Editorial
The Gist
- Subject significance. Subject lines are the most tested email element, influencing engagement and click-through rates.
- Ingredient variety. Seven key ingredients — contextual, urgent, emotional, detailed, intriguing, visual and earned — can be used to craft compelling subject lines.
- Focused approach. The most effective subject lines typically use only two or three of these ingredients, keeping the message tight and focused.
All email marketers understand how critical subject lines are to generating engagement with their messages. That’s why subject lines are tested far more than hero images, calls-to-action and any other email element.
To help inspire you, I want to share seven of my all-time favorite subject lines. However, these aren’t just inspiring subject lines. They illustrate seven ingredients you can use to create compelling envelope content. Understanding these ingredients can allow you to better select which ones to use for a particular message and to understand which ones are resonating with your audience so you can better optimize your subject lines.
OK, here are my seven favorite subject lines…
Who’s Your #1 Artist of the Year?!
Used by Spotify in a Dec. 14, 2021, promotional email
The streaming music service’s annual Spotify Wrapped email delivers a highly personalized recap of the user’s year of music listening. This subject line teases one of the big personal highlights from the email: the user’s #1 most-played artist.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be contextual — that is, having it pertain to the subscriber and what they’ve done. This kind of subject line aligns with an email’s content that is personalized, segmented, localized, requested or behavior-based in some significant way.
Related Article: Generative AI for Email Personalization: A Hallucination Wrapped in Confusion
🎅 Order Early: Santa’s Supply Chain’s Iffy (Three Reindeer Just Quit 🦌)?
Used by Uncommon Goods in a Nov. 24, 2021, promotional email
In the second year of the pandemic, supply chains were still snarled and unreliable. Uncommon Goods conveys the seriousness of global supply chain problems in a lighthearted and seasonal way that’s approachable. The tone is very on-brand for them.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be urgent. Busy consumers are always trying to prioritize, so giving them a compelling reason to act right now can make your messages much more effective. While artificial sale deadlines can work, consumers are a bit jaded to that game and almost expect sale extensions at this point. Seasonal deadlines are more effective, as are limited quantities. Just be careful not to overuse urgency as a motivator or you’ll lessen its effectiveness.
Your Kid Said Something Awesome
Used by ToyTalk in a March 2014 action-triggered email
A maker of interactive children’s games, ToyTalk, keeps parents engaged by emailing them video clips of their kids responding to their app. What parent can resist a subject line like this?
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be emotional. While people like to think they’re rational, we make many more decisions based on how we feel about something and, perhaps more importantly, how we view ourselves. Brands can get lots of traction appealing to their audiences’ emotions — whether it’s their sense of generosity, fashionableness, competitiveness or duty, for instance. Be extra careful when playing with negative emotions like fear or shame, as that has a history of backfiring on brands.
Related Article: The Newest Messaging Automation Trigger: Internet-Connected Devices
Gift Tip: Separate These Sets Into Multiple Gifts
Used by Sephora in a Nov. 17, 2009, promotional email
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With the Great Recession underway when this campaign was sent, this subject line tried to connect with consumers who were struggling to stretch their holiday gift budgets. In addition to being empathetic, this subject line was practical and concrete, giving subscribers a valuable tip that would allow them to cost-effectively get the gifts they wanted.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be detailed. There’s no mystery or suspense here. The subject line tells you exactly what this email is about. Today, this is the most popular approach to writing subject lines. It’s also the safest, as it is the most respectful of subscribers’ time, helping brands avoid dreaded opener’s remorse.
Related Article: Messaging During Recessions: 3 Opportunities for Marketers
We Know When Tiger Is Coming Back.
Used by GameStop in a Mar. 9, 2010, promotional email
Tapping into speculation around Tiger Woods’ return to golf after his 2009 sex scandal, this newsjacking subject line promotes the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. Sure, it’s a little bit of misdirection. However, it does attract GameStop subscribers who are interested in Tiger Woods.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be intriguing. This example also illustrates the fine line you need to try to walk when using curiosity and intrigue, because you don’t want subscribers to feel tricked or misled. If that happens, they could tune you out for a while or even opt out. Of all the subject line ingredients, intrigue should be used the most cautiously.
👇 Better Than Their Deals 👆
Used by Topman in a Nov. 25, 2016, promotional email
Sent during the heart of the holiday season, this email casts shade on the offers of other brands in their subscribers’ inboxes with this clever use of pointing up and down hand emoji. This subject really drew attention in the inbox — and particularly shined in the Gmail Promotions tab, where it was almost guaranteed to be pointing at other emails touting deals.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be visual. Emoji support by inbox providers has dramatically expanded the possibilities here. However, brands can use a range of visual tactics, from really short subject lines to all-caps and unusual punctuation to unusual spellings.
Related Article: The Gmail Promotions Tab: 10 Years of Email Marketing Misunderstandings
173 People Have Already Read Your Reviews
Used by Tripadvisor in a November 2018 segmented email
In the age of social validation, the travel agency uses review reads to encourage reviewers to submit additional reviews. So many brands ask for reviews, but so few tell reviewers about the impact they’ve had on others, which is a huge reason why people submit reviews in the first place.
This example illustrates the power of having your subject line be earned. Earned media is a compelling tool for brands to use in their email and other marketing campaigns, whether it’s a customer review, user-submitted image, or review impact. That’s because consumers generally attach much more weight to statements when they come from other consumers and outside experts than from a brand.
Of course, most subject lines contain more than one of these seven components. Even the seven examples I’ve shared here do. However, great subject lines tend to only feature two or maybe three of these seven, which allows them to stay focused and tight.
If you’d like to see more than 50 additional subject lines that are among my favorites since 2011, check out Outstanding Email Marketing Examples of Subject Lines.
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