It doesn’t matter how great your newsletter’s content is if no one opens it up to read it. There are ways and means to increase newsletter open rates and the biggest one is to nail that subject line. Let’s take a look at what it takes to create a great subject line, why it’s so damn hard to get right and learn some tactics to try as you read.
This is part two of a five-part series about newsletters. You can find out how to create a newsletter that will get your reader excited right here and why unsubscribes are a good thing here.
Subject: Killer Hook
Subject lines are incredibly hard to write for a bog-standard email that you send to a workmate. And work emails have half a chance of being read. Even if the subject is blank. But a marketing newsletter? Well, they clog up a busy inbox and have to work far harder to grab attention and tempt someone to open it.
A newsletter subject needs to be enticing enough to pique your reader’s curiosity. Your reader needs a reason to open the email and not chuck it straight into the archive. And a killer hook is the best way to do this.
Nailing a killer hook in a few words is incredibly difficult. That’s why you should probably write your subject line last and spend far more time on it than you currently spend. Maybe even come up with several options to find the right one. But most of all, you need a killer hook.
What is a killer hook?
It’s the phrase that makes it so tempting to open the email that hooks your reader in. You’re giving them a taste of what’s inside. You’re appealing to their desires and you’re showing that you understand them. Here are some ways you can deliver a killer hook…
Subject lines you have to open
At the end of last year, one of my clients messaged me to say they’d had the biggest increase in email opens in the last six months. There are two reasons for this and one of them is the subject line (the other is list hygiene which I’m covering next week).
The only thing I did with their email subjects was put myself in the reader’s position.
- What would they want to open and read?
- What are the triggers and needs that they have?
- Why are they getting these emails in the first instance and what do they want to get out of them?
When you can understand that and put yourself in your readers’ minds, then you’ll have a better idea of what you can put in that little box. Of course, it also depends on what your newsletter is actually about but always keep your reader front and centre in this.
You want your email to stand out in the inbox and as we’ve already noticed, if you know who the email is from, you’re more likely to open it. That’s why subject lines often try to mimic the natural email so that you think you might know the person sending it. It’s one of the tricks to increase newsletter open rates.
A couple of examples:
The (no subject) email
Bit of a risk but when you’re rushing out a quick note to someone, you might forget to stick something in that little box. It happens. So the idea is that when you send your no-subject email then you’ll look like a friend sending a quick note.
However, with most email marketing systems you have to type in the whole (no subject) complete with parenthesis to mimic what you’d send from Outlook or Gmail. This undermines the “accidental” look but not everyone reading your email will know that.
The “Oops” email
I love a good “oops” email. Didn’t open the first important email we sent? Then we’ll send you an “oops” email a couple of hours later because you can’t help but nosey at how someone has screwed up. They must be having a bad day.
Now, I’m a bit cynical but many of the “oops” emails are intentional. Dead links aside, it’s really only funny when someone mistyped “counted” or something similar.
See also putting Re: in there like you’re replying to an email they’ve sent to you. Might improve your open rate but it is likely to annoy and destroy trust.
Fun anecdote: a client was once having tech issues with email automation so in frustration, she changed the subject line to “welcome to the shit show”. Between us, we fixed the issue, put the rest of the emails in and sent it off to 10,000 people. It took 90 seconds to realise we didn’t put the subject line back on the first email. It was one of those stomach-sinking moments until I realised that I’d put in a 5-minute delay on the first action. No one saw. I can laugh about it now.
The “I’m sorry” email
Someone (or a few email marketing courses) has this as a template in their training because there are many similar versions of this email. The subject line is “I’m sorry” which tempts your curiosity to open it. Inside, it’s a variation of “I’m sorry you’re going to miss out on this unless you buy now” or “I’m sorry your life is shit but unless you take action, it’ll stay that way.”
I had a new version of the “I’m sorry”: “Please don’t open this email”. I didn’t.
There is nothing wrong with these kinds of subject lines or emails in themselves but if you use them, remember that your reader might have seen them before and the power has waned each time they get one.
Instead, think about what the email is actually about.
What’s the headline? What is the crux of the story that will lead them wanting more?
Things we know work (some of the time)
There are a few ways to frame your subject line that may well increase newsletter open rates. See if you’ve tried any of these before and if not, give them a go in your next missive.
The Secret
You might have spotted this in today’s subject line. Telling your readers that the answer is inside will make them curious. “The secret to…” or “Everything you need to know about…” or “The one mistake all marketers make…” or “I can’t believe this happened”
You get the idea. It’s a secret or a bit of gossip, you want to know and you need to open it to find out.
