Stand Out Subject Lines
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Ignored – or Engaging? How are your subject lines working – or NOT working – to capture the attention and interest of your audience? This fast-paced seminar will take a deeper dive into the mechanics of truly effective subject lines. We’ll cover:– The three keys that make or break your subject line (and how short your window really is.
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Stand Out Subject Lines
- 1. WE COACH THE PROS Welcome To Standout Subject Lines Check In Online! #wecoachthepros Facebook: WeCoachTheProsFacebook: WeCoachThePros LinkedIn: WeCoachTheProsLinkedIn: WeCoachThePros Twitter: WeCoachTheProsTwitter: WeCoachThePros "We provide motivated small to mid size companies money making processes. So they can be more productive, create more sales, stronger relationships and grow their business rapidly.” Sandra Flores 832-915-0706 Sandra@WeCoachThePros.com
- 3. © Constant Contact 2015 Standout Subject Lines Get Opened, Get Read, Get Results
- 4. BE A MARKETER All it takes is Constant Contact®
- 5. At its core, marketing is about getting results. 5
- 7. 7 Clicks / downloads Visits to the store / office Reservations / appointments Calls What kind of results? Revenue / donations
- 8. 8 Email is hard to beat. It’s where people are... 91% of US adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with 138% spend more with email offers than those who don’t receive any email offersSource: PewInternet.org
- 9. 9 Subject lines can... •Get your email read •Bring you more business more revenue •Build awareness around your business or organization
- 10. Source: Inwise 10 open an email based on the subject line. More than 1/3 of people
- 11. 53%of emails are opened on mobile The impact of mobile on email Source: Litmus Source: PhoneArena.com 11 150times/day People check their phones
- 12. Agenda 12 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 2.How to write good ones 3.Consider desktop & mobile 4.Next steps
- 13. 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 1. Recognized sender Who sent it? 3 reasons they’ll open your email When was it received? Worth reading? 2. Convenient timing 3. Compelling subject 13
- 14. Entice them. •Use “teaser” text •Customize the message 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 14
- 15. • Avoid spam-like terms • Check your spam folder • Use spam-check button 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? Choose your words carefully. Freecredit Save offers Click income traffic now cash orderrates Urgent Act Now! Act Now! Get home dollars Fast! guaranteed FeesPurchase money Refund Win remove 15
- 16. Agenda 16 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 2.How to write good ones 3.Consider desktop & mobile 4.Next steps 2. How to write good ones
- 17. A good subject line can make or break an email. 17
- 18. 18 2. How to write good ones Standout subject lines = email opened Short & sweet: 4-7 words ideal Attractive offers: Discounts & gifts Keep it clean: Easy for mobile Brand identity: Incorporate yours Hint of mystery: Raise interest Ask Questions: Make them think Create urgency: Don’t miss out! Entertain, warn, inform: Share knowledge Literary techniques: Write like a pro
- 19. 2. How to write good ones 19 Top 3 reasons Top 5 priorities Top 7 concerns Top 11 issues 9 best tips & tricks 7 need-to-know strategies Improve any subject line using “top appeal”
- 20. Great subject lines = email opened 2. How to write good ones Top Appeal 7 must haves for Fall Sense of Urgency Only 12 seats left – get yours before midnight Personalize What you need to know about your personal finances Ask a Question How can we help your business grow? Exclusive Appeal An exclusive offer just for you! Stay “In the Know” 13 signs you’re budgeting wrong 20
- 21. Adapt your subject line using “literary techniques” 2. How to write good ones 21 Basic Subject Line Literary Technique Improved Subject Lines June Promotion Onomatopoeia Joe’s Pet Store Newsletter Allusions Mother’s Day Specials Alliteration Sign up for Summer Camp Chunking New England Concert Update: Numbers Splish! Splash ! Oh, the prices we’ve slashed! Cha-Ching! Who let the dogs out?! Pet Shots This Saturday Fido’s Got 99 Problems… But Fleas Ain’t One Make Mom’s Morning Miraculous! Cards, Candy and one Cozy Couch Summer Camp 2015: NEW! Archery, fencing & sailing. Kids love it. Parents dream about it. Registration is open. 3 Can’t Miss Summer Festivals 16 Bands but only 1 Miranda Lambert
- 22. 2. How to write good ones What would you change? Our monthly tax newsletter 3 overlooked tax deductions you may qualify for New product arrival You asked for it. It’s here. Get a FREE Apple Watch!!! Apple Watch. Want one? 22
- 23. Finding inspiration 2. How to write good ones • Check the news! • Magazine headlines/covers • Look at what others are doing • Search results headlines • Blog titles • Tweets onTwitter with lots of engagement • ‘Listicles’ that make you curiously click their headlines like: • Buzzfeed • Upworthy • Mashable 23
- 24. Agenda 24 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 2.How to write good ones 3.Consider desktop & mobile 4.Next steps 3. Consider desktop & mobile
- 25. Consider mobile. 3. Consider desktop & mobile 25
- 26. When email doesn’t look good on mobile Source: Blue Hornet 26 30% unsubscribe 80% delete
- 27. 76%of people read email on their phones 27 3. Consider desktop & mobile 67%of b2b workers view emails on their phone 64%of key decision makers read emails on mobile Source: 60secondmarketer.com Source: Marketing Sherpa
- 28. 28 Best design practices •Use mobile friendly templates or single column templates •Logo is left or center & links to website •Apply brand colors •Minimum 12pt font for body text & 22pt for headlines •Use customized pre-header text 3. Consider desktop & mobile
- 29. 2. Subject Line optimization techniques 30-40 characters max typically appear on most mobile devices 6-11 words fit best; 4-7 has greatest response Customize first 11-18 words of “pre-header” text to entice mobile readers 53% of email is opened on mobile devices Source: Litmus 29 •Size matters. Keep it clear, make it clever, keep it short.
