Get Your Emails Opened With These
Insider Tips
what are your most important
impact points?
Your Landing Page
Your Opening Line
Your Call-to-Action
Your List Quality and Segmentation
Email “From”
aren’t created with a cookie cutter
email subject lines
Timeless principles that get your emails opened
Subject line archetypes that are working today
What you can learn and adapt from marketing pros
The clincher: how to easily find out what works for your audience
But, today, you can learn:
Timeless Principles
Every two days we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003, according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.
Every two days we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003, according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.
Most inboxes resemble Times Square
3,000 marketing messages bleed into our brains every day
that leads us all to …
80/20 Rule
80% of people will read your email subject line or headline and nothing else. Only 20% will go on
to read your article or email.
Source: Copyblogger.com
therefore
50/50 Rule Spend half the time it takes you to write an email, article, or blog
drafting the subject line or headline.
Captions under images are read
on average 300% more than the
body copy itself
Spend time writing killer captions too
Source: Kissmetrics
#1 Timeless Tip
It’s all about
Not about me: From our Finance Office About me: You’ve got to see this Parks video
“About Me” subject lines work best
Breaking News 70 Anti-Aging Ideas to Look & Feel Your Best It works 11 Tips for Amping Up Your … Where should I capture emails on my website? Yahoo Mail is Upgrading: What it Means for You
Instead of telling me what to do: Register for Camp Today Make me want to do it: Your Chance to Experience Camp Magic
Write to one person
Write to one person
Email is a one-topic medium
Your best emails are when the subject line, email copy, call-to-action, landing page are all aligned and your subject line is simply
the top of your funnel
Subject lines are a slight variation of headlines and this slide offers great advice from one of the fastest growing media companies today.
Subject Line Archetypes
There are 17 email subject line archetypes, but you only need to pick the top 5 or 6 that
work for your audience
Source: http://www.mequoda.com/articles/email-newsletters-articles/best-email-subject-lines/
Subject Line Archetypes 1. Keyword – Vegetarian recipes you family will love 2. Urgency – Early bird pricing ends at midnight 3. Benefit – 11 Ways to Rev Your Metabolism 4. How-to – How to Cook Anything 5. List – 10 Most Promising New Fall Shows 6. Fascination – Shocking new data on the lifespan of your Facebook posts 7. Intriguing Promise – Relieve knee pain with this simple stretch 8. Teaser – So, this just happened again 9. Question – Where Should I capture emails on my website? 10. News – iPhone announces fingerprint recognition 11. Testimonial – Peyton Manning drives a Buick Verano 12. Seasonal – Reserve Your Thanksgiving Turkey Early 13. Issue-Based – America’s wolves are threatened 14. Command – Don’t Delay. Register Now. 15. Reason Why – Reasons why you feel tired and how to fix it 16. Targeted – How Colorado protected animals 17. Hybrid & Personalized - Mandy, time is running out. Sign up today.
Learn from the Pros
Clarity Wins BIG
Source: http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/aweber-subject-line-test/
This test was run across 20 subject lines, sent to a list of over 45,000
subscribers. The clear straightforward subject lines
gathered far more response than their creative counterparts,
surpassing them by:
Clarity Wins BIG
http://socialtriggers.com/email-copywriting-increase-clicks/ and research by Princeton Nobel Prize Winning Psychologist Daniel Kahneman
“Losses loom larger than gains”
So negative frames work?
Negative frames may work well in the short term as attention-getters. Sustained negativity hurts you as a long term approach because you wear people down by always being alarmist and depressing.
Negative frame: The best day of the week to find low airfares online Positive frame: The worst day of the week to find low airfares online
save cheeky for social media
same with misleading or cryptic subject lines like: You may have already won millions
Misleading, cryptic, or smart-aleck subject lines may boost open rates in the short run, but tend to suppress open rates in long run.
Does Subject Line Length Matter? Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
Does Subject Line Length Matter? Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much
Practice word economy:
too many words blur your picture
Free Subject Line Checker by Litmus
https://litmus.com/resources/subject-line-checker
http://blog.mailchimp.com/this-just-in-subject-line-length-means-absolutelynothing/
3 Reasons to Use Numbers
Digits, like 4 or 17, stop wandering eyes
Numbers represent facts in the minds of readers
Digits, like 4 or 54, stand out better than “four” or “fifty-four” making your copy easier to scan in an inbox
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/web-writing-show-numbers-as-numerals/
a word about words Use “You” or “Your”
This video will make you laugh, or cry You still have time to help You still have time register
One word Subject lines work—if not overused Most popular subject line for Obama 2012: Hey
Questions Work Where should I capture emails on my website? How does the crisis in Syria affect you?
