How to optimize email subject lines to increase open rates?

How do you respond to an email with a general subject line, a typical mass email blast designed for everyone, but no one in specific?

These emails are increasingly becoming obsolete as consumers demand personalized messages and more attentive treatment.

Also, with so much marketing going around it becomes extremely hard to break through the noise and grab the attention of consumers. It is incredibly important to make sure you stand apart and catch their eye from the onset.

When it comes to email marketing, the best way to achieve that is by optimizing the subject lines in order to increase your open rates. Here are a few examples of how to do that:

1. Personalize subject lines

The first step and a very important one is to speak directly to each of your customers so they feel important to you and well-looked-after. By adding their name to the subject line for example you can easily establish a more personal connection between you and your customer.

If you have access to customer data you can also take a few steps further and add some more personal details to the subject such as, for example, the name of a product or service you know that customer has previously shown an interest in.

Anything that grabs their attention and makes them feel like you are paying attention to them is a step in the right direction.

2. Create a sense of urgency

Fear of missing out is a real thing. People have this inherent need to feel like they are a part of something. They are scared of being left out and feeling like they don’t belong.

Marketeers have learned to take advantage of this fear.

Create a sense of urgency in your subject lines. Make the customer think he is about to miss out on something great.

3. Try to tell a story

Storytelling is a powerful thing, when done correctly it has the ability to keep people completely engaged.

If you put this to the practice and apply some form of storytelling to your subject lines, you will likely increase your open rates.

Write a subject line that makes people intrigued and want to open the email to continue reading the story.

However, make sure your story is relevant to your brand or the product you are trying to sell, otherwise, you’ll just end up confusing your users.

4. Stimulate curiosity

Once again, curiosity is a great tool to play with when it comes to email marketing. We’ve discussed intriguing consumers with a fun story, but there are other forms of driving curiosity.

Keep the message mysterious and alluring to pique de users’ interest and give them no choice but to open the email and find out more. Be careful not to overdo this though, you don’t want the message to be so strange and enigmatic that it is considered as spam.

5. Short and simple

You shouldn’t write long subject lines for several reasons.

First, if it’s too long and it doesn’t grab consumers’ attention from the onset, they won’t read all of it. Secondly, if it’s too big it will get cut off and won’t be fully visible on the inbox.

Subject lines are best kept short, sweet and simple. When done correctly, it doesn’t take to many words to get the consumer to open the email.

6. Use an individual sender’s name

It becomes more personal and less intimidating if you use your name or your employee’s name on the sending address as opposed to the name of your company. This will help make your costumers comfortable to reply and interact with the sender.

Also on this note, avoid no-reply senders as it discourages your customers from interacting and establishing that personal connection with you.

Conclusion

The subject lines are the first contact your customers have with your emails and, as such, can make or break your email strategy because they are the deciding factor between opening the email and deleting it.

As such, write a well-thought-out subject line that leaves no room for mistake and watch as your open rates increase.