Welcome to My Blog

No matter what they say, people do judge emails by their subject lines.

In fact, 33% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone. That’s why it’s so important to craft subject lines that are compelling enough to get people to click through.

While they may seem like a small part of your message, they’re one of the very first impressions you have on your email recipients. And they’re a marketer’s ticket for standing out in a crowded inbox.

Do you want your email content opened, read, and clicked? It all starts with the subject line. Here are 17 tips to help jazz them up and boost engagement.

How to Write Email Marketing Subject Lines People Actually Click

1) Keep it short and sweet.

Email subject lines will get cut off if they’re too long, particularly on mobile devices. And with 40% of emails being opened on mobile first, we recommend using subject lines with fewer than 50 characters to make sure the people scanning your emails read the entire subject line.

If you’re struggling to keep your subject lines short, think about which words matter less and where you can remove a frivolous detail. For example, if you’re sending an order confirmation, doesn’t “Your order is being processed” look better than “Order #9435893458358 is being processed”? Same goes with your regular emails: Do you really have to include the word “update” or “newsletter” in there? (Actually, a study from Adestra found that emails including the word “newsletter” in the subject line saw an 18.7% decrease in open rates.)

2) Use a familiar sender name.

“If the from name doesn’t sound like it’s from someone you want to hear from, it doesn’t matter what the subject line is,” explains Copy Hacker’s Joanna Wiebe.

Thanks to the amount of spam email people get these days, most people hesitate to open email from unfamiliar senders. No one likes talking to a robot. Think about when you call a company and can’t get a hold of an actual person. It’s frustrating, right? This goes for email, as well.

Never use “noreply@company.com.” I repeat: Never use this email address. Not only does it make it look less personable, it also stops people from adding your email to their address book.

Instead, avoid using a generic email address and send the email from a real person. For instance, HubSpot found that emails sent from “Maggie Georgieva, HubSpot” performed better in terms of opens and clickthrough rate than emails sent from just “HubSpot.” (HubSpot customers: Learn how to personalize the “From” name and email address here.)

3) Use personalization tokens.

Using personalization tokens like name or location in the subject line adds a feeling of rapport — especially when it’s a name. Everyone loves the sound of their own name. Plus, it increases clickthrough rate: According to the Science of Email Marketing, emails that included the first name of the recipient in their subject line had higher clickthrough rates than emails that did not.

Affix it to your subject line by saying things like: “John Doe, we really wanted to share this…” Or, do what Rent the Runway did with their subject line: “Happy Birthday Lindsay – Surprise Inside!” Not only did it address the recipient by their first name, but it was also sent close to the recipient’s birthday. That’s great personalization and great timing.

Another personalization tactic that works is to tailor subject lines to their location. Uber does a great job with this: They send me location-specific emails, like lists of my city’s best outdoor bars and restaurants. Groupon does this well, too. Location-specific offers or news could increase your open rates.

Just don’t go overboard with the personalization here. That can be a little creepy. But little personalized touches here and there show that you know more about your recipients than just their email address. However, if you can’t (or don’t want to) use personalization tokens in the subject line, use “you” or “your” so it still sounds like you’re addressing them directly.

4) Segment your lists. 

While email blasts that go out to your entire list might be relevant and helpful to some people, it won’t be to others — and could cause confusion or frustration. Why is this restaurant sending me a list of the best local steakhouses when I’m a vegetarian? Why is this company sending me case studies when I just signed up for their email list yesterday?

Personalize the experience using information from the actions your customer has already taken — from which forms they’ve filled out, to which industries they’re in, to what their personal preferences are. In email marketing, you can personalize your recipients’ experience using a little thing called list segmentation.

How you segment your lists depends on your business and your goals, but you can read this blog post for 27 ideas for how to slice and dice your email lists for better segmentation.

5) Don’t make false promises.