The Leftfield
Get a bit quirky and put an irreverent subject line in there. How do purple elephants help your marketing? Find out inside. You’ve got to fulfil the promise though. No wacky subject lines for the sake of it. This one should definitely be used sparingly as people will quickly tire of it.
The Ronseal
Just say what the email is about. Have a sale or got a freebie? Then you should lead with this. In fact, if you’re giving away a freebie then putting FREE will help with open rates. One of my clients ran a membership community. When we reviewed her emails, the best opener was a Free Gift subject line. People love free.
I’m a big fan of The Marketing Meetup’s emails and their subject lines are a masterclass in saying what’s inside.
They have a format (more on this below) and from this year alone I’ve opened:
- new online season announcement, with something different…
- fulfilling careers. surreal’s growth. marketing jobs.
- today: five steps to building a fulfilling marketing career
Notice a lack of capital letters. This is intentional. It makes it look like the email was written on the fly and becomes part of their tone of voice, which is approachable and friendly. It’s saying: “Hey, we’re just like you, fellow marketer. You’ll like what’s in here.”
The Science
Got a juicy stat? Stick it in the subject. Things like “He made 50k from this one email alone”, “Join 250 other business owners on this event” or “60% of the time, it works all the time”.
You get the idea. You’re giving people a reason to open up and appeal to their wants and needs. When you’re doing a stat email, make sure you check in with yourself about why your reader would be interested in that particular bit of data.
The Personal
We all know that if you stick someone’s name in the email then they’re more likely to open it. Up to 26% per cent more likely to open it according to some data (it comes from an email marketing company so read into that what you will).
A few years ago, I reckon this open rate was higher but we’re all a bit smart about this now. It’s not a reason not to do it. Imagine getting 26% more people opening up your emails. It’s nothing to be sniffed at. But be aware of how your list looks because anyone without a name in that field will just get an odd blank space unless you code it to not do that.
What about emojis?
Emojis are known to help open rates and can help your email stand out in a dull black-and-white inbox. According to the internet, some of us older millennials and Gen Xs aren’t using emojis properly and the meaning we’re trying to convey is lost with younger readers.
This is another lesson to know your audience so that you get it right.
Formats
Just like you have a format for your newsletter, you can also have a format for your subject lines and this will help your emails stand out in the inbox. The key is being consistent. It could be as simple as The Know, a daily news round-up email that looks like this:
💌 Your daily roundup is here
Or you could put your title in square brackets. Or have a specific emoji that marks out that this is your email.
If you have a regular newsletter and then need to send automation, either for sales or onboarding, you can make these different kinds of emails stand out through the subject formatting.
eg.
[WEEK 1] This is what you can expect
It means that your regular newsletter doesn’t get mixed up with any sales automation that you might be running.
Again, the aim is to stop the scroll, stand out and get them to open.
What about preview text?
I love a good preview text. This is the box that you complete if you want to control what appears in the email preview section. You can give away a little clue as to what’s in the email, entice them in more, or leave it blank and let your first line do all the hard work.
Does preview text help open rates? The data is a mixed bag on this and it’s always worth testing what’s right for your audience. Which brings me nicely to the final part.
Testing
Like many people, I have multiple email addresses and every so often, I find myself on the same list multiple times. Every so often, I get the same email from a business but with different subject lines. They are A/B testing what works and I feel like I get to vote on which one I like the most.
Sadly, I don’t get to see the results.
If you’ve got a few hundred on your email list then it’s always worth A/B testing the subject lines. Usually, the software will send out a chunk of emails with two different subjects and then whichever gets the most opens is sent to the rest of the list.
You should test your subject lines anyway but going through periods where you use your email software to do this for you is always worth the time. You find out what works and what your readers are interested in.
I’ve seen some software resend an unopened email with a different subject line as well to see if it performs better.
Quick trick: If you have people who love your newsletter and you know they’ll open it right away, send it to them first. Then send your bulk emails out around 15 minutes later. This might also improve your open rates.
There are other technical reasons why you might not have the best open rates. Checking you’ve set up your DMARC, using Google Postmaster Tools and looking at the spam rating on your domain are all good things for email marketing hygiene. Some things are always out of your control but playing around with your subjects is something that is within your control.
Increase newsletter open rates
Your subject line is often the main thing standing in the way of your beautiful email getting read or sent into the bin. Take time to get these right. Do them last and check if you’ve definitely got the best subject for your readers and your email.