I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about email lately.
Dean Bokhari talked about the importance of email in our recent interview, and we’ve been covering email a lot in our last few Dispatches. While I was researching for those, I was struck by an article by Klaviyo that had some great recommendations for subject lines.
Subject lines are the most important part of your email. People focus on building lists, and that’s important — but what about actually getting people to READ your emails? Great open rates start with the subject line. 47% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone, regardless of teaser copy or sender; 69% will report emails as spam based on the subject line.
Great subject lines are critical for online marketing success. Here are a few tips to optimize yours.
Remember the Goal
As the Father of Advertising David Ogilvy once said, “The headline is the ‘ticket on the meat.’ Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.”
There’s a key insight in there related to subject lines: your subject line is designed to tell your audience that there’s something important to THEM.
Don’t go general; be specific.
Selling a Horse? Say “Horse for Sale”
You don’t always need to get cute with your subject lines. Sometimes it’s better to just say what’s on your mind.
As direct response copywriter Jay Abraham said, “Sometimes the best copy to sell a horse is ‘Horse for Sale.’” Creativity in a subject line is good, but be careful of a “bait and switch” — or not actually giving enough information for the person receiving the email to know what you’re talking about. Attention is important, but attention without relevance is empty.
ProTip: Don’t rely on preheader or preview copy to clarify if your subject line doesn’t state the purpose of the email … not all mailboxes will show everything.
(Don’t) Say the Name
A lot of email marketing authorities still say personalizing subject lines and body copy is better than leaving your copy general. This may no longer be the case. In GetResponse’s 2024 survey of 4.4 billion emails, non-personalized emails showed higher engagement than personalized, a trend that’s held true for a few years. Granted, this is a broad study; individual use cases and industries may be different. But putting a name in the subject line is no longer a clear win.
Personalization is meant to make your reader feel connected to the sender. It’s been used so much that it may do the opposite. Any marketing tactic overused becomes stale. Look at these advertisements from 100 years ago; they feel trite and dated. That’s because we used the language in these ads so much that many of the words lost their power. They ring false.
Putting the recipient’s name in the subject line can still work, but apply it judiciously — don’t think of it as the default.
Stay Out of the Spam Filter
Some words and phrases trigger spam filters. There are no hard and fast rules, but be careful to avoid subject lines with:
- Excessive punctuation (multiple exclamation points or question marks in a row)
- Promotional language like “free,” “win now,” “money-back guarantee”
- “Click here”
Most filters will assess based on both the terms in the subject line and the body of the email; generally speaking, don’t over-use promotional expressions throughout your email, including subject line, preheader and body.
“You Had Me At Hello”
At the climax of the movie Jerry Maguire, Jerry flies home to win back his estranged wife. He shows up to find her at a meeting of a women’s support group and gives an impassioned speech … but she tells him, “You had me at hello.”
If your subject line doesn’t “have them at hello,” use these tips to sharpen it and make sure you’re getting through. And if you need a hand, don’t hesitate to reach out — just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services