10 Tips for Effective Subject Lines

In today’s email marketing world, the difference between email success and failure can hinge on whether your target reader opens your email or not. You need to create the best first impression possible and doing this can come from stronger, better, and more effective subject lines.

Subject lines are both an art and a science - what works for one campaign may not work for another. The good news is that there are a number of proven best practices you can implement. In part one of this two-part series I’ll discuss five tactics for creating better subject lines, which means better results for your next e-mail campaign.

#1. Keep it Short

Subject lines shouldn’t be more than 60 characters. Total! And that is including spaces. Yet to be more effective, yours should be even shorter than that. Best practices indicate that emails with 0-49 characters achieve better open rates than those with 50 characters or more. Communicating a short, precise message is much more effective than sending one that could get cut off and confuse your reader.

#2. Avoid Spam Filters

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that using an exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke. But it’s no laughing matter in email marketing. Using more than one in a subject line may get you filtered. Always check your email's spam score before sending to see which words or characters increase your potential to be filtered.

#3. Convey a Sense of Urgency

If you can make your reader feel like she just has to open your email and act on it immediately, your job is done and done well. One way to elicit this emotion is create a sense of urgency with time-bound offers: “September 25 is your last chance to register”- or even better, with time-bound incentives - “Your last chance to save 20% ends tomorrow.” These subject lines are clear, direct, and downright compelling.

#4. Personalize Carefully

Personalization has been overused to the point where if it’s done incorrectly, it can turn your recipient off, particularly in B2B marketing. But, if your company has a great brand and offers something your audience truly values, personalization can draw them in. “Susan, Coach’s annual sale is coming to your Scranton store,” feels more like a trusted friend passing on valuable information as opposed to an unwanted sales call.

#5. Take Personalization to another Level

Differentiate your message by personalizing subject lines with data other than your customer’s first name. Consider creative ways to include the name of a product they just bought, a service they’re interested in, or any other detail you have access to. Doing this well demonstrates marketing competence, helps to create credibility and trust, and of course, delivers a tailored email your recipient will want to open.

Part two of this two-part series will discuss the last five tips and leave you with some final words of wisdom before you embark on crafting more effective subject lines.

Stay tuned!

Lilia Arsenault, e-Dialog

 

Searching for the Perfect e-Dialog Holiday Party Outfit

e-Dialog conducts research on the customer purchase path because we recognize that marketers need the ability to communicate with their customers through various connection points in multiple channels.  (Read more in The Online Marketing Suite.)

 

Our research found that the typical purchase path has 3.8 touch points.  This means that a customer saw your print/online/broadcast ad and was introduced to your product or service.  Next, they likely did some research either on your website, a review site, or even by posting a status asking for opinions on their Facebook wall.  This second connection likely influenced whether or not they considered buying from you.  If they wanted to purchase, they probably looked for a deal online or in their email archive.  Finally, they purchased either digitally (yes, this includes e-, m-, or f-Commerce) or in-store.  This totals 4 touches - and there are endless other combinations of introducing, influencing, and closing advertising activities involved.

 

Key findings:

    - There are 3.8 touches in the typical purchase path

    - 36-50% of purchase paths involve more than one touch point

    - If the path includes multiple touches, the average order value is likely to increase by 42%

 

I would like to detail the recent purchase path I traveled while shopping for the e-Dialog holiday party (our Facebook page probably has some pictures!).  My path probably starts in August 2011 when I bought a dress for a wedding at White House | Black Market.  Since then, I’ve been receiving catalogs for the store at my home address.  In a recent catalog I saw a patterned silk top I liked. 

 

Next, I visited the website to see additional pictures of the item.  I decided I definitely liked it and that it would be great for the party.  So, I checked my email archive for any recent deals or promo codes.  Finally, I went to the store to try on the top.  I ended up buying it – along with 3 pairs of jeans that I found there! 

 

To recap, after 1) seeing the catalog, 2) viewing the item online, 3) checking recent WHBM emails, I ended up 4) spending almost $200 in store. 

 

While the company did not offer an e-receipt option, or send an immediate thank you, I did receive an email to rate my purchase 1 week later.  This was definitely a multi-channel win:

 

 

Overall, I was extremely happy with all aspects of the experience.  However, for the purpose of continuous improvement, I do have to point out a multi-channel miss: I went back to the site soon after my store visit to look at the swim collection that was announced via a recent email.  The swim line is not available in local stores so I considered ordering online.  I had trouble logging in to receive my loyalty program discount.  I chatted (online) with a customer service representative who quickly realized that while I had an in-store purchase history, I had a very old online profile – from two addresses ago!  (This is a perfect case for why getting the “big data” together to get the 360 view of your customer is so important!)

 

All Hail to the Sale-Presidents' Day is Here!

Wow, my inbox still has a rosy glow from Valentine's Day, but now it's been taken over by red, white and blue! Retailers are not waiting until the actual holiday to get the sale started.

