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Get Your Emails Opened With These Insider Tips
This document provides tips for writing effective email subject lines. The key points are: 1) 80% of people only read the subject line, so spend 50% of the email writing time on it; 2) "About me" subject lines focusing on the reader work best; 3) Subject lines should be clear and avoid being misleading or cryptic. Testing different subject lines is important to see what works best for a particular audience. The document provides additional guidance on formatting, words to use or avoid, and learning from successful marketers.
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Get Your Emails Opened With These Insider Tips
- 1. Get Your Emails OpenedWith These Insider Tips
- 2.
- 3. Your Landing Page YourOpening Line Your Call-to-Action Your List Quality and Segmentation Email “From”
- 4. aren’t created witha cookie cutter email subject lines
- 5. Timeless principles thatget 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:
- 6.
- 7. Every two dayswe create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003, according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.
- 8. Every two dayswe create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003, according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.
- 9. Most inboxes resembleTimes Square 3,000 marketing messages bleed into our brains every day
- 10. that leads usall to …
- 11. 80/20 Rule 80% ofpeople 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
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- 13. 50/50 Rule Spend halfthe time it takes you to write an email, article, or blog drafting the subject line or headline.
- 14. Captions under images areread on average 300% more than the body copy itself Spend time writing killer captions too Source: Kissmetrics
- 15. #1 Timeless Tip It’sall about
- 16. Not about me:From our Finance Office About me: You’ve got to see this Parks video “About Me” subject lines work best
- 17. Breaking News 70 Anti-AgingIdeas 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
- 18. Instead of tellingme what to do: Register for Camp Today Make me want to do it: Your Chance to Experience Camp Magic
- 19. Write to oneperson
- 20. Write to oneperson
- 21. Email is aone-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
- 22. Subject lines area slight variation of headlines and this slide offers great advice from one of the fastest growing media companies today.
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- 24. There are 17email 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/
- 25. 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.
- 26. Learn from thePros
- 27. 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:
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- 29. http://socialtriggers.com/email-copywriting-increase-clicks/ and researchby 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.
- 30. Negative frame: Thebest day of the week to find low airfares online Positive frame: The worst day of the week to find low airfares online
- 31. save cheeky forsocial 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.
- 32. Does Subject LineLength Matter? Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
- 33. Does Subject LineLength Matter? Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much
- 34. Practice word economy: toomany words blur your picture
- 35. Free Subject LineChecker by Litmus https://litmus.com/resources/subject-line-checker
- 36.
- 38. 3 Reasons toUse 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/
- 39. a word aboutwords 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
- 40. more words aboutwords “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
- 41. even more wordsabout 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
- 42. #SRSLY? even morewords 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
- 43. using symbolsin 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: 🌚🌚 🌚🌚
- 44. using symbolsin your subject line ♥ Desktop Browser Version Galaxy S4 version
- 45. Learn from thebest
- 46. Marketing pros workfull 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 …
- 47. sethgodin.typepad.com/ 1. Subscribe tothe best marketers
- 48. 2. Check outthe websites of the publications your audience subscribes to
- 49. Fastcompany.com 3. Observe leadheadlines and “most clicked” or “trending” articles to see what headlines resonate most with your audience
- 50. Theweek.com If available, lookfor the titles of the “most read” articles to see what’s getting read/shared by your audience
- 51. 4. Answer thesequestions to learn about your audience What are the six most common archetypes clicked by your audience? _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ What topics get the most interest/placement? _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________ _____________________ _______________________
- 52. 5. Practice writingsubject 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
- 53. 5. Practice writingsubject 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: ___________________________________ ___________________________________
- 54. The Clincher: (Painlessly)FindingOut What Works for Your Audience
- 55. What you’ve learnedtoday only works when you test and learn what works for your audience. Pay attention:
- 56. 3 ways totest 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
- 57. 1. Built-in A/BTesting 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.
- 58. 2. 10/10/80 SplitTest 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
- 59. 3. MailChimp MailChimp offersa 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
- 60. Type in Your Keyword(s) Getopen rate performance results and adjacent terms MailChimp
- 61. 1. 80% readyour 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
- 62. What I learnedabout 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
- 63. By Mandy O’Neill ChiefStrategist & Founder, ConnectedNonprofit mandy@connectednonprofit.com Did you like today’s tips? Sign up for weekly tips like this delivered to your inbox: www.connectednonprofit.com
- 64. 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