5 persuasive email subject lines that you need to try now

Writing is an art, but writing email subject lines involves creativity infused with business/marketing strategies. If you know your customers well, there's no way that you can go wrong with your pick, and if you are yet trying to figure out the preferences of your customers, learning a few tactics to create click-worthy, effective and persuasive email subject lines can take you a long way.

We get a ton of emails everyday ranging from daily deals, festive offers, newsletters, lead nurturing emails and social media notifications, to name a few. How many of them do you actually open? What drives you to take that extra step to open a promotional email? Are there any special words, phrases or pickup lines that persuade you to pursue the marketer's attempt?

Image : shutterstock

There's always a little persuasion behind every subject line that clicks your mind. After all, the first impression of the mail is its subject line, and from there your journey from being a prospect to a loyal customer to the brand begins. Put it this way, every consumer is a producer and every seller is a buyer. If you'll simply observe the email subject lines that impel you to make that extra effort, you'll find a plethora of material and lessons to improvise on your email marketing strategies. Here are just a few examples to help you begin with:

Example 1 – “How not to commit this mistake ever again!”

What mistake?

What was my last interaction about with this brand?

What are they talking about?

This sounds like a mystery, let me see what’s inside the mail!

Aren't these just a few thoughts that pop up in your mind on seeing that subject line? The reason why a lot of subject lines don't get clicked is because most of them are just commanding attention, while a subject line like this aims at breaking the monotony and stirring up the sense of curiosity. Always remember that humans are curious by nature and will continue to be! Subject lines that raise eyebrows have better shot at getting higher open rates.

Example 2 – “How Star Wars redefined fashion for you”

This one, in particular, is much suited for fashion brands who want to push a particular catalog. In an Adestra study, which presents a sector by sector analysis of email marketing, it was found that words referring to movies and popular songs greatly lifted the email open rates.

In another study by Retention Science, in an analysis of 3.7 million emails and 22 campaigns, the study found that subject lines that used song lyrics or movie titles showed 26 percent open rate as compared to 16 percent for subject lines with traditional phrases.

Again, it has to be a clever call. Make sure you put into consideration the relevance of the movie or a song chosen and link it appropriately with your product or offering. Customer do not like to be cheated, and using irrelevant words or phrases just to increase open rates will only land your emails in their spam list.

Example 3 – “24 hour Sale – get set go!”

Regardless of whether or not they want to shop, this sense of urgency will compel them to click through. If your deal is good enough, you’ll be able to make some amazing conversions through this email. It has also been observed that email subject lines with these words and phrases that invoke the feeling of urgency or scarcity had click rates higher than average: ‘Alert’, ‘News’, ‘Blast!’, ‘Win’, ‘Daily, Weekly’, ‘Until the Stock Lasts!’, ‘Few Pieces Left!’, ‘Hurry up!’, ‘Snooze’ and ‘Lose’

Example 4 – “You definitely need this in your life!”

What do I need in life?

Really? Let’s see what they have that I need!

Sometimes, sarcasm is self-amusing, and in this case, a lot of people would want to amuse themselves by opening a mail that can impetrate such responses. These kinds of subject lines are not just amusing but prove to be challenging for many. This also helps ensure the receiver that there's something in it for them, which helps in furthering their decision to take action.

So let’s say, you are bored of your daily routine and planning holiday soon. What if you open an email with this subject line and find an amazing deal to a good destination? Isn't it really what you wanted in the first place? Although this is hypothetical, it’s not impossible!

Tip: Think about the upcoming months and follow traditional behavioural trends. Irrespective of your industry or category of products, you’ll definitely find a thing or two that will help you hit the right cord at the right time.

Example 5 – “Sonal, we have an amazing surprise for you!”

Personalise! Personalise! Personalise! This is something that every email marketer has already learnt, but what they probably lack is the understanding of how to effectively use the this tactic. Adding the recipient's name in every subject line will only make your efforts redundant. Too much of everything is always bad. If you decide to personalise an email subject line, make sure you group this activity with a super-compelling, super-persuasive and superly-effective offering.

As mentioned Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People, “a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” You need to make sure that this name is followed by statement that is worthwhile.

These are just some of our favourite subject lines based on our research. Share your favourites with us in the comments below!