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
more words about words “Free” can, but doesn’t always, trigger spam filters
“Help,” “Reminder” and “Percent Off” also reduce your open rates
Using a subscriber’s first name in the subject line doesn’t improve open rates
Providing localization, such as including a city name, does
Repeating the exact same subject line for each newsletter accelerates your drop in open rates
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
even more words about words News, Update, Breaking, Alert, and Bulletin all worked better than:
“Newsletter”
“Latest” works better than: Special Exclusive Innovate
“Issue” worked better than:
Forecast Report Research Top stories Interview Whitepaper Download
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
#SRSLY? even more words about words
Write visually, especially if you don’t have a visual in your email:
Medical emergency reads more visually as leg severed at the knee Ran quickly reads more visually as darted for cover from the mortar shells Senior citizen reads more visually as 85 year old with crepe paper skin and a high beam smile
using symbols in your subject line ♥
– Use sparingly or not at all
– Only use symbols that are legible in small fonts
– Test in email clients or end up with emoji substitute
that looks funky, like this: 🌚🌚 🌚🌚
using symbols in your subject line ♥
Desktop Browser Version
Galaxy S4 version
Learn from the best
Marketing pros work full time writing and testing headlines. Subject lines are a slight variation of headlines. What can we adapt from these pros? A lot. Here’s how to learn, not steal …
sethgodin.typepad.com/
1. Subscribe to the best marketers
2. Check out the websites of the publications your
audience subscribes to
Fastcompany.com
3. Observe lead headlines and “most clicked” or
“trending” articles to see what headlines resonate most with your audience
Theweek.com
If available, look for the titles of the “most read”
articles to see what’s getting read/shared by
your audience
4. Answer these questions to learn about your audience
What are the six most common archetypes clicked by your audience? _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ What topics get the most interest/placement? _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________
5. Practice writing subject lines with your topic using the
marketing professional’s approach … like this
Household Superstars: 38+ Items That Do Double Duty might read: Charity Superstars: 38+ Items You Can Donate to Flood Victims Today 11 Ways to Rev Your Metabolism might read: 11 Ways to Ease Arthritis Joint Pain Our Favorite Handmade Jewelry Sites might read: Our Favorite Phone Apps for Losing Weight
5. Practice writing subject lines with your topic using the
marketing professional’s approach … your turn!
Household Superstars: 38+ Items That Do Double Duty might read: ______________________________________________________________________ 11 Ways to Rev Your Metabolism might read: ______________________________________________________________________ Our Favorite Handmade Jewelry Sites might read: ______________________________________________________________________
The Clincher: (Painlessly)Finding Out What Works for Your Audience
What you’ve learned today only works when you test and learn what works for your audience.
Pay attention:
3 ways to test subject lines
1. Most email campaign software has built-in tools for
A/B testing, if not …
2. 10/10/80 split test conducted by yourself, or use …
3. MailChimp Subject Line Researcher
1. Built-in A/B Testing Tools
It pays to learn how to use your email software’s built in A/B tester because the list split is random, therefore more accurate. You can track historical performance to see
emerging trends and online behavior.
2. 10/10/80 Split Test
Don’t have Split A/B testing software or tool? You can easily mimic split testing yourself:
Use 10% percent of your list to test one subject line 10% to test the other subject line at the same time The remaining 80% of your list receives the best-performing subject line a few hours later
3. MailChimp
MailChimp offers a Subject Line Researcher built into their email software. You put in the key words of your subject line and the researcher returns you a syntax of the same or similar words that have performed best in the past for other email campaigns across MailChimp’s sizeable database
Type in Your Keyword(s)
Get open rate performance results and adjacent terms
MailChimp
1. 80% read your subject line/headline. Only 20% read your whole email/article.
2. Spend 50% of the time it takes to write your email copy writing your subject line.
3. “About me” subject lines get the most opens. Emphasize what’s in the email for
your reader.
4. Email is a one-topic medium. Avoid kitchen-sinking your subject line.
5. There are 17 subject line archetypes, but only 5 or 6 work for your audience.
6. Subject lines written with clarity get the most opens. Avoid misleading, cheeky, or
cryptic subject lines.
7. Digits stop wandering eyes and convey facts.
8. There is no optimal length for an email subject line. YOUR audience ultimately
determines that.
9. Learn from the best without stealing.
10. The clincher: It’s easy to test what works for your audience.
GET YOUR EMAILS OPENED WITH THESE INSIDER TIPS
What I learned about words of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise from Winston Churchill and Seth Godin.
317 Power Words to Start Using Immediately
Power Words
Bonus guide available for free at: http://www.connectednonprofit.com/bonuses
By Mandy O’Neill Chief Strategist & Founder, ConnectedNonprofit
Did you like today’s tips? Sign up for weekly tips like this delivered to your inbox:
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RESOURCES http://unbounce.com/email-marketing/perfect-subject-line/ http://www.copyblogger.com/37-email-marketing-tips/ http://www.mequoda.com/articles/email-newsletters-articles/best-email-subject-lines/ http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/aweber-subject-line-test/ https://litmus.com/resources/subject-line-checker http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/email-marketing/mobile-friendly-subject-lines/ http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11 http://mashable.com/2013/03/30/headlines-not-the-onion/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link http://www.mailchimp.com http://blog.mailchimp.com/this-just-in-subject-line-length-means-absolutelynothing/ http://socialtriggers.com/email-copywriting-increase-clicks/ http://www.nngroup.com/articles/web-writing-show-numbers-as-numerals/
PHOTO CREDITS Cookie Cutter: Underwaterguy via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses Light bulb: Remography via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses Eric Schmidt: World Economic Forum via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses Times Square: Reflexer via Compfight a creativecommons.org/licenses Attention: Let Ideas Compete via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses
