A grey, boring outfit in the city: do you turn around for that and does it stick in your memory? There is a good chance that in both cases you will say ‘no’. For a catchy subject line in your mailing, the exact same thing applies: it must immediately attract attention and invite you to click further. It is the first thing your reader sees, which makes it crucial that it is very strong.
The subject line has a major influence on your open rate; also the percentage that indicates how often your mail has been clicked and opened. The higher the open rate, the higher the conversion and therefore your result will be. Yet we also understand that inventing a good subject line can be quite a difficult task. Do you recognize this feeling? Be inspired by our top 9 tips for a good subject line!
9 Tips to make your subject lines strong
The subject line is the first sentence your leads see when your mailing appears in their inbox: it is therefore crucial, just like a first impression, that it immediately grabs attention. But, how do you do this in a catchy way and what methods have proven strength?
1. Keep it short and powerful
The first tip is especially practical: keep it short and powerful. Many email programs often only show 50-60 characters in the subject line, so try to keep your title to-the-point. However, it is important that you make it so inviting that people want to click on it immediately. Think, for example, of ‘3 Steps to More Self-Confidence’ or ‘Don’t miss this free download’. There are several ways to attract attention, even in a short sentence. Less is more, also applies to the number of words, so!
Use the power of curiosity
If there is one way to write an interesting subject line for your mailing, that is to arouse curiosity. How's that coming? Pyschologist George Loewenstein, of Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, came up with the term “information gap” in 1994, according to the reason why curiosity works well. Curiosity shows us that there is a certain gap in our knowledge: because you want to learn more about a certain subject, your feelings of curiosity come to us.
Generating curiosity can therefore be done in many different ways. Think, for example, of...
- Asking a question...
- Provoking a certain challenge...
- Imply that you can tell something the other person doesn't know yet...
Ask an interesting question
By asking a question, you address the reader directly: he or she immediately feels addressed. “Do you know the secret ingredient of chocolate flake?” Because chocolate flake seems so general and simple, and it is a recognizable product for everyone, you make it interesting for 2 reasons. The word ‘secret’ immediately arouses curiosity, precisely because you do not expect it in chocolate flat. Also, you immediately trigger the missing piece of knowledge, because now you want to know the secret ingredient too!
Asking a question immediately makes the reader think and ‘put to work’, because to know more about this, he or she really has to open your mailing... Asking an interesting question, with regard to your subject, can therefore be the ultimate way to arouse curiosity.
Provoke a certain challenge
Another way for an interesting subject line for a mailing is to provoke a certain challenge: actually the more provocative variant of ‘asking a question’. To this question you link terms such as: ‘Dare you...’, ‘Do you participate...’ You add an unexpected element which can also immediately trigger the customer to take a certain action. “Do you dare to go into the woods?” There is a good chance that the reader immediately wants to know what this challenge is. You also give the mailing a little more spice.
Add a certain emotion
“Are you getting tired of noisy neighbors?” Adding emotions can work well in many ways. For example, these often play an important role in making decisions and can create recognisability; even to the extent that you can even add a humorous edge to your mailing. Because it is often so recognizable, the chance of sharing your message -by others- is also greater. Thus, adding a piece of emotion, in combination with asking a question, can be a golden formula for creating a catchy subject line.
Stimulate curiosity through a promise
Of course, you do not always have to ask a question to arouse curiosity: this can sometimes also be done by making a firm promise or claim. ‘Why 80% of the students do this wrong...’ or ‘That’s how you’re going to earn 10k a month...’. Because you certainly make a promise or claim, even without giving everything away, you show that you can help the other person to achieve this goal or solve a certain problem. But, for this, the reader has to open your mailing. Of course, make sure you come up with something that you can substantiate.
How to apply these curiosity tips practically?
Not every tip works equally well for your subject or fits in. Therefore, follow the following 3 steps to arrive at the best method for a catchy subject line:
- What are you going to write about? What do you promise in the mail? What problem are you solving?
- Write this down and put them next to the different ways to arouse curiosity. Which match is best and how can you apply this method to arrive at a catchy subject line?
- Add a piece of emotion to the subject line you have now, this to induce a piece of recognisability or other feeling.
It is especially important that your subject line arouses curiosity and certainly does not come across as ‘spammy’, as unrealistic promises.
