Subject Matters: Writing Winning Email Subject Lines

Mar 2

Email marketing is undoubtedly part of your business strategy. More small-to-medium and enterprise organizations are using email in 2023 than ever before, contributing to the astonishing 121 business emails the average person receives every day.

121 emails.

Every day.

How in the world can you make your email stand out?

Our client roster runs the gamut from start-up solopreneurs to multi-billion-dollar conglomerates, and we write plenty of email newsletters for all. While many things vary by industry and customer (segmentation matters, people!), we’ve found a few common threads in high-performing emails — especially when it comes to subject lines.

Subject lines might just be the more important part of an email. After all, 47% of readers open or delete emails based solely on the subject line. While the easiest way to improve your open rates is to hire us, we’re happy to share the tricks of our trade. Here’s a smattering of our clients’ most common questions, and how we respond:

How Many Words Should a Subject Line Be?

Short is sweet. Emails with high open rates generally have around 6-8 words or about 40 characters with spaces. It’s no coincidence that this looks best on mobile — 42% of emails are read on a smartphone or tablet.

Should Subject Lines Be Title Case or Sentence Case?

60% of email experts opt for sentence case, because it works. Sentence case (where only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized) does lead to better open rates than title case (where every major word is capitalized).

We find this to be true regardless of industry. Style guides for more conservative businesses often opt for title case almost everywhere since it lends a bit of formality and gravitas to the written word. Even then, we suggest sentence for emails.

Remember that all you’ve got is a glance — one quick flit of the eye will have your reader intrigued enough to open or too busy to bother. Sentence case slightly warms your reader, especially since it’s used more by friends and family. Capitals scream, “I Am From A Serious Business.” (Obviously, never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever use ALL CAPS. Please.)

Should I Use Punctuation in Subject Lines?

Like title case, over-punctuating your subject line can feel a bit stodgy. In addition, repeated punctuation tends to flag spam filters (and aggravate eyeballs). Rows of exclamation points and question marks look scammy and desperate.

Instead, consider breaking up text with clean and simple brackets or vertical bars. For example:

[Register now] Appreciation night is filling up fast!

NOT

Can I Use Emojis?

This is a tricky one. Yes, a single emoji can increase open rates — in some industries, when carefully chosen. Emojis feel very friendly and casual, which is exactly what you want in a lipstick brand but maybe not so much from your divorce lawyer. Consider your brand’s style and if you go emoji, choose ONE.

How Should I A/B Test?

A/B testing is an excellent way to discover what subject lines work for your reader, yet most small organizations don’t do it (or do it all wrong).

To A/B test:

1. Write two subject lines

2. Divide your recipients into two random and even groups

3. Send each group an email with one of your subject lines

4. Peep into your email stats and see which was opened more

The trick is that testing subject lines should be very scientific. Just like a science experiment, only change ONE variable. Try sentence case vs. title case. Experiment with emoji/no emoji. Use the recipient’s name and don’t.

But only choose one.

Keep everything else, including the content of the email itself, the same. If you send one email in sentence case, then send the other in title case with an emoji, you have no idea which change made a difference.

Should I Use the Recipient’s Name?

Using names in subject lines can be tricky. It used to increase open rates dramatically, but it’s been a very common tactic lately and isn’t quite as compelling. If you add a name, don’t do so in every email.

Should I Include a Location in Subject Lines?

Yes! Adding a location in a subject line is very helpful, but only when it’s authentic. If your email discusses a specific case study in Austin or an event in Vancouver, definitely mention the city, like:

Check out this entertaining-ready Austin deck

Hey Vancouver! Our second location is open 🎉

It’s helpful to get as specific as possible in locations; don’t just mention San Francisco, mention Nob Hill; opt for Ambler instead of the Philadelphia area.

Most of all, don’t mention a location if it doesn’t matter to the email’s story. It feels manipulative.

Get a Gut Check

Finally, before sending an email to the wider world, please send it to yourself. Take a look at it in the clutter of your own inbox and honestly consider whether you’d open it. You’re a person too, you know.

Note: don’t send it as a test from your email platform; those often start with [TEST], and that’s hard to overlook.

Of course, there are a lot more subject line matters to consider. Sometimes you apply all the tricks, and the line just feels… flat. If that happens to you, give us a call. We’re here to make your life easier — even if that just means tweaking an email subject line.

Melissa Garretson