{"id":105,"date":"2022-04-28T11:06:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T05:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/?p=105"},"modified":"2022-06-14T17:12:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T11:42:02","slug":"better-subject-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/better-subject-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Improve Your Email Open Rate With Better Subject Lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You&#8217;ve spent hours composing your sales email, and you\u2019re confident of a response from your prospect. Days turn into weeks, and you\u2019re still left waiting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Was your <a href=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/7-deadly-sins-email-prospecting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pitch not good enough<\/a>? Is there anything more you could have done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is, your carefully crafted email is now sitting in their inbox, unread &#8211; or worse, in their spam folder. Don\u2019t be surprised. Nearly <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getmailbird.com\/email-use-statistics\/#Only_65_of_the_Daily_Inbox_Can_Be_Reigned_In_Whats_Up_with_the_Rest\" target=\"_blank\">35% of em<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getmailbird.com\/email-use-statistics\/#Only_65_of_the_Daily_Inbox_Can_Be_Reigned_In_Whats_Up_with_the_Rest\" target=\"_blank\">a<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getmailbird.com\/email-use-statistics\/#Only_65_of_the_Daily_Inbox_Can_Be_Reigned_In_Whats_Up_with_the_Rest\">ils<\/a> meet the same fate. To make matters worse, the average email open rate across industries is <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/email-marketing\/email-communications-strategy\/statistics-sources-for-email-marketing\/#q1\" target=\"_blank\">29.55%<\/a>, and your customers are constantly analyzing your subject lines to understand whether your email is useful or just another promotional push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/xxx.jpg\" alt=\"Can't tell if spam or actual email\" class=\"wp-image-106\" width=\"286\" height=\"214\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>With such disheartening statistics, it\u2019s no surprise you\u2019re looking for shortcuts to get the email open rate you want (and deserve). We\u2019re here to spill the tea.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ht-block-toc  is-style-outline htoc htoc--position-wide toc-list-style-plain\" data-htoc-state=\"expanded\"><span class=\"htoc__title\"><span class=\"ht_toc_title\">Table of Contents<\/span><span class=\"htoc__toggle\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\"><g fill=\"#444\"><path d=\"M15 7H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1z\"><\/path><path d=\"M15 1H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1zM15 13H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/span><div class=\"htoc__itemswrap\"><ul class=\"ht_toc_list\"><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-how-to-increase-your-email-open-rate-with-better-subject-lines\">How to increase your email open rate with better subject lines<\/a><ul class=\"ht_toc_child_list\"><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-1-make-it-relevant-to-your-target-customers\">1. Make it relevant to your target customers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-2-take-spam-filters-into-account\">2. Take spam filters into account<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-3-keep-it-conversational\">3. Keep it conversational&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-4-use-mobile-friendly-subject-lines\">4. Use mobile-friendly subject lines<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-5-start-with-a-name\">5. Start with a name<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-6-use-emojis\">6. Use emojis<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-7-add-a-sense-of-urgency\">7. Add a sense of urgency<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-8-pay-attention-to-your-email-preheader\">8. Pay attention to your email preheader<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-the-ultimate-hack-to-write-better-subject-lines\">The Ultimate Hack to Write Better Subject Lines<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-how-to-increase-your-email-open-rate-with-better-subject-lines\">How to increase your email open rate with better subject lines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To get a higher email conversion rate, you need to provide your prospects with engaging subject lines. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/email-subject-lines-statistics-and-trends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">69% of customers<\/a> report sales emails as spam solely based on the subject line. This goes to show how important it is to personalize them for your prospect. And no, adding a recipient name is not enough.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Screenshot-2022-04-24-222238.jpg\" alt=\"One does not simply add a first name and expect high engagement\" class=\"wp-image-107\" width=\"366\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Screenshot-2022-04-24-222238.jpg 731w, https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Screenshot-2022-04-24-222238-300x174.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few pointers you should keep in mind before you hit that send button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-1-make-it-relevant-to-your-target-customers\">1. Make it relevant to your target customers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest mistakes you could make is adding a subject line that talks about your product or service. This rarely works &#8211; because no one wants to hear about a random product they\u2019ve never seen or used before. For instance, \u201cready to increase your ROI?\u201d as a subject line is a lot more effective than \u201cwe\u2019ve made some exciting new updates to our product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To give you a better idea, here are a few subject line examples you definitely should NOT use while cold pitching to prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/ZN_Vh-ZupF4KQ-cH4AM06tOv53dU8OqunmJ6h-_AUqItKUdQY9gcUm2_EaK-YfZ_iLyr91W-dF69_GrJOYuQQ7sR_Kwb3cr3ALdxL4H58PZFC9brO2APZYtEgqU-ZD4E0t1XdKsU1wuKCZvqjQ\" alt=\"Bad subject line examples\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, make sure to talk about your customer\u2019s pain points. What are they struggling with? What frustrations do they have with existing products or services in the market? This change of mindset will help you draft an email subject line your customers are actually interested in reading.