- 30. Agenda 30 1.Why are Subject Lines so important? 2.How to write good ones 3.Consider desktop & mobile 4.Next steps 4. Next steps
- 31. 1. Start with what you’ve got • Growth takes time • Growth is an ongoing process • Efforts must be organized & consistent • A combination of traditional and modern methods are most successful Growing your list sounds complicated but it doesn’t have to be if you understand.
- 32. 4. Next steps 32 Check the success of your subject lines.
- 33. Four simple steps… 33 1. Brainstorm 3 versions 2.Test on mobile & desktop before sending 3. Consider preview pane & use pre-header text 4.Monitor your progress 4. Next steps
- 34. My Upcoming Seminars &Training www.WeCoachSalesPros.com Saturday October 22, 2016 11 AM-1 PM Use B.A.N.K ~Make Bank October 25th-31st Business 2 Lifestyle Movement Online Event AND MUCH MORE… www.WeCoachSalesPros.com
- 35. © Constant Contact 2015 All the channels that matter. Email. Mobile. Social. Grow with Constant Contact All the marketing campaigns you need together in one place.
- 36. $5/month for your first 3 months of Email IF YOU BUY TODAY This promotion (the "Promotion") ends tonight, after this seminar (the “Seminar”) at 11:59 p.m., local time (the "Promotion Period"). If eligible Constant Contact customers purchase the Email level product of Constant Contact during the Promotion Period, they will receive the Email level product at a discounted price of $5 per month for the first three months after they become a paying customer. Constant Contact customers will be eligible to participate in this Promotion if they (i) are not currently a trialer or paying Constant Contact customer, (ii) attend the Seminar and receive this offer at the Seminar, and (iii) follow the link above and become a paying Constant Contact customer during the Promotion Period. After the first three months have ended, eligible participants will automatically be charged the current retail price for the Email level product unless they cancel their accounts. This Promotion cannot be combined with any other Constant Contact promotion or special offer. Constant Contact reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel this Promotion at any time. This Promotion and all Constant Contact products and services are subject to the Constant Contact terms and conditions available at https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/terms. Exclusive Offer for Today’s Attendees
- 37. © Constant Contact 2015 Sandra Flores Business Solutionist 832-915-0706 Sandra@WeCoachThePros.com ThankYou ForYour Attendance Text wecoachthepros to 22828 to join my list! facebook.com/wecoachthepros linkedin.com/in/wecoachthepros
- 38. Questions? 38
Editor's Notes
- Let me take just a minute to explain what Constant Contact is for those who may not be familiar. Constant Contact is a do-it-yourself online marketing system. You can use it to be a marketer for your own small business or organization. The company is best known for its email marketing tools. It’s easy to create and send mass email, like newsletters or announcements and updates. You can run special promotions or offers; you can build online surveys and polls to gather feedback; and you can promote and manage your events using Constant Contact with registration tools, payment acceptance and invitations – all in one place. You can use all the tips and best practices we’ll discuss today in your own small business or nonprofit. You can be a marketer. All it takes is Constant Contact. [click to next slide]
- “At its core, marketing is about getting results that you can measure. So let’s kick off this session with a simple definition, or a framework, for what marketing really is. You already know, generally, what it is – but when I say the word marketing, I mean something very specific and it’s important that we are on the same page. My definition of marketing has three simple parts – you define an audience: a group of people that you want to target. You reach out to them with a message that is specific to that audience. And you seek to elicit a physical and measurable response. A click, a reply, a call, a purchase, a referral – these are all actions that represent a decision made by a human to react to your message. Keep this in mind as we discuss marketing and marketing campaigns and the ways to deliver the most effective campaigns. You’re doing these things because you want people – your customers, your clients, your donors or supporters – to DO SOMETHING. [click to next slide]
- First impressions matter. And when someone opens your email, what they see is going to determine what they do next. Chances are you’ll want them to read your newsletters or announcements, and take a next step. Maybe you want them to visit your website, register for an event, donate to your nonprofit, or try a new product. This is where a beautiful, professional-looking email designed to drive action is crucial. People make snap judgements about whether or not to read your emails based on a quick glance. We choose an email message, give it a two-second glance, then decide if it’s worth our time. If it is, we keep it and read it. If not, we hit the delete key and send the email to the trash folder. That’s why we created a webinar dedicated to helping you make the right impression. We’ll take you through the reasons email subscribers delete emails and how you can design emails that actually work.
