20 unique and impactful subject lines for boosting your open rates

If we pay attention to online business experts, one of the most effective ways to sell today is email marketing.

Your list of emails, with subscribers who registered to your site freely because they are interested in your content, in your articles, in your services and your business proposals, can offer you the perfect opportunity to get new customers.

If you spend time and effort in creating attractive and well-structured newsletters, with calls-to-action to guide your subscribers, with relevant and useful content to your readers, don’t you think it would be a pity that they don’t open the emails, you are sending because the subject is very generic and not attractive enough?

All the effort in creating a list of subscribers, all the energy in creating interesting content, will be wasted if the subscribers who receive the email don’t open it. And this happens very often; just think: How many emails you receive per day? How many emails do you  delete without opening?

At this point in the article, I think you have already understood the importance of something that seems so simple, the subject line of your emails.

That’s why I want to give you about 20 original ideas, so that you start writing irresistible subject lines to your subscribers, increasing your open rates dramatically.

· Factors to take into account when selecting the subject of your email

If we review statistics, they will tell us that email marketing is bringing better results in recent years and that the open rates of commercial emails increased over 80% in the last three years.

And this is happening because subscribers are willing to receive information about the companies they follow. Also, subject lines are being increasingly analyzed and optimized because marketers know that if they ignore this, the email campaign will fail. They want to create more and more impressive campaigns, so users feel compelled to open the messages.

1) You have a few seconds to do it

It is estimated that a subscriber will take two seconds to read the subject of your email and decide whether he will open it or delete the message.

So what you write in this line should be awesome, concise, real and interesting for the email recipient.

2) Use short and concise titles

Another fact to keep in mind is the use of mobile devices. Most of us have an email application on our smartphone, so the subject line should contain only a few words, because if we use a very long subject, the subscriber will only read the first part of the line.

For that very reason, the vital part of the message should be in the first part of the line.

As you can see, the subject line is as important in email marketing as the title, you select for your articles, as it is this line that will determine if your readers will click to open the content or ignore it.

3) Take the necessary time

Take the time needed for this topic so that the open rates of your emails will reach levels you’ve never dreamed of before.

And to get it, I’ll give you some ideas that you can adapt to your business and the content of your emails. Let’s get started.

· 20 stunning titles for boosting your open rates

I’ll try to be as accurate as possible when writing the subject lines, but you should adapt them to your newsletters.

It will not do anything to use something generic that has nothing to do with the content of the email. If you use a generic or ambiguous subject, your subscribers will open your email, but most of them  will feel betrayed or disappointed and most likely will no longer open your newsletters. Don’t forget, you should use the examples in this article, but you will have to make the necessary changes to your  email marketing strategy.

Customize your messages

1. . “Would you like to get something?”

Happiness, fame, fortune, friends, customers, etc. Starting by asking a question that will spark some excitement in subscribers is a good option to create custom subjects.

An example could be: “Would you like to take advantage of my services”?

This could be a good subject if you offer professional services on your newsletter.

Don’t use a generic and unreachable phrase (many companies use unrealistic subjects.)

Something like “Would you like to become a millionaire? I’ll explain how.

Whenever I get an email with that subject line, I imagine a guy writing an email in a wooden house with two rooms, sitting in front of a an old computer that his neighbor gave him.

2. “Just today”

This creates a sense of urgency; you need to act now, so you don’t lose the opportunity. Either you open the email now, or you miss the chance to get valuable information, special promotions, discount coupons, etc.

The longer you allow the subscriber to think, the less chance of compelling him to open the message.

It is not the same thing to say: “Only today, only until 7 pm.” “Only this year, only until December 31, until the end of the summer.”

As you can see, if I have until December 31 to take advantage of the discount, I will open the email when I have time because I am not forced to act immediately. In many cases, I’ll probably forget this message.

The same thing will also happen with shorter periods of time: “only this week,” this month only, etc. Creating a promotion that will last longer will decrease the effectiveness of this technique, as your subscribers will not feel pressured to act.

3. “Get it.”

Starting the sentence with a verb that encourages your subscribers to take action can bring fantastic results, whenever the rest of the subject line is equally striking.

It’s not the same thing to say: “Get more customers by hiring my professional services. ”

Than: Lose money by trying to get rich. ”

The verbs that incite the action are very important; this verb is the first word that the subscriber will read. But the rest of the sentence should also be attractive, or you will not be able to get the desired effect.

Other verbs that incite the action: create, share, learn, download.

4. “Reasons for”

A good way to convince people to do something is to give them reasons to do so.

“Reasons to open this email: you will get more customers.”

If you combine this subject with another type, such as adding lists, you will have even better results:

5 reasons to open this email

5. “Lists”

Our mind unconsciously adapts much better to numbers and lists of things. So starting a subject line with a number can help to increase credibility and user confidence:

5 Reasons to Trust My Professional Services

10 advantages of buying from our virtual store

6. “Statistical data”

We rely on statistics almost instinctively. Using facts and statistics to prove a point is an effective way of telling users that they can trust us.

But, although we instinctively rely on statistics, my adviceis that you add references to the trusted source that published this data, preferably with a link to the original publication.

Phrases such as “80% of my clients increase their income.” “3 out of 4 visitors to my site became customers.”

You will have to work with reliable data. If your subscribers think that you are lying to them or that you are faking the information they will no longer trust you.

7. “Address your subscribers by their name”

Everyone knows that a mass mailing campaign is not written individually for each subscriber. However, starting the subject line with the name of the email recipient is a fantastic option for creating a sense of closeness, arousing the interest of the reader immediately.

Type: Hello, John, I created this product for you.

Andrea, I think this is going to interest you a lot.

If your database is not very large and has been targeted correctly, you could add the name of the recipients manually before sending the emails.

