6 Tips to Write Winning Subject Lines in Your Emails

Writing a winning email campaign is all but simple. Most emails just end in the trash folder without even being opened because people simply don’t care about the vast majority of them. We’re constantly bombarded by ads, to the point that we eventually don’t even see them anymore. So what can you do to reach your customers with email campaigns?

First thing first, you must entice them into opening your emails. And how else you can achieve this goal if not by writing a catchy subject line? Here are some tips.

Avoid cheesy messages that look deceptive

Some words such as “the best,” “find help doing X,” or “SOMETHING WRITTEN IN CAPS” are just a big “Don’t open me.” Same goes for cheesy or deceptive tactics like using the recipients’ name in the subject line. They will simply tell your customer “I’m here to scam you.” Although they look personal, they’re just the opposite. You will really look like the average fraud who’s trying to steal their credit card info.

Don’t get filtered out by anti-spam

Many email providers come equipped with an anti-spam filter, meaning that some keywords and symbols will cause the filter to trash the email before it reaches the user. Some known spam triggers include words such as “apply now,” “quick cash,” “free,” or symbols such as “&,” “%,” “$” or “!!!!”. Just stay away from them.

Be new and unique

Ads are just boring, hands down. Every one of us is constantly harassed by tons of annoying ads every day, emails included. So, please, when you write your subject line, try to avoid repeating the same thing your customers probably read a million times over. Use your creativity, be new, be unique. Use words like “today,” “latest” or “new” to enforce the sense of novelty. Show them something they never saw before because you made it today.

Stand out from competitors

Again, redundant stuff that really looks like what others proposed them will become invisible. Take your distance from competitors. Be different at all costs. Why is your product or service different and, obviously, better than the competition? If you know that, let other people know about it as well. Tell them why yours is just better!

Make your emails feel urgent

This is the oldest trick ever, but it never stopped working. The message should be clear: If your customer doesn’t open this email right here and now, they will lose something. Maybe they will lose a gift given to the first 50 subscribers, or a -70% discount on all products that ends in 24 hours. Tell them that this offer is exclusive and that they only got one chance. Once it’s over, it’s over.

Focus on how much they could save

A very effective trick is to never focus on the money they will spend, but on the money your customers are going to save. Discounts are interesting, but they remind them of the money they’re going to spend. Talk about the money saved, and they will visualize that as cash that is added to their bank accounts.