- [CLICK] Now that you know the goal of new marketing, try to think about Subject Lines as the gatekeepers to these next steps. If you can get someone to open your email out of curiosity or because they are expecting something satisfying or informative, getting that open will lead to what you are marketing to achieve. After a subscriber decides to read your email upon viewing the subject line, the calls to action lead to these types of measurable actions. [CLICK] This is why you market your business or nonprofit so that your readers do these things for you can generate revenue or donations for your organization. Because you’re sending messages in hopes that the reader will take that next step, crafting your subject lines with these goals in mind will get you closer to getting these responses from your subscribers so they can in turn respond to your message in the ways you want them too. Remember that your overall goals come back to why you’re in business or what’s going to keep you in business: [CLICK] to generate revenue or donations. If the results you’re getting don’t lead in some way directly to that bottom line, then you should evaluate why you’re driving those types of responses.
- Email marketing is hard to beat. It’s where everyone is these days for everything from updates from you bank or service providers, to messages from mom or the kids and of course promotional messages from businesses you subscribe to and frequent. [CLICK] 91% U.S. adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with and [CLICK] 138% of people spend more after receiving email offers than those who never receive any at all. At the heart of that is the fact that emails are successful because of Standout Subject Lines – if the subject lines don’t grab your attention – whether they be from Amazon or your bank, your phone company, or the restaurant or boutique in town you always go to, those senders know that the subject line will make or break the success of that message and the calls to action included in the email to drive you to their business or to take a specific action. So crafting your subject line to persuade someone to open is absolutely key with email marketing. Source: Marketing Sherpa- survey of consumer attitudes - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marketingsherpa-survey-of-consumer-attitudes-towards-email-marketing-reveals-strong-preference-for-email-compared-with-all-other-communications-300029767.html Source: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/convince-convert/15-email-statistics-that-are-shaping-the-future/
- So that is why we are here today because we want to bring to light how crucial subject lines are to making sure that your emails bring you more business and generate more revenue or awareness wherever people are viewing your email – on a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. There is an art and a science to crafting compelling subject lines that inspire easy action intended to generate more business or awareness for you and it’s not as hard as it may seem. With a few tricks and tips and some practice and measuring, you’ll be able to craft more compelling and interesting subject lines for your emails that will help your messages Stand Out on Mobile and Desktop.
- As a small business, you don’t have time to do things that don’t work, so when it comes to your subject lines, you want to get into the habit of optimizing your subject lines to get the best results possible for your marketing efforts every time. We’re going to show you some easy ways to do that today. [CLICK] Approximately one third of people decide to open an email based solely on the subject line so that subject line needs to be a standout subject line whether they’re reading on a desktop computer or a smartphone or tablet. There is a lot of competition for our attention these days in our inboxes, but after today’s webinar you’ll have some tricks of the trade you can start to use on your next email campaign to rise above the competition. After a few campaigns of implementing what we’ll show you here today, you’ll be a pro at getting real measurable results for your marketing efforts. [CLICK TO NEXT ] [DON’T READ ALOUD] Sources: 35% of all recipients of email choose whether or not to open a message on the subject line alone. - inwise "The Magic Words: The Importance of the Subject and 'From' Lines for Email Marketing" (2012) Constant Contact/CMB Study (3/27/12) http://news.constantcontact.com/research/032712-new-study-constant-contact-and-chadwick-martin-bailey-reveals-why-and-how-consumers- Reason for opening emails from businesses or nonprofits: 64% say the organization it is from, 47% say the subject line 58% of consumers subscribe to emails to receive discounts and special offers
- Now consider the impact of mobile. Why are we talking about mobile marketing in a Subject Line webinar?? [CLICK] Well 53% of emails are opened on mobile (Litmus, January 2014) https://litmus.com/blog/email-client-market-share-where-people-opened-in-2013/litmus-email-client-market-share-2013-infographic and... [CLICK] did you know the average person looks at their phones approximately 150 times per day? http://socialmediatoday.com/socialbarrel/1523671/why-businesses-need-notice-sms-marketing-infographic http://www.phonearena.com/news/average-person-looks-at-his-phone-150-times-per-day_id26636 Source: The Radicati Group, Inc Mobile Statistics Report, 2015-2019 http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mobile-Statistics-Report-2015-2019-Executive-Summary.pdf Your email could be one of those messages they are checking and we want your message to stand out in a crowded inbox – whether that be on mobile or desktop computer. There are some things to consider nowadays when marketing to your subscribers in regard to mobile devices. Not all devices are created equal – they all display emails slightly differently but there are some things that you can do to anticipate that and optimize your subject lines for optimal display on the majority of mobile and desktop devices. We’re going to show you are few things that you can harness to further drive home your message through good subject lines. That said, this webinar is not meant to be about design best practices for mobile friendly or mobile responsive. We do have other webinars that take a deeper dive into harnessing the power of mobile and designing your campaigns to display well on a mobile device too. Please see our list of monthly webinars if you are looking for more information about designing for mobile. That said, please keep in mind today that these best practices for your subject lines will touch a bit upon the assumption that many people are reading emails on mobile devices so these best practices are about crafting Standout Subject Lines for mobile and desktop. Constant Contact/CMB Study (3/27/12) Reason for opening emails from businesses or nonprofits: 64% say the organization it is from, 47% say the subject line 58% of consumers subscribe to emails to receive discounts and special offers [SPEAKER OPTIONAL: AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT FOR SHORT MOBILE BEST PRACTICES] By show of hands, who in the audience has a smartphone? Excellent, well let me ask those of you who raised your hand, have you ever had to pinch and expand an email message that looked interesting judging by the subject line, and had to scroll back and forth to get it all into view? You’d have to be pretty committed to that business to do that every time you get an email from them or take that extra step to click on a link or what’s more, purchase right from that email. As a SMB owner you don’t want to take that risk or put your subscribers through that nuisance, so designing for mobile and crafting your subject lines and emails go hand-in-hand and learning some best practices will help improve your open rate and generate more business or awareness for your business or nonprofit. Rule of thumb - design for mobile in mind, so it will look good on both mobile devices & desktop, that way you don’t have to design two versions of the email. It is harder to make large templates and multiple columns look good on a mobile device than it is to make a single-column template with a balanced text-to-image ratio and call-to-action buttons look good on a desktop computer.