Your email subject line is making a promise to your reader about what you will deliver in your message. Make sure that you make good on that commitment — and do not try to get your email opened by making false promises. This will irk your audience, and they’ll learn not to trust your subject lines, resulting in a lower open rate and a higher unsubscribe rate.

6) Do tell them what’s inside.

Speaking of making promises, if your visitor has downloaded an offer and you’re delivering it via email, it’s a great idea to use a subject line that says something like, “your new ebook inside!” or “your guide awaits!” This works better than a simple “thank you” in the subject line because it makes it clear that something is waiting inside the email.

7) Time it right.

Sending an email at the right time with the right subject line can make a huge difference in open and clickthrough rate. A prime example? Eater Boston sent an email at 6:45 P.M. on a Wednesday evening that said, “Where to Drink Beer Right Now.” Just in time for happy hour. Nailed it.

Another favorite example of mine is an email from Warby Parker with the subject line, “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring.” It was sent two weeks before the recipient needed to renew his prescription. By sending an email at the right time, Warby Parker increased the chances of their email getting opened — and included a relevant call-to-action about getting a glasses upgrade, too.

8) Use concise language.

Keep in mind that people scan their inbox very quickly — so the more clear and concise your subject line is, the better. It’s usually a lot better to be concise than it is to use complex and flowery language — unless you’re going for an elusive subject tone to entice your recipients.

When you’re going for a concise subject line, think first about how your email will benefit your recipients. You’ll want to make that benefit very clear. For example, “Increase your open rates by 50% today” is more appealing than “How to increase open rates.”

9) Start with action-oriented verbs.

Subject lines are similar to calls-to-action, in that you want the language to inspire people to click. Subject lines that begin with action verbs tend to be a lot more enticing, and your emails could be drastically more clickable by adding a vibrant verb at the beginning.

Actionable subject lines will inspire people to click on your email by instilling urgency and excitement. For example, in an email inviting people to a hockey legend dinner, the email subject line might read, “Dine with Bruins legend Bobby Orr,” rather than a more generic (and less actionable) “Local Boston Sports Legend Meal.” The former email uses “Dine” to help the reader envision themselves at a dinner table.

10) Make people feel special.

The psychology of exclusivity is a powerful thing. When people feel like they’re on the inside, it gives them a sense of belonging that could build loyalty and compel them to convert better on your emails.

The right phrasing can make your recipients feel special — and the effect can be magical. A few ideas for phrasing include: 

• “For our beloved customers only”
• “An exclusive offer for you”
• “My gift to you”
• “You’re invited!”
• “Private invite”

11) Create a sense of urgency.

One effective subject line style that will stop readers in their tracks: urgency. Subject lines that create a sense of urgency and exclusivity can give a 22% higher open rate. Using deadlines like “today only” or “24-hour giveaway” will encourage your reader to act now instead of putting it off until later, when there’s a chance of them forgetting it.

But urgency is just one of the psychological principles that can help get people to open and click through your emails. Other principles include scarcity and social proof — both great ways to increase your conversion rates.

12) Use numbers.

A lot of businesses send emails with vague statements in their subject lines — which is why using data and numbers is a great way to get your emails noticed, demonstrate a clear and straightforward message about your offer, and set the right expectations.

Just like with blog titles, using numbers in your subject line is an effective email marketing best practice. You might use numbers to refer to the title of your listicle, the page length of the offer you’re sending, a specific discount, or the numerical benefit of a particular resource you’re providing — like “Join more than 750 others at this event!”

13) Pose a compelling question.

Asking a question in your subject line can also draw readers in — especially if you’re asking a question you know is relevant to your recipients’ buyer persona. For example, you might try the following: “Are you making these SEO mistakes?” or “Do you know what your website is doing wrong?”

Zillow sent an email with the subject line, “What Can You Afford?” that linked to a website showing apartments for rent. A subject line like this is both encouraging and a touch competitive: While it gives hope that there are apartments out there that’ll fit within your budget, it also pits your cash against what the market offers. 