 

Pottery Barn sent this email on Thursday, offering a head start on savings of up to 60% off. 

 

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston took a more literal approach, offering 25% off gifts inspired by the famous painting, Passage of the Delaware, which depicts George Washington prior to the Battle of Trenton. 

 

 

J. Jill uses animation to draw an Uncle Sam-style hat on top of their sale announcement in this email. Click on the image to see the animated version.

 

Who gets your vote this Presidents' Day?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Feeling the Love

This year, it seems like Valentine's Day has really become a focus for marketers. My inbox is overflowing with love, in the email sense, anyway. This has taken the form of free gifts, special promotions, and even color themes. 

 

Here's an example from Lands' End which turns the tables a bit, showing how much their customers love them. This email features a comment they received on the Facebook wall detailing all the things Arlene loves about Lands' End. Although the cynic in me thinks this is a little too perfect for a spontaneous Facebook comment.

 

 

J. Jill and Lucy both went with a color theme, promoting red and pink clothing. 

 

 

Clarins offered a free gift with purchase for Valentine's Day, but what I liked more was the follow up email. The subject line was "Did you get what you really wanted for Valentine's Day?" and they extended the free gift offer for one more day.

 

 

What emails did you love this Valentine's Day?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Privacy and Security: Best Practices in Action

Data Privacy Day is an annual international celebration designed to promote awareness about privacy and educate people about best privacy practices. This year, it was on January 28th. As part of Data Privacy Day, eBay participated on a panel titled "The Intersection of Privacy & Security" at George Washington University Law School. The panel discussed the implications of how privacy and security are two sides of the same coin and what companies can and should do to ensure privacy and security are protected while allowing innovation to flourish. 

 

Panelists included David Hoffman, director of security policy and global privacy officer, Intel; Gerard Lewis, vice president, deputy general counsel and chief privacy officer, Comcast Cable; Ari Schwartz, 
Senior Internet Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Commerce; Rick Buck, head of privacy GSI, eBay Inc.; Erin Egan, chief privacy officer, policy, Facebook; JoAnn C. Stonier,
 global privacy & data protection officer, MasterCard Worldwide; 
and Bob Quinn,
 senior vice president-federal regulatory & chief privacy officer, AT&T.

 

In this article on eCommerceBytes.com, participants talked about what privacy and security mean at their organizations. Rick Buck shared his view that the two are tightly integrated, saying "Our definition I think is pretty textbook. Privacy is about how you use information and security is how you protect it and regulate who has access to it," he said. "It means the same thing regardless of whether it's online commerce or whether it's filling orders or merchant data or consumer data. It's all about protecting it."

 

The panel was broadcast by Facebook Live and you can view the recording below.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

 

 

 

 

Groundhog Day for Email Marketers

For most people, the month of February brings thoughts of flowers and candy for Valentine's Day. For me, February reminds me of one of my favorite movies, "Groundhog Day," in which Bill Murray relives Groundhog Day over and over until he learns to recognize his faults. I think many email marketers are in the same situation; performing the same action over and over, but expecting different results each time. Some would even say this is the definition of insanity. Marketers wonder why response rates are dropping, but are blind to the fact that they are sending the same non-targeted, irrelevant messages over and over again. Of course subscribers are losing interest; you are conditioning them to expect the same redundant email every time.

One online retailer I know of has sent 13 consecutive weekly emails with the same subject line. Here's a hint: if I wasn't enticed the first time, the 13th time probably won't convince me. This retailer does themselves no favors in a cluttered inbox. We know that consumers often save an email to go back to later when they are ready to shop. Make it easy by using distinctive subject lines for each message. Create distinctive offers as well. Using math to trick your customer into thinking they are getting a deal may initially drive sales, but after a while they'll catch on. No matter how many ways you change the percentage off, or offer free shipping, if the end result is $24.99 every time, customers will eventually stop looking for that "special" offer.

Another way marketers train customers to ignore emails is by sending too often. Seeing that email in the inbox each morning becomes routine. In most instances, people actually may want to receive all of those daily deal emails, but just skim the subject lines each day until they see an offer or brand that they may want, while deleting the rest without opening, and this can influence spam filters. So why not just ask what they want and segment based on that information? A simple preference center can allow your customers to set products, categories, and brands they are interested in. Your customer may have bought that deal for 50 percent off bungee jumping today, but chances are they won't be interested in a buy-one-get-one-free deal on knitting classes tomorrow.

All of this boils down to engagement. ISPs are factoring engagement into the filtering process and marketers will need to test and refine their strategy to remain in the inbox. Regardless of your opinion on the matter, it's here, and it's not going anywhere. If you aren't testing, how can you know what it is that's driving your performance? I understand that developing a testing strategy can be time-consuming and a bit intimidating, but start small and ask for help. Your email service provider can help you develop and test programs that will ultimately give you actionable information. Just like in "Groundhog Day," it might take a while to find the right combination, but it's worth it.

