This document provides tips for writing effective email subject lines. The key points are: 1) 80% of people only read the subject line, so spend 50% of the email writing time on it; 2) "About me" subject lines focusing on the reader work best; 3) Subject lines should be clear and avoid being misleading or cryptic. Testing different subject lines is important to see what works best for a particular audience. The document provides additional guidance on formatting, words to use or avoid, and learning from successful marketers.

1. Get Your Emails
Opened With These
Insider Tips

2. what are
your most
important
email
impact
points?

3. Your Landing Page
Your Opening Line
Your Call-to-Action
Your List Quality
and Segmentation
Email “From”

4. aren’t created with a cookie cutter
email subject lines

5. Timeless principles that get
your emails opened
Subject line archetypes that
are working today
What you can learn and
adapt from marketing pros
The clincher: how to easily
find out what works for your
audience
But, today, you can learn:

6. Timeless Principles

7. Every two days we create as much
information as we did from the
dawn of civilization up until 2003,
according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.

8. Every two days we create as much
information as we did from the
dawn of civilization up until 2003,
according to Google’s Eric Schmidt.

9. Most inboxes resemble Times Square
3,000 marketing messages bleed into our brains every day

10. that leads us all to …

11. 80/20 Rule
80% of people will read your
email subject line or headline and
nothing else. Only 20% will go on
to read your article or email.
Source: Copyblogger.com

12. therefore

13. 50/50 Rule
Spend half the time it takes you
to write an email, article, or blog
drafting the subject line or
headline.

14. Captions under
images are read
on average 300%
more than the
body copy itself
Spend time writing killer captions too
Source: Kissmetrics

15. #1 Timeless Tip
It’s all about

16. Not about me: From our Finance Office
About me: You’ve got to see this Parks video
“About Me”
subject lines work best

17. Breaking News
70 Anti-Aging Ideas to Look & Feel Your Best
It works
11 Tips for Amping Up Your …
Where should I capture emails on my website?
Yahoo Mail is Upgrading: What it Means for You

18. Instead of telling me
what to do: Register for
Camp Today
Make me want to do it:
Your Chance to
Experience Camp
Magic

19. Write to one person

20. Write to one person

21. Email is a one-topic medium
Your best emails are when the subject line,
email copy, call-to-action, landing page are
all aligned and your subject line is simply
the top of your funnel

22. Subject lines are a slight variation of
headlines and this slide offers great advice from one of the
fastest growing media companies today.

23. Subject Line Archetypes

24. There are 17 email subject line archetypes,
but you only need to pick the top 5 or 6 that
work for your audience
Source: http://www.mequoda.com/articles/email-newsletters-articles/best-email-subject-lines/

25. Subject Line Archetypes
1. Keyword – Vegetarian recipes you family will love
2. Urgency – Early bird pricing ends at midnight
3. Benefit – 11 Ways to Rev Your Metabolism
4. How-to – How to Cook Anything
5. List – 10 Most Promising New Fall Shows
6. Fascination – Shocking new data on the lifespan of your Facebook posts
7. Intriguing Promise – Relieve knee pain with this simple stretch
8. Teaser – So, this just happened again
9. Question – Where Should I capture emails on my website?
10. News – iPhone announces fingerprint recognition
11. Testimonial – Peyton Manning drives a Buick Verano
12. Seasonal – Reserve Your Thanksgiving Turkey Early
13. Issue-Based – America’s wolves are threatened
14. Command – Don’t Delay. Register Now.
15. Reason Why – Reasons why you feel tired and how to fix it
16. Targeted – How Colorado protected animals
17. Hybrid & Personalized - Mandy, time is running out. Sign up today.

26. Learn from the Pros

27. Clarity Wins BIG
Source: http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/aweber-subject-line-test/
This test was run across 20 subject
lines, sent to a list of over 45,000
subscribers. The clear
straightforward subject lines
gathered far more response than
their creative counterparts,
surpassing them by:

28. Clarity Wins BIG

29. http://socialtriggers.com/email-copywriting-increase-clicks/ and research by Princeton Nobel Prize Winning Psychologist Daniel Kahneman
“Losses loom larger than gains”
So negative frames work?
Negative frames may work well in the short term as attention-
getters. Sustained negativity hurts you as a long term
approach because you wear people down by always being
alarmist and depressing.

