Marketing Insights - The Art and Science of Creating Demand

We all know that email marketing success is dependent on many factors, but one of the most critical elements is your subject line.  What’s interesting is that many companies still spend little time thinking about and testing the subject line ,as compared to the time they devote on developing the email design and call to action. In the end… the reality is that MORE people will see the subject line than they will your email copy and beautiful images.

Subject line length is often talked about as an important factor to consider. We’ve been hearing for a few years “shorter is better,” that the subject line needs to be 5 to 6 words and/or no more than 30 characters. But is LENGTH really the deciding factor for someone opening an email? Or even more important does subject line length drive response?

Almost every one quickly scans his or her inbox, perhaps through a preview pane, and looks for messages they actually care about.  Then they’ll decide to keep reading based on the two things they see: 

• – their relationship with you (the sender)
• – the first 35-50 characters of the subject line

After this brief glance, they’ll determine if the email is worth opening or not. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple ‘subject line formula’ like  (Value Proposition + (2 * Timeliness)) + Relevancy ?

While there have been studies that clearly state ‘shorter subject lines performed better than longer ones’, there are others that show while shorter subject lines optimize open rates, longer subject lines optimize click throughs.  Studies however fail to take into account relevancy, creativity, humor, timeliness, creating a sense of urgency, piquing curiosity, using action words, ensuring the subject line is relevant to the call-to-action – elements used to create a strong subject line. And it’s strong subject lines that will increase response to your emails.

As you plan your next email campaign be sure to take time in developing your subject line. Consider the following:

1. What is the purpose of the email? Who is the audience? What is the response your are trying to achieve?
2. Does the email answer the recipients question “Is this email worth looking at now… or later… or not at all?”
3. If the recipient opens the email… does the copy meet the expectations set by the subject line?
4. LENGTH – what does the recipient see, how much of it does she actually read?
   – Generally, shorter is better. Many email clients & all mobile devices limit the number of characters that display in the subject line field. So keep the subject line as short as possible but make sure that it still conveys the value of your message.
   – Use longer subject lines when there is a compelling reason – remembering to ‘front load’ the most important information.
5. Finally… Test. Test. Test. Shorter may work better for a single offer promotion, while an informational email offering industry updates may need a longer subject line to convey the value. Keep in mind, only 25 percent of marketers are testing subject lines on a regular basis. Be the marketer who knows which subject lines maximize both opens and conversions.

Email subject line success is based on many factors. Although length should be considered, don’t make it your top priority at the risk of compromising other elements that will drive response. At the end of the day, there is no ‘magic subject line length’.

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