Subject lines

The email subject line is like a book cover or an article headline. You need to compel the reader to click and read what’s in it otherwise, we all know, your offer, coupons, links all end up in the trash. 

So, for your emails to have a high open-rate, your subject line should strike a balance between being enlightening and entertaining. Just like with other digital content, in the process of inducing people to click, the subject line should never under-promise or over-promise what’s inside. Those that do not accurately represent what’s inside are assessed accordingly: 69% of recipients report emails as spam just based on their subject lines. 

So, especially if you are a new business, starting fresh, a powerful, punny, or funny subject line can make your brand establish an identity quicker because eventually, it is the strength of the brand that motivates people to click on your email. 

The goal of your subject line should be to entice high-value prospects to open, read, and act on your email. Email opens are a great first step, but they have no value on their own. In fact, a gimmicky subject line that’s focused only on opens can backfire by causing your prospect to react negatively to your message. Ultimately, you want good leads, which means you need prospects who stand to benefit from your offer to open, read, and act on your campaign. Craft subject lines that are clear, concise, and relevant to what’s inside.

Characteristics of a good email subject line – The C.U.R.V.E approach

The Creative Director & Digital Strategy Director at Trendline Interactive, Alex Williams spent years writing and testing e-mail subject lines for business clients.

Based on experience, he created the C.U.R.V.E. formula, allowing him to create catchy e-mail subject lines that get opened almost every single time.

C.U.R.V.E. stands for Curiosity, Urgency, Relevancy, Value, and Emotion. A good subject line should at least have two of the C.U.R.V.E elements to get a high open-rate. 

Curiosity

A lot of times a subject line that sends out a clear message tends to have a high open rate, however, sometimes it is good to maintain a little secrecy to create curiosity for the recipient. 

The “mystery” tactic is known for its ability to pique the natural curiosity and interest of the recipient. It makes sense as well because such subject lines require opening the email to find out what exactly it offers, automatically resulting in a higher open rate. 

However, be sure to align your subject line with the overall brand persona, tone of voice, and target audience. You would not want to mislead the recipients or trick them into opening the email just for a high open-rate because let’s face it, it can badly backfire since the reader can mark you “spam” forever. Just remember, trust always comes first. 

Urgency

Creating urgency is a great way for people to take an action. You can use this strategically to craft your email subject lines for a better response. 

For example, communicating the end of sale or promotion with phrases such as “Only 2 hours left” improves the chances for a user to at least go through the email once. 

This is also a good approach when planning a series of emails such as a countdown. However, make sure you do not continuously flood the inbox, coming off spammy. 

Urgency can be created for anything. Following are some relevant subject line examples:

• A discount or special offer
• A free live event like a webinar
• Training program or product for a limited time only
• A limited number of spots or items available for sale
• News/tips related to a current event/situation

Keep in mind that urgency is only powerful when it’s associated with relevancy and/or value. Besides, your window of opportunity to get the attention of the reader is quite small, so a cleverly crafted email subject line that conveys urgency with powerful language or fast-approaching deadlines can do wonders. 

Relevance

Whenever we subscribe to an email list, the purpose is to keep ourselves informed of the latest happenings or learn more about a particular topic. So, a subject line that is based on a trending topic of interest or an ongoing event can help you establish your brand identity and authority within the industry. 

You will not just get a competitive edge by offering information about something that is otherwise trending but will also pique the reader’s attention, intriguing him/her to click and know more. 

As easy as it sounds to create a subject line relevant to the interests of your subscribers, it takes quite an effort to do so, keeping in mind that with time people’s wants and needs change. 

What’s relevant today might not be relevant tomorrow. So, keeping up with your target audience through social media interactions, gathering, and updating customer data and information can serve useful here. 

Value

Subscribers always look for the value your email offers them. Whenever you are thinking about writing an email subject line just ask yourself this question, “If I were the recipient of this email, would I find this valuable among so many other emails in my inbox?”

At the end of the day, it is the new things, experiences, cool offers, discounts, and relatable content that people dig for, especially when little or nothing is asked for in return. 

Terms like “free stuff” “coupon code” and “50% off” in the subject line tell the recipient that you have something exciting to offer them. However, terms such as “your favorite” or “for you” also intrigue the recipient as it shows that something valuable is inside.  

Emotion

It’s nothing new to say that we as humans respond to and make decisions based on emotions, mostly. That is why it is important to trigger the right emotions in people, encouraging them to take action and open your e-mail.

One of the best ways to do that is to use sensory language. To do that, you must use words that connect with the five human senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell). 

For example:

• You haven’t seen anything like this before.
• How many times have you heard these three words?
• Why do we feel so bad after a breakup?
• Nothing tastes better than a fresh macaroni pizza.
• Does your bathroom smell bad? Here’s what to do.

Such power words have 10 times or even 100 times more emotional value than average words.

Even words that have the same meaning can have a different emotional value. For example, the word “cheat” is considered to have more impact than “unfaithful”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v592iy__afc&list=PLdg4YtrtIzukZpfbfIeN_1Ttm1RlDoXzo&index=12