With this time of year being the season of giving, we’ve decided to share 12 helpful online marketing tips with you. Those who have been following our blog series closely will know that we have already posted six useful insights that will  improve the success of your online marketing campaigns. If you’re new to our blog, check out the Related Links area below this post to read our six bright ideas so far.

Until then, discover how you can create a killer subject line for your next email marketing campaign…

How to craft an email subject line that guarantees opens

How you construct the subject line of an email marketing campaign can make or break how many opens it receives. Consumers’ inboxes have become inundated with junk mail, so you need to ensure that your latest mailer stands out from the spam. Luckily, the recipe for a successful subject line requires only five simple ingredients:
 

1. Personalisation

Everyone knows mailers are mass-produced but consumers appreciate the illusion of personalisation even so.
 
Why not try including the recipient’s first name in the subject line – it’s sure to catch their eye.
 
If the mailer in question will be sent to a segment of your list, you could tailor the subject line to that particular group of recipients.
 
For example, a fashion e-commerce website might use a subject line like ‘Girls, tips to refresh your style for spring’ when sending a mailer to only female recipients.
 
A furniture store, on the other hand, might use the subject line ‘Sofa sale now on at [brand name] Colchester’ when sending an email to recipients in this location.
 

2. 50 characters or fewer

According to analysis by email marketing service provider MailChimp, subject lines should generally contain no more than 50 characters. You have a limited amount of time to grab consumers’ attention as they scroll through the contents of their inboxes, so your subject line needs to be short and snappy to raise the likelihood of the mailer being opened.
 

3. Fresh format

Including your company name in every subject line makes it easier for consumers to identify who the email is from, but that doesn’t mean the rest of your 50 characters need to remain the same. Make sure every subject line very specifically describes the content within that particular mailer.
 

4. Avoidance of capitals and exclamation marks

While the eye is naturally drawn towards WORDS WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN UPPERCASE with lots of exclamation marks!!!, most people tend to find these techniques annoying and this can cause them to move their cursors towards the ‘Delete’ button. Avoid these overused and underperforming tactics for all of your campaigns.
 

5. Tell, don’t sell

It may seem logical to approach email subject lines in the same way that you would a headline for a blog post. Unfortunately, what works in a blog post doesn’t always work in a mailer.
 
While headlines should find a balance between telling the reader just enough information to encourage them to want to find out more without giving away so much that they don’t need to read the article, email subject lines need to be a lot more explicit. Users will only open a mailer if they feel 100% certain of what lies inside. When it comes to email subject lines, you’re best to set aside all you know about headlines and just get straight to the point.

Of course, these five pointers are merely guidelines and you may find other techniques work better for your brand and your customers. Experiment with a variety of tactics and see which ones reap the best results. Be sure to let us know your insights – simply enter a comment into the box below.

Tomorrow we’ll be back with another tip, this time on using Facebook Page Insights – see you then!