It’s crucial to clearly understand your brand’s tone of voice before crafting your subject lines. The tone employed in communication plays a pivotal role, and deviating from the expected tone can jeopardize the brand-customer relationship and potentially result in a loss of future business.

Maintaining a clear and consistent tone that aligns with your brand image and meets customer expectations fosters a lasting relationship. This approach to writing email subject lines ensures ongoing engagement and satisfaction for both parties.

19. Ask Questions?​

Questions naturally stimulate curiosity and encourage recipients to open the email to find the answer. Questions can help to establish a sense of relevance by addressing the recipient’s needs or interests. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is important to ensure that the question is relevant to the content of the email.

Don’t be that person; don’t deceive people with clickbait. It can work and make the recipient open the link for once, but you do not want an annoyed audience that will mark you as spam and won’t read another email from you.

20. Try Alliteration, Consonance or Rhyming​

These literary devices are popular in songwriting and creative literature as well as email subject lines because they break the monotony and add memorable elements. Just don’t go overboard! Remember that you’re writing email subject lines and not beat poetry.

• Better: 5 Fall Fashion Don’ts for 2019
• Worse: 5 Fall Fashion Faux Pas for Females

21. Don’t Get Too Excited​

All caps and punctuation marks are fine in moderation. When you overdo either, you don’t convey excitement as much as your impart anxiety.

• Better: Enjoy FREE delivery for purchases $100 and above today!
• Worse: $100 WORTH IN YOUR CART??? ENJOY FREE DELIVERY ON US!!!

22. Make a Personal Connection​

Personalizing email subject lines leads to better open rates. It’s also very easy to do at a basic level: Include the subscriber’s name in the text. Advancements in technology can also help add more personal touches that draw from geographical location or buying behavior.

• Better: “Thanks for participating in our Labor Day Sale, Maria!”
• Worse: “Here’s the online receipt of your Labor Day Sale purchases.”

23. Spell Check Your Subject Line​

If your word processing software says there’s a problem, then there is a good chance that it will be flagged as suspicious when sending the email.

24. Make The Pre-header Work With The Subject Line​

• Subject line: Have you ever seen wild dolphins?
• Pre-header: Come visit our dolphin sanctuary. Learn more about these majestic creatures

25. Avoid The ‘No-reply’ Sender Name​

Thanks to the amount of spam people get, most people hesitate to open emails from unfamiliar senders. Even fewer people enjoy talking to a robot. Think about when you call a company and can't get a hold of an actual person. It's frustrating, right?

This is the same for email. Never use “[email protected].” Not only does it look less personable, but it also stops people from adding your email to their address book. Instead, avoid using a generic email address and send the email from a real person.

26. Segment Your Lists​

While email blasts sent to your entire list might be relevant and helpful to some people, they won't be to others, causing confusion and frustration.

• Why is this restaurant sending me a list of the best local steakhouses when I'm a vegetarian?
• Why did this company send me case studies when I signed up for its email list yesterday?

This is where segmentation comes in. Organizing your email list using personalization and preferences increases your subscribers' desire to open your email. Gartner found that 53% of consumers like emails that share local or regional events and offers. In email marketing, you can personalize your recipients' experience using a little thing called list segmentation.

27. Time It Right​

Do you need something tasty for lunch? Sending an email with the right subject line at the right time can greatly affect open and click-through rates.

When food publication Eater sent an email at 6:45 P.M. on a Wednesday that said, “Where to Drink Beer Right Now” — it was just in time for happy hour. Nailed it. Or, in the example above, IRC Recipes sent an email during the day that asked, “Need something tasty for lunch?” The day of the week matters as well. Tuesdays have the highest email open rates nearly 27%, compared to Sundays, with the lowest open rates (4%).

Another favorite example is a classic email from Warby Parker with the subject line, “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring.” It was sent two weeks before the recipient needed to renew his prescription. By sending an email at the right time, Warby Parker increased the chances of their email getting opened, and they included a relevant call-to-action about getting a glasses upgrade.

28. Reach Out Again​

A common problem in email marketing is that readers don’t open your emails despite your best efforts. Current stats demonstrate that marketers are missing out on further engagement. When retargeting, make this known in your subject line with something like “Oops, looks like you missed this!” or “Don’t forget to sign up for this Friday’s webinar” or whatever you’d like a missed target to acknowledge.

Use Our Email Template Builder for Free Today​

Blocfree has created a handy tool for email marketers. Their email template builder lets you easily create, edit, and customize email templates for your marketing campaigns. The best part? You can use your new template with multiple email platforms like Mailgun and Sendgrid. More than just an email HTML editor, Blocfree also helps you build SMS and push notification templates to help you create cohesive marketing campaigns.

Subject lines are key to email marketing success. Even exceptional content may go unread without an engaging opener. Your subject line acts as the first impression, often determining whether subscribers interact with your message. Before sending your next campaign, invest time in crafting a compelling subject line. It's the bridge connecting your valuable content to your audience's attention in a crowded inbox.