Another example comes from DocuSign. They sent an email late in the lead nurturing process, with the subject line, “What are your customers saying?” The body of the email contained a bunch of case studies that were meant to help the recipient move closer to actually purchasing DocuSign. This was a smart move: Folks who are further down the funnel are likely more receptive to hearing customer testimonials.

14) Don’t be afraid to get punny.

Most people love a good pun. It’s a great way to delight your recipients and spice up your emails. Some of the best punny email subject lines come from JetBlue, with subject lines like “Land wander-ful low fares now!” Quirky — a community-led invention platform –worded one of their email subject lines like this: “Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it.” That second part is conversational and self-referential — and exactly what most people would say after making a really cheesy joke in real life.

If you’re the least bit punny, think about small ways you can slip them into your emails when it’s appropriate. Just don’t overdo it.

And remember the rule: When in doubt, ask a coworker.

(Get inspired by checking out these witty grammar jokes and puns.)

15) DON’T USE ALL CAPS or overuse exclamation points!!!

A subject line that says, “OPEN NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE TRIAL” or “50% off coupon today only!!!!!!!!” isn’t going to get you an email open. In fact, it’ll probably get your email ignored. People don’t like to get yelled at, and using all caps and/or a lot of exclamation points can really rub people the wrong way. In fact, according to a study by the Radicati Group, more than 85% of respondents prefer an all-lowercase subject line to one in all caps. 

Not only are these tactics disruptive, but they look spammy. When 69% of email recipients report email as spam based solely on the subject line, you’ll want to stay away from triggers like this as much as you can.

Instead of using disruptive tactics like these to stand out in people’s inboxes, try personalizing your emails, establishing relevancy, and using catchy and delightful language.

16) Don’t forget to add preview text.

While preview text isn’t technically part of your subject line, it does appear right near the subject line — and it certainly deserves your attention. Preview text provides recipients with a peek at the content inside your email, which email clients like the iPhone Mail app, Gmail, and Outlook will display alongside the subject line. (The exact amount of text shown depends on the email client and user settings.)

When you don’t set the preview text yourself, the email client will automatically pull from the body of your email. This can look messy depending on your email content, and it’s also a wasted opportunity to engage your audience. (HubSpot customers: Click here to learn how to set the preview text of your emails.)

17) A/B test your subject lines.

Although these tips and best practices are a great place to start, what works best for some companies may not work as well for others. It’s all about figuring out what works best for your specific audience. That’s where A/B testing comes in.

While it can be tempting to use your intuition to predict what subject line language will make people click on your emails, you should constantly be A/B testing your subject lines and tweaking wording according to your results. What works best for your audience: Long or short subject lines? Including numbers or not including numbers? Questions or statements?

Read this blog post for an A/B testing checklist you can bookmark the next time you want to run one on your emails. (HubSpot Enterprise customers: Learn how to A/B test emails in HubSpot here.)

At the end of the day, if your emails aren’t getting opened, they’re not getting seen. You have awesome content to share, you just have to prove it in your subject line.

Good luck!

What are your best tips and tricks for improving email subject lines? Share them below.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

 

The simple dream of most writers is being able to write more. And it’s not only writing more, it’s writing effortlessly.

But it’s not just authors or professional writers who dream of this. These days, a lot of marketing roles will require you to dust of your writing skills at one point or another. And there’s nothing worse than simply not being able to write — especially when the pressure of a deadline is looming over your head.

Yes, we’ve all been there.

That’s why this past January I decided that I was done with crawling over the finish line with my work in hand. I was done with the pressure. I knew there was a better way to write.

So I set out to find some answers. Here’s what I learned in the process …

How to Become a More Productive Writer: 7 Helpful Tips

1) Find the right tools.

My immediate goal was to help shape my productivity and measure my writing. To do so, I started to treat my computer like a toolbox. Every application that I called on had the ability to influence my performance — both for better and for worse.

To measure my productivity, I started using a time management tool called RescueTime.

