The best email campaign for your business can only do so much if consumers do not open your email. In a world where 319.6 billion emails are exchanged every day, email overload is very much real. When you have a ton of emails sitting in your inbox vying for your time and attention, you need an easy hack to weed out the unimportant ones. For most people, this involves a quick evaluation of the email subject line. Naturally, a catchy subject line that makes your subscribers click your email is crucial for your email marketing strategy.
If you are struggling with low open or click rates in your email marketing efforts and want to increase opens, clicks, and thereby conversions, we’ve got you covered. Here are 10 types of email subject lines that generate clicks!
1. Subjects that generate curiosity
One way of getting your consumers to open your email is to create email subject lines that give out just enough information to create a sense of intrigue and pique people’s curiosity. Tease your customers with titles that generate curiosity and get them to open your email. For example:
- Can’t decide what to wear? This can help
- 5 ways to make your diet stick this time (Do #2 right now!)
- Can’t keep calm? Here is a little something that’ll help
2. Subjects that communicate urgency or scarcity
It is a known fact that when we believe that our ability to get hold of something is shrinking, we want it more. This is perhaps why email subject lines that create a sense of urgency generate a 22% higher open rate. FOMO (fear of missing out) is real and you can use it by creating subject lines that evoke a sense of urgency. Create the body of the message such that it entices subscribers to click the given CTA. Point out what specifically makes your communication urgent and make sure there is a timeframe involved. Is it a discount? An invitation? A special bonus? Make sure you highlight this info clearly.
Here are a few examples:
- Final hours to save 60%
- You’ve gotta hurry if you want 50% off
- Last day… T-shirts and tops for only $ 10
In addition to urgency, you can also create scarcity in your subject lines. For example, airlines and hotels often send emails with subject lines that psychologically make you feel like you need to act immediately. Those can be a good bet too. For example:
- Only 4 seats left on this flight
- 3 rooms left for these dates
- Limited quantity remaining
For your next campaign, try mixing up scarcity and urgency and see if it works with your audience.
3. Subjects that include free offers
Research suggests that email marketing is the cheapest and most effective way of marketing channel as it delivers a whopping 4300% ROI. With such a high ROI, if you give some free stuff away that’s okay! You’ll make up for it with additional sales from a potential lifelong customer. Therefore, subject lines including free offers make sense for your business. Besides, everyone likes good offers and promotions, particularly freebies. Go ahead and add “free” to your email subjects without hesitation, even in all capital letters for grabbing your audience’s attention and generating clicks. For all you know, this might encourage your customers to purchase other things on your website. Some examples are:
- The Perfect Christmas Gift – Free Shipping on all products!
- $50 OFF or Free duffel bag (YOUR CHOICE) ☺️
- Mary, we’ve got a surprise-free gift for you! {UNWRAP!}
- 🔥 Hot freebie alert! 10 free gifts, you pick 5
4. Subjects that are personalized
Having a personal relationship with your audience and using personalized email subject lines increases click-through rates and improves conversions. Instead of creating vague subject lines like “Hello, valued subscriber” address the person by their name. You may use your subscriber’s name, transaction history, birthday, or browsing history to create personalized subject lines. Some examples are:
- Hey Josh, we might have something for you in our Premium Plan
- Melissa, do you want to study in Boston?
- Get 20% off on toys Jack!
Be mindful of how much personal information you put in an email. You need to retain existing customers or subscribers, not scare them off.
5. Subject lines that highlight recent news topics
Now, more than ever, it is important to stay relevant. As 40% of Americans get their news from online resources, it only makes sense for your email campaigns to capture this part of the market. What we mean is, pick the latest news topics and relate them to your industry in your email subject lines.
- Google sees smartphone heroics in Oreo. It’s The Daily Crunch
- China Falls, Sleepy Unicorns, And The Deals Aren’t Bigger In Texas
- Still hot in Huston? Good thing our air-conditioners are on SALE!
6. Subjects that communicate social proof of concept
A fundamental characteristic of humans is that we observe the behavior of others when making decisions. This idea, that if others are doing something, it must be right, is called social proof of concept. You can leverage this concept in your email subject lines by mentioning success stories, and familiar names, or highlighting how many people are already using a product or service.
- Mary, we’ve been featured on Forbes!
- Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing our leggings! You should too!
- Our Yelp reviews are stellar, and we’re stoked!
7. Subjects with a story tease
Stories drive emotions which then drive sales. A good story can evoke curiosity, establish a personal connection and subsequently increase your click-through rate. But just like we’ve learned above, the subject line of your story should be such that it reels your subscribers in. If you can’t think of a story, you can always start with your own company’s story. Create an email subject line about something you’ve done or accomplished. For example:
- Here is how I created ‘X’ using ‘Y’ in ‘Z’ days
- Ours is a story about a lot of rejection and founders who just wouldn’t give up
- Our journey to Forbes’s top 10 started X years ago
8. Subjects related to actions on your website
If you find your customers are frequently abandoning items in their shopping carts, you can take action by emailing them. Not only will this make a spot-on subject line but also invariably help in driving sales and improve abandoned shopping cart rates. You could include free shipping or other offers and mention exactly that in the subject line. Since the consumer is already interested enough in the product to add it to their cart, this email might give them that push to make the purchase, thereby driving up your sales. Some examples are:
- Finish your purchase and get free shipping
- Going fast: grab the treasures in your cart before they go poof
- Your Pretty Purple Boxes Are Waiting!
9. Subject lines that include announcements and events
Giving updates about your company could make an excellent subject line too. Event, product, and funding announcements are great subject line topics to create engagement and share information at the same time. For example:
- Here are 2 FREE Tickets. You’re invited to join us at event X!
- We’re launching X and you get 20% off already!
10. Subject lines with your authority and expertise
To showcase authority and expertise in your field use social proof to create credibility. Anything that you can talk about as an expert could make up for a great email subject line. For example:
- Unexpected Lessons I Learned from Launching a Company That Failed
- 10 things to do RIGHT NOW if you own a SaaS startup
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If you put some thought into coming up with an interesting email subject line, it will pay off by driving your sales up. As for not knowing where to start, use this blog for inspiration, and off you go creating the best subject lines for your business!