With Blocfree's email template builder, you can craft stunning, engaging emails that improve email deliverability and can deliver results.

How Do You Know Your Email Subject Lines are Working?​

Email platforms provide statistics showing how many emails were delivered and opened. We recommend keeping a spreadsheet showing which email subject lines provide the best open rate. Once you compile your data, use what you gather to further build your relationship with your subscribers.

Click Through Rate (CTR): What Is It and Why Does It Matter?​

The click-through rate (CTR) is the amount of people who clicked on your call to action (or links) in your email. Tracking the CTR of your email campaigns is crucial, especially when evaluating the effectiveness of your email subject lines. Your email’s subject line helps the recipient decide whether to open it; if they don’t, your email’s CTA will never get a chance.

Average Session Duration: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?​

Average session duration is another key email metric to monitor. This metric reveals the average amount of time people spent engaging with your content after clicking a link in your email. If your email’s subject line was adequate and the content of your email resonated with your audience, you should see high average session durations.

Bounce Rate: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?​

Bounce rate is the percentage of emails that could not be delivered to the recipients. There are two types of bounces:

• Soft bounces
• Hard bounces

Soft Bounce​

Soft bounces occur when an email is sent to a valid address but gets returned. This can happen if the recipient’s inbox is full or the file size is too large. Emails that are soft-bounced may be delivered if resent after some time.

Hard Bounce​

Hard bounces occur when an email is sent to an invalid address. This means the address no longer exists or was never in use. Emails that are hard-bounced will not be delivered if resent. Monitoring your bounce rate is vital to maintaining a healthy email list.

A high bounce rate indicates invalid addresses on your list, hurting your email deliverability. Email subject lines don’t directly affect your bounce rate, but if your bounce rate is high, you may want to clean your email list before sending your next campaign.

70+ Examples of Great Email Subject Lines​

Subject Lines That Trigger FOMO Can Boost Email Open Rates​

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) can be an impossible psychological trick to ignore. There’s something about the notion of missing out on something that gets our heart racing and spurs us into action. The benefits of capitalizing on FOMO for email marketing are real.

Research shows that 60% of millennial customers would attest to it by claiming that they make reactive purchases after experiencing it, sometimes within as soon as 24 hours. You can use FOMO to your benefit by feeding on the fear of subscribers by creating urgency or an element of scarcity in your subject lines. Words that bring limited availability and time sensitivity to mind, such as: Expiring Urgent Limited

Let’s learn from the following examples:

1. Oh no, your subscription is at an end.
2. Hey, did you know that you were missing out on points?
3. You’ve only ONE DAY left before [offer] expires…
4. Your [goal] plan goes adieu tonight.
5. ATTENTION! Get [offer] ASAP before it disappears.
6. Hey, earn twice the number of points today only.
7. Hurry! Your offer expires today.

Personalized Subject Lines Get Better Open Rates​

Personalized subject lines are the email marketing tactic of today. In fact, by just personalizing your email subject line, you can boost your average open rate by 7.4% and achieve six times higher transaction rates. You can personalize your subject lines by including the name of your subscribers in your subject lines. You can also use everyday language offer location-specific deals and capitalize on interest targeting to make your subject lines more personal.

Let’s take a look:

1. Hi, [Name]. I hope you haven’t forgotten me.
2. Happy birthday, [Name]! Look inside for your surprise.
3. I haven’t seen you in a while, [Name].
4. We couldn’t find you in the comments section, [Name].
5. Hey, [Name]! Thanks for opting into our email list.
6. [Name], check out these hand-picked deals for you.
7. Hey [Name], are you still coming?

Curiosity Subject Lines Boost Engagement Rates​

Composing open-ended subject lines can invoke intrigue and prompt your subscribers to engage with you. Brands that utilize interactive content have seen 70% higher conversion rates. To induce an element of curiosity in your email subject lines, offer them tantalizing deals, ask captivating questions, and even tell them what to do.

For example:

1. Don’t Open This Email
2. Know what the fuss of this mystery email is about.
3. Ten bizarre tips that can improve your engagement rates.
4. These offers… for THOSE prices?! Unreal!
5. Take a peek at your surprise gift.
6. Want to uncover the secrets to [vertical] success?
7. Astonishing methods to earn more by providing freebies.
8. Look inside for the hottest [deal/offer].
9. A surprise waiting to be unwrapped.

Funny Subject Lines Grab Attention​

If your subject line can amuse your subscribers, you can rest assured that they will open it. As the process of telling good jokes goes, begin by knowing your audience first. Segment your subscriber list and augment your open rate by using subject lines laced with humor, such as:

1. We like being used
2. Since we can’t all hit the jackpot.
3. Spreadsheets never felt so good.
4. We’re the real deal (unlike Pinocchio).
5. Boom shakalaka! Let’s hit it.
6. Offers that you can’t refuse (unlike The Godfather kind).
7. Look what you did, you little jerk… (A reference to the movie Home Alone).