- We have a great session planned for you today! Let’s talk about what we’re going to cover today: : [CLICK TO BUILD EACH AND THEN READ ALOUD] Why are Subject Lines for important to your business? – We’ll look at why subject lines are important in marketing your small business or non-profit to get the best results possible. How to write good ones - We’ll show you some techniques you can use to improve your subject lines starting today and some methods to help get those creative juices flowing when you’re crafting your next subject line Write subject lines for desktop and mobile in mind –We’ll look at how smartphones are changing the way email is read and how you can optimize your subject line by leveraging preheader text to further pull readers into your email when they’re viewing your message on a mobile phone Next Steps – We’ll send you out the door armed with confidence and fresh tips to use on your next email
- Three reasons people open email is because: [CLICK TO BUILD 1x1 ] [CLICK: 1] They recognize the sender, or the “from name” – make sure you identify yourself as a brand so that your emails are easily recognizable - In fact, according to a study conducted by Constant Contact in 2012, 64% of recipients reported that the organization who sent the message was a major reason for opening the organization’s email. Constant Contact: http://news.constantcontact.com/research/032712-new-study-constant-contact-and-chadwick-martin-bailey-reveals-why-and-how-consumers- [CLICK: 2] The time they received a given message is important – You want to make reading your message convenient to them pay attention to when your recipients are opening your emails and send consistently at this time [CLICK: 3] Lastly, was it worth reading? Does the subject line compel them to click on your message and read more about it? [click to next slide]
- Your goal is to pull them into your email. You can highlight relevance, usefulness, value or educational value at the opening of your message to catch their attention. Or, you and switch it up and do something unexpected or non-traditional or unusual. Use preheader text or ‘the teaser text’ as a hook or a second chance to draw your subscribers into your email after they’ve considered the subject line. Because this space allows for slightly more words, this is where you want to take your subject line a bit further by explaining or elaborating on your subject line. *Remember* - this is seen specifically on a mobile device right below the subject line even if it is made invisible to desktop viewers. Customize the message to match the interests of your audience. [PRO TIP] *If you are segmenting (categorizing) your lists (a good marketing practice), use relevant personal interest information that you’ve collected over time and position your subject line to match those interests. Also, match your message tone to reflect your brand – Is your brand informative? Sassy? Funny? Quirky? A thought leader? Incorporate that element of your brand’s personality into your subject lines in just a few words.
- When you get these slides, follow these tips to make sure that your emails won’t get flagged as spam. Make sure you’re not doing things we’ve found spammers to do in their emails. These are things that will likely get your emails sent to readers’ spam folders Don’t use these typical spammy words. When you get the slides, the first bullet here contains a chart you can refer to which contains words that spam-filters are trained to block if they catch them in subject lines but here are some examples of words NOT to use: [READ ALOUD] Don’t use: The word free Act now Lose weight Money Fast Guaranteed Advertisement Don’t use all caps Don’t use excessive punctuation or symbols like the pound or dollar sign or percentage symbol Need a reminder of what practices are in a spam email? You can always compare your subject line to what’s in your own junk mail folder and try to do the opposite of the messages you find in there. (And don’t forget to delete the buggers!) You can check before you send – if you’re using Constant Contact, it has a built in spam checker. It will tell you if there’s a chance you might be seen as spam and suggests ways to fix any potential issues it identifies. You’ll see it on the top left hand corner of the email editor next to the undo buttons if you’re using Constant Contact as your mass email provider.
- Alright. Let’s talk about the good stuff – how to write good subject lines.
- Having a good subject line can be the difference between new sales and/or attendance to your fundraising event or silence on the other end. If it doesn’t positively interrupt one’s flow when perusing their inbox, your message will likely fall into that “well-intentioned later” or “never” category we talked about using the 2-2-2 Principle. You might have a beautifully designed template with all the right stuff in it, but without a subject line that makes one pause or wonder, that message will not get opened.