I do all of my writing in Google Docs and RescueTime gives me a weekly report of the amount of hours I’ve spent using Google Docs. Simply put, the more time spent in Google Docs, the more words I am likely to write.

The tool also makes it easy to set goals, track your progress, and understand your productivity patterns — which proved helpful during this process.

Similar to RescueTime, Grammarly— a writing-enhancement platform — will give you a report detailing the number of words you’ve written in a given week. For this reason, I started using the tool to measure my progress.

Here’s a sample of the data I collected on my journey to improve my writing:

When I was feeling like I couldn’t write another word, I pulled up this data to remind myself of how far I’d come. I could write another word. In fact, I could probably write a couple thousand more words if I pushed myself.

2) Find your biological prime time.

Brainpicking’s “writer’s timetable” clearly illustrates the correlation between writers’ wake-up times and their level of productivity. After checking this out, I decided that I wanted to capture something similar: a set time of the day to focus on writing.

To do this, I knew that I needed to first figure out when my optimum output would be — in terms of both quality and quantity. For instance, it’s no good waking up early to write something if your best work comes out a night — or vice versa.

So how do you figure out where you stand? Quite simply, you just run some productivity tests on yourself. To do so, I picked up some tips from productivity expert Chris Bailey. In this blog post, Bailey outlines a process for finding your “biological prime time” — a term coined by Sam Carpenter in his book Work the System.

He explains how he kept track of his energy, focus, and motivation levels for 21 days straight. Here’s a look at what he saw:

Image Credit: A Life of Productivity

After about a month of duplicating this type of testing on myself, I found that my productivity arch would run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and my best work would normally come out between 10:00 a.m. – 12:00. p.m.

Now that I had this information, I could use this daily window to focus on my writing when it mattered most. Additionally, knowing this helped me stop feeling so guilty when I found myself unable to produce anything meaningful after 3 p.m. because I knew it just wasn’t the right time for me to get work done.

3) Experiment with journaling.

Tim Ferriss has an insightful post on his morning journal that got me thinking. Almost every morning Ferriss sits down with a cup of tea and takes time to write in The Artist’s Way: Morning Pages Journal, a book by Julia Cameron. He uses this as a daily practice of production.

Here’s an excerpt from one of his entries:

Image Credit: Tim Ferriss

This was the exact remedy I was looking for. I realized that writing perfectly wasn’t the goal … it was to just get writing.

So I began my way to a better morning routine.

This was an easy prescription: I bought a cheap notebook and I kept it in my bag. I’d write in it every weekday while on the train heading into the office.

When I was writing, I’d focus on two areas:

• What’s worrying me in my personal life.
• What’s worrying me in my working life.

To round off the journaling and get myself in a positive frame of mind, I’d write three things that I was grateful for that day — a trick stolen from The Five-Minute Journal.

(Check out this post for more on the power of morning freewriting.)

4) Work offline to avoid problems.

We’re in a world dominated by notifications, and that little red dot can be seductive to us at our weakest moments.

Avoiding the temptation to browse around online — whether it’s Slack channels, social media sites, or your inbox — can be really tough. For me, it was especially hard to avoid Slack, as the company I work for, Kayako, is spread across the globe with remote workers and two main offices in England and India.

So while I had to use Slack for internal communication purposes, it was serving as a big distraction. With people pulling me in numerous directions all day long, there was a lot of task switching going on. And all that task switching has a dramatic impact on the quality and quantity of work you produce.

In fact, research shows that multitaskers:

• Experience a 40% drop in productivity
• Take 50% longer to accomplish a single task
• Make up to 50% more errors

Not to mention, task switching reduces our chances of finding our flow. And as writers, finding your flow is necessary: Did you know it takes around 23 minutes to return to a task after you’re interrupted?

So while you don’t have to go as far as Samuel Huelick — who wrote this “break up letter” to Slack — clearly stating to your team you’re going offline for a couple of hours can help you regain control and focus. Give it a try.