 

Jay Brangiforte, senior deliverability operations manager,

e-Dialog

 

This article originally appeared on ClickZ. 

 

The Online Marketing Suite: More Relevant Than Ever

GSI Commerce and e-Dialog recently hosted a webinar with Forrester Research which talked about the Online Marketing Suite and why it's especially important for today's digital marketers. 

Today's customer has different expectations for their experience with retailers. They are influenced by multiple channels and touchpoints. For marketers, this means they must tear down the silos that have traditionally existed within their organizations and develop true multichannel campaigns. They must also deal with an increase in potential audiences, with 700 million new consumers coming online by 2014, with emerging channels like social and mobile, and with what Forrester Research calls "The Splinternet," which refers to the use of multiple devices and locations by today's consumer.

 

There are three main questions facing marketers as they think about how to adapt to these new realities: how can they harness data and make it actionable, how can they plan, execute and measure cross-channel campaigns, and how can they adapt to new and emerging channels without starting over from scratch? Forrester Research believes the way marketers can succeed is through the implementation of the Online Marketing Suite. 

To find out more about why the Online Marketing Suite is so important for today's digital marketer and to hear a case study, go to www.e-dialog.com/webinar. 

 

Marketing Wrap-up: Week of February 3, 2012

Welcome to the first week in February! Did you see your shadow yesterday? Let's get into the top stories this week. 

 

Of course, everyone is talking about Facebook filing for their IPO on Wednesday, seeking to raise $5 billion. Speculation is rampant about what this will mean for the company, for Mark Zuckerberg, for social media in general, for Facebook employees, etc. Mashable has thoughtfully pulled it all together for you on one handy page. Definitely worth a read.  

 

In email-related news this week, we saw the announcement of the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance group, or DMARC. DMARC is made up of representatives from email service providers, financial services companies, social media companies, and email security firms, with the purpose of developing standards to reduce the threat of deceptive emails. You can read more at www.DMARC.org.

 

On the social media front, a company that is getting a lot of attention suddely is Pinterest. I've been using it for a little while, and as more brands get on board, it will be very interesting to see how it evolves. The infographic below shows how much traffic Pinterest is already driving for retailers. Some users are already saying allowing commercial entities to be on Pinterest ruins the site for them. We'll see how Pinterest manages the site in the future. 

 

 

Well, that's it for this week. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on my picks and any stories you think are making waves in digital marketing.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,
e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz 

 

Six More Weeks of Email Marketing

Today was Groundhog Day, a holiday in which everyone waits to see whether or not Punxatawney Phil is ready to come out of hibernation. This year, he wasn't, which means we have at least six more weeks of winter. I saw a fair amount of emails featuring the lovable rodent, and figured I would share some of my favorites with you. 

I loved this email from Petco that features an animated groundhog popping up to to offer 20% for one day only. Click the image to see the animated version. 

 

Solutions.com sent this cute message offering free shipping for the afternoon. The headline reads "Six more weeks of winter? Who can trust a groundhog anyway?" and makes me wonder if they had two version ready in advance, or waited until the morning to finalize.

 

 

Kmart also sent out a Groundhog Day promotion, but for some reason, this creative reminded me more of a prairie dog than a groundhog...

 

 

What do you think of these Groundhog Day promotions? Have you seen any good ones? I would love to see them!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

 

Love vs. Football: The Battle for the Inbox

I don't know about you, but for the last week or so, pretty much every marketing email I get is either about Valentine's Day or "The Big Game" as so many like to call it for trademark reasons. Some tie-ins are pretty weak, others are kind of inspired, so I wanted to share some favorites with you. 

This email from Uncommon Goods goes beyond the traditional "romantic" Valentine's Day options, and includes ideas for best friends, teens, pet lovers, music lovers, etc.

 

 

I also liked this email from Fab.com, which encourages personalized Valentine's Day gifts for a cliche-free V-Day. It can be hard to find gifts that aren't super sappy, like stuffed bears holding a heart, so it's nice to showcase modern, unique gifts. 

 

I also liked this email from Tuesday Morning, with the subject line "Love Means Never Having to Say I Spent Too Much Online." I also like that they ask what movie inspired the subject line and direct subscribers to Facebook to post their favorite romantic movie. 

 

For football themes, I liked this message from the Christmas Tree Shops, which features everything you might need to watch the game on Sunday. I like the background that simulates the football field and also the circles and arrows which remind me of the telestrator commentators use when talking about a play. 

 

Crate and Barrel get in on the game day action by also showcasing the items to have on hand if you're hosting a party. They keep it a little more formal, but I like that each item they show in the hero image is then repeated below along with price. 

 

Finally, I have this example from Dancing Deer that incorporates both the big game and Valentine's Day in the same email. I also noticed that they've added Pinterest to their social sharing links in the footer. I think this is the first time I've seen it in an email this way. 

 

I'd love to hear from you who you think is being creative for Valentine's Day or the big game!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz