What’s the Hook?

How to craft subject lines that compel the receiver to open your email

Advertisers live and die by catchphrases. Having the right catchphrase, one that is descriptive and memorable, makes all the difference in how well people remember your product.

See how well you do with matching the following catchphrases, on the left, with their brands, on the right. 

How many do you think you got right? You can check your answers here:

(1-D, 2-H, 3-A, 4-C, 5-G, 6-E, 7-B, 8-F)

If you are like most people, you got them all right, or maybe just missed one or two, but you get my point. The better the slogan, the easier it is to relate it to your brand. 

So what does this have to do with email effectiveness?

Just like having the right catchphrase or slogan is crucial for a product’s success, having the right subject line for your email will make all the difference in whether your email gets opened or deleted.   

MailChimp, a top email marketing service provider, puts it this way: “When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what’s inside, and the worst subject lines sell what’s inside.”

You want to think of your email subject line as your “best pick-up line”. If it is cheesy, or too brash, or just simply lame, your chances of meeting someone are abysmal. Email sending companies like Mustard Seed Interactive have found that crafting strong subject lines makes all the difference in achieving high open rates (and thus effective campaigns).

Take a look at the following list of best practices for crafting effective email subject lines:

Keep it simple: The fewer the words the better. Cut down excess text. Best practice is less than 40 characters, or about five to eight words. In other words, the shorter the better!

Use questions: Subject lines that are phrased as questions often perform better. Having an engaging question that compels the reader to open the email is a great way to ensure your email gets read.

Identify Yourself:  Make sure it is easy for your subscribers to know where the email is coming from. No one trusts an anonymous sender, especially in world rich with spam emails! If a recipient does not know where an email is coming from, they may feel at risk and will be quick to delete it (or worse yet, mark it as spam).

Use topics that are timely and give a sense of urgency: Topical and urgent statements or questions really help in getting an email opened. Try to write in such a way that the reader is compelled to the call to action.

Test, test, test: Just because something sounds great and makes sense in your head, the reader may not read it the same way. Send your email with two (or more) subject lines to small test groups prior to your full send. That way you can determine which subject line achieves a better open rate, to give your campaign the best chance at success!

These are just a few tips to guide you in the right direction… and expert email providers such as Mustard Seed Interactive can help you craft subject lines and email messages that get results.

The bottom line is without a compelling subject line, your email is far more likely to get deleted – representing a wasted opportunity to connect with your audience and share your message.

Roger Rayburn is the Operations Director of Mustard Seed Interactive. He can be reached at roger@mustardseedinteractive.com.