- [CLICK AND READ EACH ALOUD. BOXES WILL APPEAR] Standout subject lines attract attention. Period. They move someone to click on your message to view its entirety and engage with your call to action. Let’s go over some techniques to apply to every email campaign you create: Short and sweet – 4-7 words is an ideal span to grasp and react to on mobile or desktop. They want you to offer information that is hard to click away from in a split second. They are willing to be distracted for a moment, but it better be worth it. Make an attractive offer - They want discounts or special offers that feel exclusive and valuable. Offer something that is sustainable for your business to realistically support or honor, and tell your subscribers why the offer is so great. They want it to look clean on a smartphone screen so there’s no need to scroll side to side or pinch and un-pinch to read tiny text or to adjust settings to compensate for clashing colors. Choose a mobile friendly, single-column template. Use hard-to-miss buttons and links for your call to action. And keep mobile in mind – ‘Embrace the space’ as we say around links and buttons for easy phone finger-clicking. Brand identity - If readers see your brand in the subject line and they’re loyal customers/supporters, they’re more likely to open your email because they’ve had previous positive associations with your personalized brand – try to incorporate your brand name in the subject line without sounding too ‘sales-y’. Or, try to use your brand as a play on words or if your organization has a rich following or community, use inside jokes or terms. Get creative with this technique and try to incorporate your brand in your subject line in creative ways. An air of mystery or a statement that piques one’s curiosity and makes them think, “Huh? What could this be about?” is effective if you can make them laugh or become informed about something after opening it but use it sparingly and make sure to deliver an expected punch – you don’t want to be deceptive. Questions pique curiosity and have the power to make one think introspectively for a moment. When they’re thinking about their own lives if you can get them to open your email in hopes of attaining a level of self-improvement so deliver some. Then, rinse, wash, repeat. Urgency or scarcity tactics can grab a reader’s attention for fear of missing out. No one likes to miss out on something they later find out they really wanted or cared about, so try using this with your next subject line. “Ex. I got an email the other day for something I’d been looking at, but I didn’t open it soon enough and the offer had expired and I was upset for missing out, but I’d completely bypassed the subject line because it didn’t seem urgent or like the offer would expire. If you’re offering something that is limited, spell this out in your subject line. Dates work really well to grab attention too. Entertain, warn, inform – use humor to inspire laughter. Funny subject lines can open a lot of doors (or in this case, emails!). Warning your audience of something to avoid can gently alarm someone, compelling them to open your email to get that helpful warning about something. Think about times when you’ve received emails warning of the dangers of extreme weather conditions and the effects they can have on your pets or property or about a rise in tick populations in the summer, for example. Informing someone of something they may not have known is also a great way to get someone to open your email. People love to improve their lives in small ways, why not share your expertise in your subject line and teach them about something they didn’t know. Like:” Cayenne pepper deters pests” might be a landscaper’s or homeopath’s subject line. Literary techniques – some literary techniques were made for eye-catching headlines. Think about using techniques such as allusion, alliteration and onomatopoeia in your subject lines because they’ve worked for authors and advertisers for decades to compel people to take action or purchase the work or product, and will work in your subject lines too. More on this in a bit. Top Lists - readers are willing to be distracted for a moment –As much as they may not want to be, readers want to be distracted by lists and content that makes them think or entertains them for a moment, adding value to their work day. Think of top appeal lists as ‘info-snacks’, it’s a snack for your brain that you find online to educate or entertain you for a moment. Let’s go into that a bit more because they are a really hot/popular trend right now. [CLICK TO NEXT SLIDE]
- [CLICK 1X TO AUTO-BUILD] Top Appeal – as we just mentioned, readers are willing to be distracted for a moment. Who doesn’t love to read Top Lists online that you find on social media or at the top of your Yahoo! or AOL account? They pull you in immediately even if you know you shouldn’t be reading about the 25 Worst Dressed Celebrities at the Oscars. A lot of people are turning to lists that have top ranking items. These are quick – if you have top 3 tips or particularly an odd number followed by the promise of a list in the subject line, people are more (tempted) or encouraged to read something that’s quick and easy that makes them think or learn something but doesn’t take too much of their time than they would be reading a message that was read “June Newsletter”. The connotation is that it will take much more time to read and they don’t feel they can give that up. People are time-starved. They think: “Only 3 tips? Or top 10 reasons? I can remember that many things.” Someone can print out or refer to the list and use it as a resource. Since the Top Appeal can be a really popular trick for getting more opens, these additional ideas listed are suggested ways that you can adapt any of your content to fit a Top Appeal list. A lot of content can be formatted to create emails that can be clustered into a Top Appeal subject line. Think about the overall theme of your newsletter and pull together a list. What do they all have in common? Order it into a list with a common theme and use that number and theme to draw people into opening your message for “5 Reasons to Wear Sunscreen This Summer” or “3 Deadliest Pests” or “6 Places to Avoid this Summer.” Remember, you want to appeal to that question of ‘Why? Why should I open this?’ As long as it provides a benefit or a pleasant distraction to the reader in the subject line, they are more apt to open it and read the rest of the message. A lot of content you create can be ordered into a top list so give it a try some time on your next subject line and you’ll be surprised with the change in open rates you’ll get.
