(This tip is provided to you from the e-book, “5 Steps to Successful E-mail Marketing,” available for download now.)
You’re reading this, so you could say my headline worked. It got you interested enough to see what the heck I’m blogging about today. But if you’re hoping I’ll reveal the No-Work Way to Wealth, well, I apologize. This post is really about writing attention-grabbing (but honest) subject lines for e-mail newsletters and campaigns.
You see, an e-mail subject line is a lot like a headline. It’s got to be a real workhorse — enticing enough to grab customers’ attention in their crowded e-mail inboxes — without overselling the benefit the way my headline did. In short, you don’t want to be intentionally deceptive (like my headline was).
Basically a subject line should do three things:
1. It should tell your customer what your e-mail is about.
2. It should convey the benefit of opening your message.
3. It should be free of gimmicks or jargon.
That last point is really important. You don’t want your customers to think you’ve gone to the dark side and taken up spamming. Terms like “free,” “winner,” “amazing,” and “cash bonus” are classic examples that can get your message filtered out by an e-mail service provider or sent straight to a junk mail bin.
You’ll find more tips about writing great subject lines in the free e-book we developed with StartupNation. What length gets the best open rates? Is it smart to personalize them? Does urgency work? It’s all good stuff and a fun read too. So download “5 Steps to Successful E-mail Marketing” and you’ll see what I mean.
While I’m on this topic, I want to make sure you didn’t miss my earlier post where I announced that our E-Mail Marketing service is out of beta now and that we’re offering some new budget-friendly pricing to help you get started.
Office Live Small Business customers can click here to try E-Mail Marketing for free.
Comments? Questions? Post away and I’ll get back to you.
David Alexander