Remember Creative

Today, a client was asking for advice with their email subject lines and whilst I was writing the email I figured I would share it to a larger audience.

And I should be honest, I lied, there is no perfect subject line although the above is pretty damn good, if I do say so myself 😊 *pats self on back*

THE BASICS

A good subject line will be compelling, descriptive and creative. That’s a tall task for a few words (If you want a masterclass in how to write a great story in 6 words click here)

The one thing you should never do is be misleading; it will annoy the reader and make sure your follow up email does not get read.

AUDIENCE

Depending on your audience, things can change dramatically if it’s someone you know well they are going to open it anyway – half the time my friends might not even bother with a subject line or the even more interesting “Fw: “. But in general, when wanting to write a good opening line it’s to someone you want to impress either in business or personally and it might be a large group or an individual.

THE STARTING POINTS

You want people interested in what is inside the email. It’s oft told that there are only a few stories in the world and they are just told differently so goes the email subject line. It’s all roughly the same just with a different emphasis here are some tried and true methods

You can ask a question
• Do you know how to write a great subject line?
• Can you write a great subject line without even trying?
• Are your subjects subpar?

You can impart knowledge
• Learn 6 ways to write a great subject
or you can tweak it and make it a personal story
• How I wrote the perfect subject line
• Why did they not reply

Urgency or FOMO or Jealousy
Play on peoples egos or insecurities
• Don’t waste another email
• Hurry – Last chance to learn how to write the perfect subject (ok so they don’t all work for all situations)

Offer
People love an offer. “X% off” or combine it with urgency FOR “25% off sneakers for another 12 hours.”
• SAVE time when writing your emails (ok cheating but if you aren’t selling)

Make it Personal
Never be afraid to drop in a name if it makes sense to do so
• Stephanie, Learn why your emails aren’t getting opened

Mix it up!
And don’t always start the subject with Brand X’s [weekly newsletter] consistency isn’t bad but it can get boring and wastes valuable real estate.

AND you can be cheeky
Is the subject line the new pickup line?

THE BUZZWORDS

Instincts can get the best of us and when we see certain buzzwords our interest is piqued the good people at CoSchedule has given us, not one but two, great lists. Words that will get your emails opened and words that won’t DON’T MIX THEM UP!!!!

All these tips should see you in good stead to write popular, thought provoking, click generating headlines, subject lines, text messages…