- Let’s take what we just learned about subject line techniques and discuss some more examples. [Click]The “Top” appeal – a quick list of easily digestible pieces of information: “7 must haves for Fall” “3 end-of-year tax tips” “Top 10 Best Beauty Products this year” [Click]Create a sense of urgency to drive action: “Only 1 day left!” “Limited time offer – don’t miss out!” “Only 12 seats left – get your ticket before Friday” “You won’t believe what we have in store for you” [Click]Be personal – use words like “you”, ”your”, or “we”: “What you need to know about your personal finances” “Find out what we can do for your home today” “7 Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine” [Click]Ask a question: “How can we help your business grow?” “Do you feel prepared for this winter?” “Would you know what to do if you saw this?” [Click]Exclusivity helps drive action: “An exclusive offer for you!” “Only crafters would understand this feeling…” [Click]Don’t want to miss out: “You won’t believe your eyes when you see this” “If you aren’t doing this everyday you’re doing it wrong” “13 Signs You’re Budgeting Wrong”
- Now that you have gotten a bit more familiar with other techniques you can employ in your next email subject lines, let’s try an brief exercise together. Let’s pretend that we’ve just finished writing and designing our email campaign and we need to start writing a good subject line. Write in the first subject line that comes to find in the subject line section, just as a placeholder. It can be boring and unoriginal, the key is to just have something there to start with that sort of applies to the topics of your email. Next, try using these techniques as well as the others we discussed to improve it and make it more interesting and compelling to your readers. Let’s brainstorm this together. Later when you are really ready to apply this to your next email, you’ll want to get with a partner, a buddy, or a co-worker or spouse to come up with a few different examples you could use for your subject line or subsequent reengagement campaigns which we’ll discuss a bit later. So here we go: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH LINE, REVEALS THE BASIC SUBJECT LINE, THE TECHNIQUE TO TRY, AND 2 REVEALS. FEEL FREE TO VAMP ON THIS AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS NEEDED FOR THE SESSION]
- [CLICK TO BUILD EACH BASIC SUBJECT LINE WITH ONE REVEAL. RDDs CAN GET OTHER INPUT FROM AUDIENCE MEMBERS BUT OFFER THEIR OWN REVEALS] Ad-lib: Read them all aloud and try to be interactive.
- Now that you know how to optimize your subject lines and how to position your email for success in all sorts of reading environments, if you are still in need of inspiration try these tactics to get those creative juices flowing: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH 1X1] Check the news – how are they using headlines to make you want to read stories? How do those stories align with the headline and? Can you apply this technique to your email subject line? Look at what others are doing – follow companies like yours or that you admire to get a sense for what they’re doing. Turn your marketing hat on next time you’re going through your personal inbox, and take note of the marketing subject lines that compelled you to open them to see what they were about. Replicate that. Search results headlines – On a search engine, type in something similar to the topic of your newsletter to see which headlines appear first. Then, try to write your subject in a similar fashion. Blog Post Titles - If your’re already writing blog posts, you’re already writing subject lines, this becomes this for your Tweet, for your subject (those slides that change to show repurposed content) Twitter – Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters; people have to fit their message into tight space. See how others are crafting their tweets and try to use their technique on your subject lines with even fewer words Sites like Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Mashable are pros at getting you to read their content. Pay attention to articles your friends are sharing on Facebook from them, or go to their respective websites and take note of the headlines that entice you to click on articles. What about it caught your attention? Can you identify which technique they used? Now rewrite your subject line using their headline are inspiration. LINK TO THE THREE LISTED SITES FOR THE PDF
- Let’s talk about how to plan for how your subject line will look on desktop or mobile devices and show you how to take control of that.
- Mobile plays a big role in your marketing. It’s where many people are viewing email these days and making purchasing decisions.