5) Set deadlines.

Almost everyone procrastinates — especially when it comes to things that have no deadline. You know, things you’ve always wanted to do, but never had to do — like traveling, or starting a business, or getting in shape, or writing a book.

Don’t believe in the power of deadlines? I’d encourage you to allow Tim Urban’s comical (yet drilling) TED Talk about procrastination sink in before you make that call …

During my journey to become a better writer, the importance of deadlines became even clearer to me. And while there is research out there that suggests self-imposed deadlines don’t cut it, this practice has helped me push through work and hit goals time and time again. After all, Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for it’s completion.”

I put my deadline rule to the rest when I found out my company was hiring a content marketing manager — a role I knew I was interested in. To declare my interest in the job, I set up a couple of meetings and worked directly with our director of marketing to come up with a goal-oriented checklist of things to achieve to secure the role.

One task on that list? Producing an ebook on customer service team hiring … which I gave myself one week to draft.

And guess what? I got it done.

Would I have been able to write the ebook if I hadn’t publicly held myself accountable? Probably not — in fact, it could have easily taken me a month.

Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational, explains that publicly committing to a time frame for completion can be an incredibly powerful motivator. When you tell others that you’re going to do X by Y time, your reputation is on the line.

“It’s a good way to keep score,” he told The New York Times.

6) Structure your work accordingly.

One habit I’ve managed to overcome when writing blog posts is omitting structure. Before I used to wait for inspiration to kick in on a subject and charge full speed ahead into my writing until I’d hit the inevitable roadblock and couldn’t write any more.

Now I commit to creating a blog post structure before I even write my first word. I designate 20-30 minutes to plan, and focus my structure on capturing three essential parts:

• The audience and their view/perspective.
• Best practices powered by research and supporting material.
• The actionable takeaway.

Of course, there are different ways to approach this type of structural outline — for example, Copyblogger recommends the MAP technique or the S.P.E.E.D. approach — but I’ll leave that up to you. The important thing is that you’re putting a plan in place before you get started, as this extra step can do wonders for your productivity.

7) Get feedback throughout the process.

As a writer, having someone else look over your blog can be one of the most helpful things when you’re starting to feel stuck. A fresh set of eyes can help you identify gaps in your post that you’d likely overlook, and getting this type of feedback early on could mean the difference between putting out something impressive and having to trash your post entirely.

At Kayako, we use a three-step editing process that works particularly well for putting out high quality content:

• First round of edits: Structural.
• Second round of edits: Core content and insight.
• Third round of edits: Spelling and grammar.

But before we dive into that process, we review articles as a team in a weekly editor’s meeting to screen for quality, identify opportunities for improvement, and so on.

If it sounds like a lot … that’s because it is. But it’s that level of detail that makes it easier for our writer’s to complete a piece that they’re proud of — without spending a lifetime on it.

Remember: It’s easy to get lost in a post that you’ve been working on for a while. Rather than wasting time trying to determine what’s missing on your own, ask for that feedback upfront. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Ready to Get More Writing Done?

Getting better at writing doesn’t have to happen right at once. I’ve been optimizing my writing by experimenting with an array of different techniques over the past six months — it’s only now that I feel like I am near my best.

You can start with any of these techniques listed above and incorporate them into your day to make you more efficient as a writer. There is no set methodology. Just try a few strategies out until you find what works best for you.

Ten years ago my answer to the cocktail party question, “What do you do?” was as easy as two letters: PR.

These days that answer is: I help companies in the design and build industry connect with their targets through social media, content marketing, public relations and strategic partnerships. (Say that after two cocktails.)The PR job has changed dramatically in the last decade. The press release, once king of the PR world, has ceded the throne to the much younger, much more persuasive heir social media and her loyal advisor the brand ambassador. 2016 PR is social PR.