2. Add unexpected words to your subject line
Another way to arouse curiosity is to add unexpected words to your subject line. Turn everyday words into surprising synonyms. For example, make goldfish ‘orange pond friends’ or ducks ‘crooking water chickens’. When you make sure that people immediately know what you mean, but you still bring it in a super original and unexpected way, you immediately get the attention. And, there is a good chance that your mailing will be opened.
Speak to the imagination
A good way to come out of the corner unexpectedly is to make your words capture the imagination. For example, do you hear “cheese market”? Then it is not difficult to make a performance here. The word “justice”, on the other hand? That's going to be a little trickier. So make sure that you choose words that people can immediately imagine something with so that your subject line is intriguing.
So how do you create a memorable subject line?
- S imple (simple)
- U nexpected (unexpected)
- C oncrete (concrete)
- C redible (credible)
- E motional (emotions)
- S torie S (story)
So good luck. The easier it is to understand, the easier it is to remember and attract attention. With this formula, there is a good chance that someone will actually open your mail.
3. Respond to pain points or desires
A good way to grab attention is to outline a recognizable situation in the form of pain points or name desires. For example, show in the subject line that you understand what your target audience is struggling with. And, show that you also have a solution for them immediately. “Trouble finding customers? Try this!” or ‘How to get a full agenda in 30 days’: both options show that the person in question now has a problem, or would like something that you can help him or her with.
Do you have previous success stories? Be sure to show this, because this strengthens your story and expertise! On the other hand, do you have 750 followers on a social media platform, but do you promise that you can help people get 5,000 followers per month? Then you will also understand that this does not come across as very realistic... So make sure that your story is consistent with the story you share or the previous successes you show.
4. Make it personal
Another way to make the subject line stand out directly is to add a personal touch, such as naming someone’s first name. “Willem, are you ready for the next step?” “Sophie, have you seen this tip?” When you see your own name as a reader, you immediately feel more involved with the sender. ‘Special for you: an exclusive invitation’; although your name is not necessarily mentioned, you feel addressed by ‘you’. This small detail can therefore just make the difference so that your mailings are opened.
5. Work with numbers and lists
People like overview: something you create easily with numbers and lists. It has a beginning and an end, as in: with a ‘top 5’ or ‘top 10’ you immediately know what to expect, which becomes very attractive for many people to read. It works very well to apply this in your subject line. For example, think of “3 simple tips to improve your content” or “5 Ways to Present Your Product.” You know that you - as a reader- are not reading for a long time, but you do get useful tips that can just make for that one improvement.
6. Add urgency (without becoming screamy)
Of course, it may also be that what you offer will soon disappear, such as seasonal products. Or, that you offer a course that only contains a certain discount for a few hours or days. In that case, you want to give a subtle hint to scarcity or time pressure. Because people get the feeling of missing something, this can greatly increase the open rate. ‘Last chance: only today 30% discount’, ‘Just 24 hours: claim your place in this process’. You may not even need the service or the product as a reader, but you still feel the urge to open the mail. If it really is for you? Then, of course, you don't want to miss out on this special offer.
7. Add a piece of humor
A playful text can appreciate everyone. Does your subject lend itself well to this? Then it can be super powerful to add a touch of humor to your subject line. Do this if it’s fun and ‘natural’ and it doesn’t come across as ‘forcibly wanting to be funny’, then it works against you. So only use it if it is super apt.
8. Test and analyze your subject lines
It is not always possible to say in advance how well your subject line will score, as well as your mailings themselves. A good way to experience what does and does not work for your business is to test different mailings related to the same topic. For example, take care of different subject lines and test which produces the best result. And, so also analyze where it can be better to optimize your subject lines over and over again in order to finally arrive at your ‘golden formula’. But, also keep testing these, because times continue to change and therefore possibly the effectiveness of your methods.
9. 10 Examples for catchy subject lines
By now you have learned what the rules of thumb are for good subject lines. Super handy, these theories, but let's just make it a little more visual. Curious about different types of subject lines? Get inspired below!
- ‘What successful companies are already doing and you are not yet’With this type of subject line you arouse curiosity by showing that luxury brands use a certain method for success that you, for example, as an entrepreneur do not yet apply.
This works well because...