If your database is too large, you will certainly find an email marketing software to customize your messages and include the name as a custom field in your newsletter.

8. “How to do something?”

Teaching people to do something, manage something, the advantages of a product or situation is always a good choice to create attractive newsletters.

How to make a living by writing what you like

How to use our product and get better results

How to save money by hiring our professional services

With this formula, the possibilities are endless. It’s almost easier to create a list of these types of subject lines than to write content for your newsletters.

Certainly, if you devote a few minutes, thinking about what you or your company can offer to your customers or potential customers, you will be able to list 10 or 12 subject lines for your emails.

9. Name the product or service

When you are a company or a professional of recognized prestige, you can use that fame in the subject lines.

Imagine that Coca-Cola wants to send an email to inform its subscribers about a new soda, for example. In the subject, a famous brand may include its name to generate trust:

Coca-Cola wants to tell you about its new drink, created just for this summer

Mercedes-Benz would like to invite you to see its brand new car

I can manage your social networks to launch your business in cyberspace.

The success of these subject lines is in the company’s fame or in the product/service. However, this technique will only work for recognized brands.

10. “Tricks for…”

This type of subject is related to what we saw before.

You can teach tricks to users, shortcuts, buttons, ETC. You could create a guide for any feature of your product that could be relevant to your subscribers.

Tricks to get the most out of your new car/motorbike

3 tricks to get out in front of the competition

10 tricks to make the best recipes with our product

As you can see, we can use tricks with numbers, another type of subject line that we saw on this list.

11. Use emoji

The idea here is to create a more visually appealing subject. You can use any of the 10 types of subject lines we saw until now and add emoticons related to the content of the newsletter.

You can replace a few words with drawings of those words. If you want to use the word camera; you can add an Emoji of a camera; you are sending a newsletter about cars, add an Emoji of a car.

With this, you will be working with two things. You will be creating a visually flashy subject.

Also, you will create a small game that the receiver of the message will have to decode:

Just for today, I will give you 3 ways to multiply yours 💵 using your cell phone

12. Prohibit your subscribers

Psychologists talk about the emotion of the forbidden. When something is forbidden, it is instantly more desirable.

Don’t open this email; you can benefit from it.

Don’t open this email if you want to continue living a boring life.

Don’t even think about reading this newsletter.

It is a marketing strategy that, if used only on specific occasions, can increase your open rates exponentially.

13. “Can I ask you something?”

Engaging your subscriber directly and asking him a question will force him to make an immediate decision. He can help you or ignore you.

If you can ask a question that is not intrusive, requesting his advice, or an opinion on a topic, he will be more likely to open your email.

Did you like our product?

Can I ask you something?

Can you help me with this?

Human beings are curious by nature. If somebody ask something; we will usually try to answer this question.

He’s not asking for money; you don’t have to kill yourself for free.

14. Exclamation marks

A good way to “highlight” the message is by using exclamation points. It gives a sense of urgency, energy, joy.

Buy before the promotion ends!

10 Profitable Business Ideas. Start making money now!

It is a classic and effective way to catch the reader’s attention.

15. Expert Opinions

The opinions of experts recognized in the market are always good to build trust. If Fernando Alonso states that a car model is better than another one because he tested them both. Would you doubt it?

The problem with this kind of subject is that they must be real and easily demonstrable, otherwise you would be considered a liar, a smoke seller.

You could use topics like these:

10 experts say our product is good

This is what the top 10 chefs in the country have opined about this product.

16. Real Testimonials

Knowing the opinion of others who have tested something before us gives tranquility to decide whether or not to buy the product.

It is not one of the best techniques for subject lines since it has already been widely used, but it can still bring interesting results.

João would like to tell you about his experience with our services

Our dear customer Ana wants to tell you about her experience with our product.

The testimonials must be real, from real people, giving their honest opinion. Otherwise, you will be decreasing your credibility and people will stop believing in you.

17. Appeal to scarcity

When there are many products available, most users will buy only when they really need the product, even if you are offering a good deal because they know that next week, they can buy the same product from you or any other store.

But when there are only a few available units of the product, they will have to act now, or they will have to pay a lot more money to get it  (that’s why they subscribed to your newsletter) so that you can contact them with your best offerings and deals.

Last 5 units available.

This special offer ends in less than two days.

You can’t always use this type of subject, but for special campaigns, it can be a fantastic option.

18. World news

A very difficult but effective subject line for those who always want to be up to date and get the latest news.

It doesn’t have to be world news; it can be national, regional, local. The important thing is that it is new and that you offer the information first to a select group of people.

We are offering this news first for you.

We are the first to have it, and we offer it to you first.

19. Explain the benefits, not the product.

We often don’t realize the benefits of using a product or service. We will focus on its properties, but not on the advantages that its use can bring.

A great way to sell is to look like you’re not selling. Explaining the benefits of the product in the subject line can help the user to see why they should buy it. They will probably open the email, even if out of curiosity. What is this?

Free time for you and your family

Fewer worries in the day to day of your business

20. Humor

Not all companies are willing to use humor in their digital marketing strategy. But humor sells if used correctly.

You don’t have to be a clown, just a little fun every once in a while.

Sex, lies and social network management

Email marketing is very effective if you succeed in your subject line.

Conclusion

I think I’ve given more than enough reasons and examples to convince you that your digital marketing strategy needs to be well planned. You need to segment your database and use the best subject lines for each subscriber profile.

This is not an exact science, hence its complexity, so you should start testing with the different examples that I gave you to find out which ones have more acceptance among your subscribers.

Over time, you will find that some subjects work better than others. The secret is to test and adapt, to improve your subject line gradually.

When you improve your subject line, please share the good news with us. 😉