30. Negative frame: The best day of the week to
find low airfares online
Positive frame: The worst day of the week to
find low airfares online

31. save cheeky for social media
same with misleading or cryptic subject lines like:
You may have already won millions
Misleading, cryptic, or smart-aleck subject lines may boost open
rates in the short run, but tend to suppress open rates in long run.

32. Does Subject Line Length Matter?
Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11

33. Does Subject Line Length Matter?
Short Works. Long Works. Middle—not so much

34. Practice word economy:
too many words blur your picture

35. Free Subject Line Checker by Litmus
https://litmus.com/resources/subject-line-checker

36. http://blog.mailchimp.com/this-just-in-subject-line-length-means-absolutelynothing/

38. 3 Reasons to Use Numbers
Digits, like 4 or 17, stop wandering eyes
Numbers represent facts in the minds of readers
Digits, like 4 or 54, stand out better than “four” or
“fifty-four” making your copy easier to scan in an
inbox
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/web-writing-show-numbers-as-numerals/

39. a word about words
Use “You” or “Your”
This video will make you laugh, or cry
You still have time to help
You still have time register
One word Subject lines work—if not overused
Most popular subject line for Obama 2012: Hey
Questions Work
Where should I capture emails on my website?
How does the crisis in Syria affect you?
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11

40. more words about words
“Free” can, but doesn’t always, trigger spam filters
“Help,” “Reminder” and “Percent Off” also reduce your open rates
Using a subscriber’s first name in the subject line doesn’t
improve open rates
Providing localization, such as including a city name, does
Repeating the exact same subject line for each newsletter
accelerates your drop in open rates
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11

41. even more words about words
News, Update, Breaking, Alert, and Bulletin all worked better than:
“Newsletter”
“Latest” works better than:
Special
Exclusive
Innovate
“Issue” worked better than:
Forecast
Report
Research
Top stories
Interview
Whitepaper
Download
Source: http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11

42. #SRSLY? even more words about words
Write visually, especially if you don’t have a visual in your
email:
Medical emergency reads more visually as leg severed at the knee
Ran quickly reads more visually as darted for cover from the
mortar shells
Senior citizen reads more visually as 85 year old with crepe paper
skin and a high beam smile

43.  using symbols in your subject line ♥
– Use sparingly or not at all 
– Only use symbols that are legible in small fonts 
– Test in email clients or end up with emoji substitute
that looks funky, like this: 🌚🌚 🌚🌚

44.  using symbols in your subject line ♥
Desktop Browser Version
Galaxy S4 version

45. Learn from the best

46. Marketing pros work full time writing and
testing headlines.
Subject lines are a slight variation of headlines.
What can we adapt from these pros?
A lot.
Here’s how to learn, not steal …

47. sethgodin.typepad.com/
1. Subscribe to the best marketers

48. 2. Check out the websites of the publications your
audience subscribes to

49. Fastcompany.com
3. Observe lead headlines and “most clicked” or
“trending” articles to see what headlines resonate most with
your audience

50. Theweek.com
If available, look for the
titles of the “most read”
articles to see what’s
getting read/shared by
your audience

51. 4. Answer these questions to learn about your audience
What are the six most common archetypes clicked by
your audience?
_____________________ _______________________
_____________________ _______________________
_____________________ _______________________
What topics get the most interest/placement?
_____________________ _______________________
_____________________ _______________________
_____________________ _______________________

52. 5. Practice writing subject lines with your topic using the
marketing professional’s approach … like this
Household Superstars: 38+
Items That Do Double Duty
might read: Charity Superstars:
38+ Items You Can Donate to
Flood Victims Today
11 Ways to Rev Your
Metabolism might read:
11 Ways to Ease Arthritis Joint
Pain
Our Favorite Handmade
Jewelry Sites might read: Our
Favorite Phone Apps for Losing
Weight