Vanity, aka Ego Boost Subject Lines​

Appealing to your subscriber’s vanity can always help you. After all, everyone has a bit of it, and supplanting it can make you stand apart from the rest.

Let’s take a look at how to boost your subscribers’ egos to your benefit:

1. Hurry! We need your refined taste.
2. You deserve everything new.
3. Don’t settle for anything less than the best.
4. As seen in Vogue.
5. Wear what your favorite celebs are wearing.
6. Do you think you look fantastic in this [product]? We sure think you do.
7. Are you as ready as ever?
8. Gift ideas for your distinct eye.
9. Hey, [name]! We think you’ll make these [product] look awesome.

Incentive Subject Lines Improve Open Rates​

Providing incentives through emails can inordinately improve your open rates, as seen in a survey where 80% of respondents claimed they would purchase from a new brand if they received an offer or a discount code. Use incentives to your benefit by highlighting your email’s benefits to your subscribers.

Let them know what opening the email has for them and see your open rates increase:

1. Obtain our free [lead magnet] now.
2. 20% off! Only for you!
3. Hey, [name]! Congrats on getting free shipping for your next purchase.
4. Want to access our free [content type]?

Retargeting Subject Lines Bring Customers Back​

Retargeting emails have one purpose: to nudge subscribers to complete an action they were meant to take but stopped midway. If you can capitalize on this segment of customers, you can increase the conversion rate by 30 percent on average and push conversion rates by as much as 30%.

Craft subject lines that revolve around better offers, overcoming rejections, or even bringing a sweeter deal to their notice.

1. Great news! Your favorite item(s) is/are back in stock at a discounted price.
2. Hey, [name]! We have reserved your shopping cart for you.
3. Did you forget this discount coupon?
4. Hey, [name]! Great news! Your cart price has dropped!
5. Be careful to take advantage of these new features.
6. Good news, [name]! Your shipping charges are free.
7. We won’t give up on you.

Greed(y) Subject Lines Work Too​

We have just established how tough it can be to pass up great deals. That’s why leveraging greed as a motivating factor can work well for your open rates.

Given below are a few excellent subject line ideas for using “greed” as a hook:

1. Meet your new friend in [product].
2. Gain a head start this quarter.
3. Alert! Flash sale!
4. New essentials for you.
5. Deals are just too good to pass up on.
6. 25% off on your wishlist.
7. A hint of luxury at an affordable price.
8. Complementary [gift] on purchases above [minimum limit].
9. Priority access for our favorite buyer.
10. Buy two, get one free.

Pain Points Subject Lines Will Get Opens​

If you have a good grip on your ideal buyer persona, you can compose your subject lines around their pain points. Using pain points in your subject lines will serve two purposes: invoke the reader’s curiosity and gain their trust by solving their problem.

1. Fuel your automation efforts without going bankrupt.
2. Where do all your emails go?
3. Get higher engagement rates with these easy hacks.
4. Stop wasting resources on [pain point].
5. Your [relevant pain point] issues, resolved.
6. Since we can’t all win the lottery (used by Uber).
7. How to avoid your subsequent deadline day chaos.
8. Get over your [relevant pain point] issues with these quick fixes.
9. Stop wasting time on mindless work.
10. Increase click-through rates with these handy tips.
11. Everything you wished to know about web copy but didn’t know where to look.

Simple Subject Lines Work for Emails Too​

While these subject lines aren’t as creative as those in the above categories, they are very lucrative. The trick to making these subject lines work is consistently providing good content. You can only bank upon them to deliver the open rates you desire. Following this tactic has led these ‘bland’ subject lines to attain unreal interest rates, sometimes ranging between 60-87%.

Let’s take a look at them here:

1. [Company Name] Marketing Newsletter.
2. State of the Consumer Survey [Company Name] Update (Date).
3. [Company Name]: The consumers behind your success.
4. [Company Name]: [MM/YYYY] news bulletin!
5. [Company Name] Newsletter for the month [MM].
6. [Company Name] invites you to its gala [event].
7. Happy [birthday/holidays] from [company name].
8. Invitation to [recipient name] from [company name].

Your All-in-One Email Template Solution​

Create, share, and publish easily with Blocfree's email template builder. Blocfree is an email HTML editor that allows you to quickly create/edit emails and use it with multiple platforms like: Mailgun Sendgrid and others

Effortlessly craft email, SMS, and push templates with our intuitive email template builder. Collaborate seamlessly with your team and quickly publish content to your preferred platform.

Use Blocfree's email template builder for free today!

Related Reading​

• Email Segmentation
• Email Design Best Practices

Use Our Email Template Builder for Free Today​

Blocfree has created a handy tool for email marketers. Their email template builder lets you easily create, edit, and customize email templates for your marketing campaigns. The best part? You can use your new template with multiple email platforms like Mailgun and Sendgrid. More than just an email HTML editor, Blocfree also helps you build SMS and push notification templates to help you create cohesive marketing campaigns.

Related Reading​

• How to Avoid Spam Filters