After 21 years taking the stage on The Late Show, David Letterman has sadly announced his retirement. Not only leaving behind years of laughter and a comedic legacy, Letterman has also produced valuable lessons for email marketers searching for success. Just as Letterman’s producers would work endlessly behind-the-scenes to ensure his opening act would be a hit with the audience, marketers should take a similar course of action to create a star subject line. For email marketers, every one of their campaigns acts similarly to an episode of The Late Show, with the subject line serving as the opening act and setting the stage for the rest of the show. To ensure the audience is hooked and engaged throughout the entire process, marketers must to invest the appropriate time and resources into creating a killer opening act with a star subject line. If not, they’ll be sure to have a flop right into the spam folder.
Campaigner, an email marketing firm, has identified these top-three tips for email marketers to channel their inner Letterman and set the stage with an attention-grabbing subject, to increase overall engagement and ROI.
- Read Me! Now! With users getting hundreds (if not more) of emails flooding their inbox daily, it’s up to your subject line to convince them to open your message. Be sure to instill a sense of urgency into your subject line with limited-time offers and personalized promotions to grab their attention. Stating upfront that the offer will only last a limited amount of time will increase the likelihood of open rates, click-throughs and hopefully purchases as well!
- Timely Tactics: Don’t be afraid to insert your brand into the most talked about topics. Whether it’s that famous black and purple (or white and gold) dress, or the latest celeb buzz, take the opportunity to connect with your users. By mentioning your targets’ favorite timely topics, they will be more likely to connect with you and want to engage in the conversation. Incorporate current events or pop culture driven news to draw customer attention and increase click-through rates.
- Taylor Swift vs. Kanye – Put Them to The Test: Are your contacts on the T. Swift or the Kanye side of this pop-culture battle? Don’t just guess…test to find out. Leverage A/B split testing to test multiple different subject lines in order to identify the most effective ones for your contact list. Be sure to test at least three different subjects with a subset of your target list. This way you’ll have proven results that will be sure to boost your email success. In fact, at Campaigner, marketers who use the winning subject line from an A/B test see at minimum a 4 percent increase in open rates – so don’t miss out and test, test, test!
A Tribute to Letterman: Top 10 Email Subject Lines To Increase Engagement in 2015
- Kimye Promotion: 50% Off For North and West Coast
- This Offer Won’t Last Forever (No, We’re Not Talking about T-Swift’s Love Life)
- Did You See Black and Purple? Then This Email Is For You.
- This Offer is More Surprising Than Kim K’s New Hair!
- Open This Email. It’s Really, Really Ridiculously Good Looking.
- Best Deal Ever: $17K Watch. HA! Just Kidding! We Aren’t Apple.
- The Bachelor Special Promotion: Buy One Bouquet and Get The Final Rose Free
- This Email is Not From a Personal Account and Has Been Hilary Approved
- Embrace Your Selfie Spirit – 25% All Photo Orders
- House of Card Fans, You’re Welcome. Season 3 Discount With Promo: HOC30