53. 5. Practice writing subject lines with your topic using the
marketing professional’s approach … your turn!
Household Superstars: 38+
Items That Do Double Duty
might read:
___________________________________
___________________________________
11 Ways to Rev Your
Metabolism might read:
___________________________________
___________________________________
Our Favorite Handmade
Jewelry Sites might read:
___________________________________
___________________________________

54. The Clincher: (Painlessly)Finding Out
What Works for Your Audience

55. What you’ve learned today only
works when you test and learn what
works for your audience.
Pay attention:

56. 3 ways to test subject lines
1. Most email campaign software has built-in tools for
A/B testing, if not …
2. 10/10/80 split test conducted by yourself, or use …
3. MailChimp Subject Line Researcher

57. 1. Built-in A/B Testing Tools
It pays to learn how to use your email software’s built in A/B
tester because the list split is random, therefore more
accurate. You can track historical performance to see
emerging trends and online behavior.

58. 2. 10/10/80 Split Test
Don’t have Split A/B testing software or tool?
You can easily mimic split testing yourself:
Use 10% percent of your list to test one subject line
10% to test the other subject line at the same time
The remaining 80% of your list receives the best-performing
subject line a few hours later

59. 3. MailChimp
MailChimp offers a Subject Line Researcher built into
their email software.
You put in the key words of your subject line and the
researcher returns you a syntax of the same or similar
words that have performed best in the past for other
email campaigns across MailChimp’s sizeable database

60. Type in Your
Keyword(s)
Get open rate
performance results
and adjacent terms
MailChimp

61. 1. 80% read your subject line/headline. Only 20% read your whole email/article.
2. Spend 50% of the time it takes to write your email copy writing your subject line.
3. “About me” subject lines get the most opens. Emphasize what’s in the email for
your reader.
4. Email is a one-topic medium. Avoid kitchen-sinking your subject line.
5. There are 17 subject line archetypes, but only 5 or 6 work for your audience.
6. Subject lines written with clarity get the most opens. Avoid misleading, cheeky, or
cryptic subject lines.
7. Digits stop wandering eyes and convey facts.
8. There is no optimal length for an email subject line. YOUR audience ultimately
determines that.
9. Learn from the best without stealing.
10. The clincher: It’s easy to test what works for your audience.
GET YOUR EMAILS OPENED WITH THESE INSIDER TIPS

62. What I learned about words of anger,
disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and
surprise from Winston Churchill and
Seth Godin.
317 Power Words to Start Using
Immediately
Power Words
Bonus guide available for free at: http://www.connectednonprofit.com/bonuses

63. By Mandy O’Neill
Chief Strategist & Founder, ConnectedNonprofit
mandy@connectednonprofit.com
Did you like today’s tips?
Sign up for weekly tips like this delivered to your inbox:
www.connectednonprofit.com

64. RESOURCES
http://unbounce.com/email-marketing/perfect-subject-line/
http://www.copyblogger.com/37-email-marketing-tips/
http://www.mequoda.com/articles/email-newsletters-articles/best-email-subject-lines/
http://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/aweber-subject-line-test/
https://litmus.com/resources/subject-line-checker
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/email-marketing/mobile-friendly-subject-lines/
http://www.webpronews.com/heres-whats-working-in-email-subject-lines-2012-11
http://mashable.com/2013/03/30/headlines-not-the-onion/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link
http://www.mailchimp.com
http://blog.mailchimp.com/this-just-in-subject-line-length-means-absolutelynothing/
http://socialtriggers.com/email-copywriting-increase-clicks/
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/web-writing-show-numbers-as-numerals/
PHOTO CREDITS
Cookie Cutter: Underwaterguy via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses
Light bulb: Remography via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses
Eric Schmidt: World Economic Forum via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses
Times Square: Reflexer via Compfight a creativecommons.org/licenses
Attention: Let Ideas Compete via Compfight creativecommons.org/licenses