1 Learn the concept
The quality of your subject line often decides whether someone opens your email. A good subject line is clear, relevant and honest. It makes people curious or promises a benefit, without tricking them. This lesson teaches you how to write compelling subject lines and test them.
2 See it in action
- Be clear first, clever second.
- Keep it short enough to read on a phone.
- Create curiosity or promise a benefit, but deliver on it.
- Test two versions and learn from results.
Worked example
Testing two subject lines
Send A to 10 percent of the list and B to another 10 percent.
A: "Our spring sale starts today". B: "Save 20% on pots until Sunday".
Result in the example: B has a higher open rate.
Send B to the rest of the list.
Check: do not trick people. Subject lines that mislead break trust and rules.
3 Study an example
Real-world case study
The Obama campaign: testing subject lines instead of guessing
What they did. During the 2012 campaign, the email team tested subject lines extensively, sometimes as many as 18 variations of a draft before choosing a winner to send to tens of millions of subscribers. Amelia Showalter, director of digital analytics, said the team did extensive A/B testing not only on subject lines and donation amounts but on the messages and even the formatting.
What happened. Casual, personal subject lines performed well. "Hey" was among the best, and a June 26 email with the subject line "I will be outspent" reportedly raised about $2.5 million. Email director Toby Fallsgraff said the lines that worked best were things you might see in your inbox from other people. The campaign said most of the roughly $690 million raised online came from email appeals.
What to take away. Do not trust your instincts about what will win. Showalter said the team was so bad at predicting winners that it reinforced the need to keep testing. A short, human subject line can beat a clever one.
Figures are as reported by the press from the campaign's own statements.
Sources ABC News: odd subject lines drew huge cash · Talking Points Memo: Team Obama tested subject lines
4 Apply it and download
- Write ten subject lines for one email.
- Choose two to test.
- Record the open rates.
Worksheet Welcome email sequence templateOpen, print or save as PDF