- People are curious about successful others or products and would like to know why that method works. Or, why product A or B gives a certain result.
You can also adjust the above sentence to your service and/or product. It is especially important here to show that a certain success can be achieved that your offer can ensure.
- ‘This simple trick increases your conversion in 24 hours’By emphasising ‘this’ and the word ‘simple’ you show the reader that he or she can increase his or her conversion a lot through a very simple solution. Precisely because you can easily apply it, people out of curiosity would like to hear more of this. Because, who doesn’t want that, a simple trick and much more results?
- “13 people couldn’t guess the winner. Will you succeed?”Also, offering a challenge is a perfect way to arouse curiosity. As long as it doesn’t sound like it’s going to take you a lot of time as a reader, you want to know more about this: ‘Can I actually do it or not?’, will be the question right away.
To do this right, it's important that you...
- Ensures that the challenge is specific
- The impression is that the challenge is easy or quick to solve
- Mail also finally answers the challenge
So create a challenge that fits well with your target group and arouses interest to click further.
- ‘Why 90% of the students drop out prematurely...’Another method to grab the reader’s attention is to display a certain fear. Why that works?
- As an entrepreneur or marketer, you want your service or product to score: you always want to try to prevent something negative from turning out for you.
By showing that your mailing will show the answer how you (from the reader) should not handle it, so you also immediately offer the solution, they will want to know this handy ‘tip’ and open your mailing.
- ‘Last chance: only today 25% discount ’Who would rather pay more than less? Discounts still have an irresistible appeal: this is an ideal way to make use of this in your subject line and thus create urgency. Especially when people feel like they are missing something, they are more likely to make a purchase.
- ‘How Pieter doubled his turnover in 3 months...’With this type of subject line, you immediately show the reader that his or her goal can be achieved. How you do that? By sharing inspiring stories in the mailing.
- Previous successes of everyone show that you use a proven success formula, for example in the form of strategy or by the quality of your service and / or product.
People want to know more about you immediately to see if you can help them achieve their goal(s). Success stories are therefore inspiring and motivating, especially when the goal is recognizable. So make sure to use this.
- ‘Stop asking for low prices: this is why!’This method probably feels a bit scary: precisely because people are often sensitive to low prices, which underscores the offers of discounts. Why does this still work? By uncovering a mistake and immediately giving a promise of improvement, you attract attention and people open your mailing. In this mailing you explain why low prices can work wrong, for example because it brings your value down. A price must therefore ‘knock’: a too low price, with a luxury-looking product, can even cause suspicion. Therefore, arouse curiosity by reporting something unexpected about prices.
- “You are much more successful than you think”People like to hear that they're doing well. Therefore, mention a positive quality that it is likely that the reader wants to know more about this. How you do this right?
- Always mention something positive and what people want to achieve
- Explain why this is so
A smart way to do this is to imply that someone has knowledge that he or she is not yet aware of. For example, remind people of the successes they have already achieved or what he or she does that works very well. Even small steps can already make a big difference, which also increases motivation (enormously).
- “What no one tells you about...”Another form of curiosity is responding to the need for hidden knowledge. With this subject line, you suggest that you can provide the reader with exclusive insights and make people wiser about a particular topic. ‘What no one tells you about successful business’: this shows that there is much more ‘behind the scenes’ than what the customer or reader sees on the surface. This not only provides insight, it can even be motivating for others: that even the largest companies also have certain challenges and it is not just rosy or goes ‘without problems’.
- ‘10 Tips for your ......’Who doesn’t like free tips that can help you upgrade your business or lifestyle? Here, too, it can be the small things that together can make the big difference.
Why this works?
- In the mailing you explain with inspiring tips regarding your subject. These can be common mistakes and how you can easily prevent this or, for example, simple ‘life hacks’ and how you can already make a big change with small adjustments.
So tips are inspiring, motivating and optimizing, which also increases your value as an expert.
In short...
So a good subject line actually works the same as a good outfit: it should be attractive to get attention. So, what you want to know more about. Dull, dusty and uninspired? Chances are you're walking around it with a turn, too. So make sure that your subject line exudes a certain ‘pit’ or contains a recognizable emotion: whether you do this with a question, promise or challenge. Let the generation of curiosity be priority number 1 and your subject lines ensure that your mailings are opened!