PR has always been about building relationships (with media and industry) but the scope has changed: The tools are better (thank you inbound). The audiences bigger. And the opportunity for connections, dizzying. Now at my agency Marketing Rival, the bulk of my work focuses on using the content we produce for clients to connect with and nurture leads with brand ambassadors, and I do it almost exclusively on social media. And it’s a lot more fun.

In this post I’ll use an example from one of our clients to show you how you can find and make meaningful connections with potential brand ambassadors to establish strategic brand partnerships.

Polycor is a mid-sized company which owns and operates natural stone quarries in the US and Canada Their customers are stone distributors, but to drive demand we spend most of our time talking to designers and architects who spec their material.

When we look for a brand ambassador slash strategic marketing partner we’re usually looking for a person (but sometimes a small brand like a boutique appliance company) to incorporate our material into their design and share it with their audience as part of a native ad or with the media (like a designer who frequently writes for Houzz or Dwell).

Download ebook: A Social PR Expert’s Guide to Attracting (And Qualifying) Loyal Brand Ambassadors With Social PR

When I look for a brand ambassador I’ve got more in mind than follower counts. I want authentic coverage for my client that hits on a personal note with actual people. An ambassador for my clients (usually a design blogger) must write, curate and share content that’s: relatable, emotional, personal. The right brand ambassador for my client is one that’s just as concerned about delivering the content right for her audience as she is about doing good work for my client (and getting the check).

It’s not just about search and increasing web traffic. Brand ambassador relationships are about sales, and you increase sales when you connect with a person. I choose a media partner or brand ambassador based on their natural connection to my client’s product, in this case natural stone, like US marble.

I’m not just looking for a tear sheet of my client’s stone; I want coverage that’s woven into the partner’s life. (Don’t get me wrong, these are native ads, not free spotlights, but I want the blogger’s connection to my brand to be so personal that she might have done it for free.) In other words, we don’t want to force the content.

Instagram is the top channel for designers, and my team and I spend a lot of time there following and engaging with designers about their work and their stone choices. That’s where I spotted designer Melinda McCoy from House 214, and her concrete kitchen counters. The dark color and texture reminded me of my client’s soapstone so I struck up a conversation with her.

As the relationship developed I got to know her style better and could see that she was actually a better fit for marble. I sent her a photograph of Polycor’s domestic marble called White Cherokee. This was her response: “I am excited to discuss a possible collaboration. I have been thinking of placing a slab of marble on my dining room table for over a year now, but haven’t found the right fit. When you sent the picture of that kitchen I thought that is it!”

We look for someone who loves natural stone, wants to feature Polycor prominently in one of their designs, and considers the value of the materials we give as a sizable part of the project fee. Generally this is a design savvy blogger who loves natural materials, has a chic well written site, and a following.

Our client is an established company but newer to marketing, so we’re open to bloggers with smaller followings and smaller rates because it allows us to grow together. A designer like this has a built-in audience of like minded shoppers and we can count on them to provide beautiful images, great copy and good traffic back to our site.

We won’t work with someone who favors manmade materials like quartz and porcelain over natural stone. And we won’t pursue a relationship with a blogger who’s writing only about food or pets or fashion. Our native advertising must make sense with the platform – an interior home design blog for instance – and be appealing to the audience – who wants to read about design trends and materials.

Read more about what makes for sensible native advertising collab here in Joline Buscemi’s review of the NY Times/Orange Is The New Black relationship.

The most effective way to attract loyal, connected brand ambassadors is to employ those solid inbound principals you’re already following: write great targeted content, publish and engage on social media, qualify and nurture leads.

When you cultivate an audience of people who genuinely love what you’re doing you’re building a pool of loyal, engaged brand ambassadors who will stick with you not just because you’ve contracted with them, but because they truly feel connected to your product and are honored to be associated with the brand.

Looking for some practical examples on finding and connecting with your ideal brand partner? Download the ebook: A Social PR Expert’s Guide to Attracting (And Qualifying) Loyal Brand Ambassadors With Social PR