Do your email subscribers open your emails? How many actually engage with your content? Have you assessed which tactics, topics and timing generate the best open and click-through rates? Despite the proclivity for social media, email marketing continues to be a powerful channel for businesses. However, you must provide value with insightful and uncommon information presented in a creative and compelling way.
In a recent Social Media Marketing podcast hosted by Michael Stelzner, guest Jay Schwedelson offered his insights about email marketing best practices in 2024, common myths and key trends (episode 605). We’re sharing some highlights along with useful tips from our experience.
1. Awaken email subscribers with a one-two punch
Your headline shouldn’t be an afterthought. To break through the endless digital clutter, each word should be assessed, analyzed and finessed. The sequence of your words also merits careful consideration, because only the first portion of the subject line is visible in the email preview pane.
Strong subject lines use uncommon, powerful and emotionally-rich words.
To encourage email opens, strive for headlines with punch, promise, or power words. Alliteration is an effective writing technique that draws in your audience. Starting with a number generates opens. And a three element sequence engages the reader, who anticipates the third item in the sequence.
But most important is the value of your words: Make each word count.
2. Get personal (but not too personal) to capture attention
Generally speaking, including a recipient’s name in an email subject line is viewed as spammy and intrusive. The most common reaction? A swift click into the trash.
A better approach is to generate a sense of kinship by personalizing your subject line around a readers’ potential interests.
Jay Schwedelson notes that subject lines like Just for DIYers or Just for CFOs resonate with subscribers and are “crushing it” in terms of open rates. Similarly, headlines focused around life events (For new homeowners, For recent retirees, or Boaters only) also build connection and perform extremely well.
After capturing a reader’s attention with a compelling headline, stay the course right through to the call to action. First person calls to action (Save My Spot rather than Register Now, for example) can create a 20% lift in click-through rates, according to Schwedelson.
3. Say it like you mean it: Be bold and unfiltered
There’s some conventional wisdom out there that’s … frankly, no longer wisdom. A key one cautions using the word “free” in a subject line. Yes, there was a time when the word “free” was overused, causing a spammy reputation, but times are a-changing.
SubjectLine.com founder Jay Schwedelson points out that the word free is in good company with other disparaged tactics like emojis and special characters.
Back in the day, special characters weren’t recognized, causing an email to be sidelined to the Junk folder. That’s generally no longer an issue. He notes that today, the presence of emojis or special characters can actually lift engagement by as much as 25%.
What’s the ideal number of emojis to include? Schwedelson goes out on a limb and says that more is often better. However, because each situation is unique, he recommends A/B testing your headline to assess how these once taboo items perform for your audience.
4. Telling, not yelling: Use capital letters with grace
Another onetime don’t discourages use of all capital letters in a subject line, under the premise that readers feel they are being shouted at. Schwedelson suggests putting your own feelings aside, as capital letters do have a place at the subject line table. He shares two approaches to consider:
- Capitalize (only) the entire first word or two: ENDING SOON: This one’s too good to miss
- Use title casing (initial caps on each word): 14 Weddings Gifts They’ll Actually Love
5. Create a sense of urgency … the ultimate FOMO
Social proofing is the psychological concept that people are influenced in their decision making by the acts of others. Today’s socially-focused audiences are a captive audience for FOMO (fear of missing out) messaging. Not surprisingly, headlines like these create a huge lift in performance:
- Almost gone!
- [24 hours only] Flash sale!
- HURRY — only 7 spots left
In addition to words and punctuation that stoke the FOMO fire, Schwedelson recommends using brackets around one or two key words to help an email to stand out.
6. Check in with ChatGPT for more email inspiration
In our blog post focused on how AI tools can support content creation, we discussed the value of ChatGPT in optimizing sentence structure, such as re-writing a headline to replace passive voice with an active one. A prompt to Chat GPT can develop into a productive brainstorming session.
ChatGPT and similar tools can also assist in reworking a promising headline to finesse voice, tweak sentence structure or achieve balanced phrasing.
While AI technology offers immediate gratification, don’t dismiss tried-and-true best practices for email marketing. When utilizing A/B testing (also known as split testing), be sure your subject line alternatives are radically different.
7. Leverage your website platform’s embedded helper tools
In our post about SEO tools, we discussed WordPress’ interactive SEO headline analyzer tool which helps authors finesse blog and email headlines. The tool scores proposed headlines to help authors iterate their way to the most effective phrasing.
The sequence of your words can impact the success of a headline or subject line; the beginning and ending words are particularly important.
The headline analyzer tool scores your headline for various factors and ranks each with a red/orange/green indicator. As you refine the headline, the tool works interactively, updating the scores for each of the desired items.
Writing Coach: 7 Tasty Benefits of SEO Plugins, Online Amplify
There are some really good tips here. I am surprised at how terrible some email subject lines are.
#4 about capital letters hits home with me especially. It definitely feels like I am being yelled at.
You write great blogs.
Thanks for your comments, Mike. I agree about subject lines — and content in general. It takes more effort to write succinctly.