- So when you’re creating emails, think about your mobile users. If something doesn’t look good on mobile – readers will delete it. [CLICK TO BUILD] 80% of people will delete an email that doesn’t look good on mobile, [CLICK TO BUILD] and even worse, 30% will unsubscribe if the email doesn’t look good. Before you send out any email campaign, make sure you send a preview to yourself, so you can make sure it looks good both on a desktop AND a mobile device! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/online/lack-of-mobile-email-optimization-may-drive-away-up-to-3-in-10-recipients-27896/
- - 76% of people read email on their phones - 67% of b2b workers regularly view emails on their phones – Marketing Sherpa - 64% of key decision makers read emails on mobile devices – Marketing Sherpa There are no longer any excuses for not designing marketing messages for mobile and your subject lines are an integral part when it comes to your mobile strategy. On a small screen, your messages grab the attention of the reader immediately because there’s only so much time that one spends on their device in one sitting so it is worth understanding how your message is being read. Now we’re going to discuss a couple other things to keep in mind when optimizing your subject lines for mobile marketing before you send your next message. http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2012/07/19/how-people-use-their-smartphones-infographic/
- Now imagine that you’ve spent some considerable time designing subject lines and you’ve settled on the perfect one. You are ready to send your campaign, but what if your email doesn’t look good, or it’s hard to read for those reading on a mobile device? You don’t want to have put in all that work to find the perfect subject line and have a poorly designed email or one that’s hard to read and act on. This can lead to lower open rates and less revenue for you. You’ll want to make sure you have some basic mobile design best practices to ensure that your email looks good not only on desktop but on mobile too. But without going too in depth into design best practices, there are some important best practices to follow when designing your emails to accommodate mobile and desktop. We do have other webinars that go into this is detail, so I encourage you attend them or watch the on demand versions if you are curious about learning more. For now, here’s what you’ll want to focus on to make sure your email looks good : Choose mobile friendly templates or use single-column templates. Try to avoid using multiple columns, as this will be challenging to see on smaller screens and in preview pane windows and if you’ve put in all that work to craft a compelling subject line that got someone to open your email , you want people to enjoy your email as they read through it. Place your logo on the left or in the center - and link it to your website. This will ensure that your brand is easily recognized and the first thing one sees at the top after your subject line gets them to open the email. These day people assume they can click on images so deliver on that expectation and lead them directly to your website. Use your brand colors – use free color match programs like ColorCop or Digital Color Meter to identify your exact colors that you use in your logo to establish brand recognition and consistency in every email Use a minimum of size 12pt font for the body of your email and at least size 22pt for headlines to grab attention to articles or elements of your email Use preheader text – preheader text is something that is gaining popularity with marketers in recent times. It’s usually this tiny text that is placed above your logo at the top of your email and it helps to add to your subject line. Email clients will detect this text before any other text of the email and it will appear just below your subject line when someone is read their inbox. Let’s talk about that a little bit more so you know what it is, how it looks, and how you can use it to ensure your subject line and email get you the results you want. [CLICK TO BUILD EACH, READ ALOUD AND ELABORATE]
- [CLICK – ALL WILL APPEAR, SPEAK TO EACH] When thinking of subject lines, think small. The Inbox will typically only show users the first 9-11 words of the pre-header text or any words above the logo. Take control of that fact and put a few power-packed words into a block above your company logo (which should always be placed at the top with a clickable link to your website.) Rule of thumb – write your subject lines between 6-10 words and don’t forget about mobile users because (53%) of email opens in the US occurred on a mobile device and you want not to exclude people who are reading on the go and who may be more apt sometimes to stop by your business or respond to your message. http://info.movableink.com/Device-Report-Q1-2015are using mobile phones to read emails Mobile phones will typically show the first 15 characters of the first text in the message, so take control of that feature we’ve referred to as ‘preheader text’ and write a second headline that will hook your reader into reading the rest of your email right from the get go. Think of it like a compliment to our subject line or the ‘next step or hook.’ This text should appear just above your logo block and we’ll go into that in just a bit but it is important to keep it in mind as you’re crafting your subject line. Think about 2-2-2 rule and those first 2 words. What will help readers take notice of your email? How can you make the topic of your email stand out from all the rest in the inbox? After writing the content for your email, try to summarize what it is all about, and condense that into your subject line and your pre-header text which we’ll discuss shortly. Source: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/your-next-email-subject-line/
- So what’s next?
- [CLICK] EACH SECTION WILL ANIMATE ON ITS OWN You know you need to be marketing and mailing to new and existing customers and subscribers, but you don’t know where to start. Well there are some truths to keep in mind as you embark upon your list growth journey: [CLICK] - GROWTH TAKES TIME - By now you may have heard that ‘your organization lives and dies by it’s subscriber list’. You might look at yours and wonder if you have enough contacts or if it is turning over the results you were hoping for. You’re not alone. But it is important to understand that it takes time and that it should have no end. Learning how to consistently grow your list is something that you want to become a reflex or a habit. [CLICK] - GROWTH IS AN ONGOING PROCESS - Think of growing your subscriber list the same way you think of building and growing your business or non-profit. You always want to be generating business even after you get the kind of consistent business you’ve dreamt about. There will always be periods of lots of business and periods of less than ideal business, and your contact list will be like this too. You want to always be collecting contacts every chance you get wherever you interact with customers or supporters because you’ll always want to be reaching fresh leads as some unsubscribe or opt out over time. [CLICK] - EFFORTS MUST BE ORGANIZED & CONSISTENT – just like the meticulous bookwork that you keep for your business or non-profit, your contact list is most successful when it is organized and is maintained in a consistent and efficient way [CLICK] - A COMBINATION OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN METHODS – There is no wrong way to collect a contact (except of course if you buy or rent lists, that is! We’ll talk about anti-spam best practices a bit later) You should start with what you know and combine new and traditional methods of gathering contacts. Once you leave this presentation with more ideas than you had to start with and a clear plan of action for collecting as many contacts in as many places as possible, you’ll find that growing your list is just another way of growing your business or expanding your organization.
- After you start to put into practice these tips and tricks we’ve shared with you today for optimizing your subject lines, of course you’ll want to check your progress over time to see what’s working and what isn’t working. [CLICK] Because you’ve kept a clean record of your sent campaigns by using identical file names as your subject lines, you’ll be able to see with just a glance at your analytics page, which subject lines performed the best and which returned higher open rates. This will help you to better understand what techniques your audience responds to and which they do not, over time making you a pro at reading your audience’s wants and needs and tailoring your marketing to continue to appeal to them. In this example you can see which campaign subject lines returned great open rates, and which did not. [OPTIONAL]: Can you pick out some of the techniques that were used? To increase your open rates, after the first email has been sent, give it a few days and make a copy of the original email but title it and use one of the other subject lines you had come up with in your brainstorming session to appeal exclusively to those who did not open your email the first time around. Oftentimes the second attempt will catch someone’s attention which will again increase your open rates and lead to more measurable results for your business. If you need help doing this refer to FAQ5990 in the Helps & Tips section of your account or give us a call. In the end, crafting compelling subject lines takes time and practice, but with a bit of time you’ll perfect the art and learn to enjoy the brainstorming process of writing them. And after having put in that much work to really master the craft, be sure to regularly track your progress with your built in analytics tools. You’ll be glad it’s organized and easy to read and report on so you can continue to make changes and adjust as needed.
- We’ve covered a lot today. We hope you are now feeling more confident to write better subject lines for your campaigns. Let’s recap what we talked about today: Brainstorm at least 3 versions of your subject lines – Get into the habit of brainstorming multiple versions of your subject. First, write and design your email and then get with a friend, a coworker, a partner or spouse and have fun brainstorming Stand Out subject lines. After a few times this will become second nature and you’ll enjoy increased open rates and maybe a coffee or a beer with friends! Test on mobile & desktop before sending – Remember TO ALWAYS ALWAYS test your email in as many email accounts and devices as you can, like (iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Windows phones and tablets) - Sign up for some free accounts to see how AOL vs Yahoo! Or Outlook displays your subject line and your message. Do don’t want to spend all that time designing a great email and crafting a compelling subject line for a popular email client to truncate your subject line at a crucial word or render your email incorrectly. Consider preview pane and use preheader text – Look for templates that include a preheader text option and use it to your advantage! Craft your subject line first, and your preheader text should further convince someone to click on your message. Short and sweet is key, (but this also in a way give you a bit more wriggle room when you think about it) Monitor your progress – Make sure you are labeling your drafts the same way you label your subject lines to be able to track the progress of your new and improved subject lines over time. Most email providers will have good analytics tools so keep good records of your drafts because you’ll need to be using them to evaluate what is and isn’t working every month.
- OPTIONAL “COMMERCIAL” SLIDE [SPEAKER INSTRUCTIONS: this is your short introductory “commercial” to explain what Constant Contact is to your audience.] SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS:…. Everything we talk about in today’s session is intended to help you grow your business. Strategies, tips and ideas that you can leave here and try. You can apply these ideas to any system or marketing tool you want to use, you do not have to be a customer of constant contact to come to this session and even if you use a competitor, all of the information provided here today will still help you. That said, I want to make sure everyone here knows what Constant Contact is. How many in the room use Constant Contact or know what it is already? Great, I encourage those of you that did not have your hands raised to speak to someone that DID have their hands raised about our service. I’m confident that you will hear good things or I wouldn’t have said that. Constant Contact is an online marketing system with tools to help you manage mass communication and marketing campaigns easily and without spending a lot of time or money. You can send email newsletters or announcements of any kind, run your own special offers or deals, get feedback or run an online survey and you can promote and manage your own events. It’s all together in one place and everything also works closely with social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and it’s also designed to help you look good on a mobile device. Constant Contact is the leader, and the support is outstanding. I will of course encourage you to use Constant Contact – it only costs about 20 a month – but let’s get to the class and then I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about Constant Contact at the end of the session.
- Presenter should introduce themselves. RDDs should mention Constant Contact ALEs would mention their own company and clarify their relationship to Constant Contact.(Ask people in the room if any of them have ever attended a previous seminar. If there are a lot, Clarify that this is new content but that some of the same strategies we have taught in the past still apply So they might see a few familiar strategies or tips along the way. (Then mention the workbook – explain what it is, briefly, and let them know that you will refer to it Throughout the session with short exercises for them to complete. Next ask …) How many people in the room are small businesses or work for a small business?How many are nonprofits ….on purpose (they will laugh) relate to the room that you know it’s been a tough year for some and that the information Covered in the session should help them start to move the needle.
- You can use
- Introduce yourself and give them a clear understanding that you are there on behalf of Constant Contact.
- Presenter should introduce themselves. RDDs should mention Constant Contact ALEs would mention their own company and clarify their relationship to Constant Contact.(Ask people in the room if any of them have ever attended a previous seminar. If there are a lot, Clarify that this is new content but that some of the same strategies we have taught in the past still apply So they might see a few familiar strategies or tips along the way. (Then mention the workbook – explain what it is, briefly, and let them know that you will refer to it Throughout the session with short exercises for them to complete. Next ask …) How many people in the room are small businesses or work for a small business?How many are nonprofits ….on purpose (they will laugh) relate to the room that you know it’s been a tough year for some and that the information Covered in the session should help them start to move the needle.