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/nneU2XE0Orp4uzUGx_GnFplF5w9Obfxl9K8JEbEY60170RoGq0OFMH4mI5AK2nDFCieICanoipqcst3qJ2TSpEHmadjTvgYRf5XaS0eMPGZAClipIbiItcG6rq-DOIjGH5ikul-lVf2572hxLA\" alt=\"Good subject lines - examples\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-2-take-spam-filters-into-account\">2. <strong>Take spam filters into account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your email\u2019s subject line is the primary decider of whether it will end up in your prospect\u2019s spam folder. Spam filters &#8211; which use artificial intelligence to prevent unsolicited messages from reaching your prospect\u2019s inbox &#8211; can easily pick up on certain spam words in the subject line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few words like \u201ccompletely free\u201d, \u201cbuy\u201d or \u201corder\u201d that immediately trigger spam filters. If you want a more exhaustive list of spammy words, you can find it <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/blog\/tabid\/6307\/bid\/30684\/the-ultimate-list-of-email-spam-trigger-words.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few other red flags for spam filters include punctuation marks, using all caps, numbers and values in your subject line.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/6UioIa-lW4SXxKBIGrGdH-X8tkS6BQboJ3Ehn_5kz921S4jylhqu1PxPEtcp1ASoZ9rKQXFdTu-Xfk5VBj2swgq30zlbUI9HTz3g_KsnA20EhvrX5FVjttUCw1oVlLKOjLo-sgSztI-8xEEDTA\" alt=\"All caps email - please don't yell\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-3-keep-it-conversational\"><strong>3. Keep it conversational&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You want your customers to feel comfortable and valued. The best way to do this is to talk to them like you would to a friend. Consider the following two subject lines:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We\u2019re offering freebies to our loyal customers<\/li><li>Check out the freebies we\u2019ve got for you<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The latter will undoubtedly get better reception, right? So try to emulate it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-4-use-mobile-friendly-subject-lines\">4. <strong>Use mobile-friendly subject lines<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.campaignmonitor.com\/resources\/guides\/email-marketing-trends\/\">47% of your customers<\/a> check their email through smartphones. This means you <em>need <\/em>to optimize your email content for mobiles and keep your subject lines as short as possible, else it will get cropped out in the mobile interface.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/vlwRo9t5LTQL39XrLAkC_g-mN4Y99BwCeQiK8jsplpUwBb_GWrqvFIs6YnV7uuPxhXpOgaLNOHuzaytfdUzMAOsDNpr_5x7kjK98b9yPNthSZNlR8vAQj8inA20gQ_XVzJbHU_mNpTXJKY6xeA\" alt=\"Email devices - infographic\"\/><figcaption>Source: Email Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emailmonday.com\/mobile-email-usage-statistics\/\">https:\/\/www.emailmonday.com\/mobile-email-usage-statistics\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Always remember to limit your subject lines to 50 characters or less. This is because iPhone users can see around 35-38 characters in portrait mode, and Galaxy phones display approximately 33 characters. Here\u2019s a quick snapshot of how many words your subject line should have to get better open rates &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/G62pHmH8sMpzBm_aDw1zMgyed0ytv85gEioWQk4Bu0vnkE1pOUxbJdNnYr5LZpiZKosWjtnPfiBIJVebz2YPWUU70cuBnaxGw95TRXxtjUDSPxJUdLj5HSXjAzAIeO2NLuqgVdwv68q1xYI_vg\" alt=\"Open rates according to length of subject line\"\/><figcaption>Image source: https:\/\/getwemail.io\/email-marketing\/email-subject-line-tips-to-increase-open-rates\/#4<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Not sure how to get your point across with a short subject line? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t fret, it\u2019s okay to use vague sentences as long as you entice the reader with a good hook. Look at how <em>The Transformation Chef<\/em> was able to impress a seemingly irrelevant lead into the consideration phase of their buyer journey.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/D1rfV9Q5bPl5B0o_qNGxNDClAMMSfLW_DxSvHUK0dFvJno1x2xcowfC75o9RWbp6Ur4GWL0STUlUNtlar9vuxg078JKIxfnnZd4cag2tsO-HDApYoW0nQJ0PsaGaJRofSZSDPq7ffoAQdO4oUA\" alt=\"Vague, but enticing subject line - example\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-5-start-with-a-name\">5. <strong>Start with a name<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of sales emails have a \u2018Dear, Customer\u2019 in their subject lines. This is a rookie mistake.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/6jIP1WKuT3rRPAWkwK8NqroT2-0XWgFL1AS47TETVcmVgOHDta-dVwDbda1ElHClmtGMZdNvA2klvywN-ZVFay6Qb0opJRS1ijHIjcLyVc0Zqmi5FjyPaqJOJ7dzcNhnXS1gikd4DEJxeHSUEw\" alt=\"Dear Customer - a rookie mistake\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/state-of-marketing?hubs_post=blog.hubspot.com%2Fsales%2Fsubject-line-stats-open-rates-slideshare&amp;hubs_post-cta=HubSpot&amp;_ga=2.15426230.1283716247.1650544773-1564435660.1648032661\">Hubspot<\/a>, emails with the recipient\u2019s name in the subject line have a much higher clickthrough rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-6-use-emojis\">6. <strong>Use emojis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The usage of emojis in your subject line depends largely on the industry you\u2019re working in. You may have to tread with caution in some cases, but for the most part, emojis can help improve your email conversion rate &#8211; a pop of colour can grab attention quicker and reduce your character count (if you\u2019re wise with wordings).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/rO-ofvDZ5YqpHWhwmh0qBh31ryGW4mokTyMDQyceeuBBpBkAiiwhXBrZo57uCQvn7lwe7v47vz93SzAEKZigDW1-RnQwCamf9eTL5kcYZ0EuIdmxFCrE-6ic5M3JwB4parsZwVoDsfCfWmNUXA\" alt=\"A pop of emojis\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-7-add-a-sense-of-urgency\">7. <strong>Add a sense of urgency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We all experience a little FOMO. Take advantage of it while pitching to your customers and include phrases like \u2018limited time\u2019, \u2018ending soon\u2019 or \u2018last chance&#8217;. This will make your prospects feel like they don\u2019t have a lot of time to close the deal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-8-pay-attention-to-your-email-preheader\">8. <strong>Pay attention to your email preheader<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Preheaders are the small strips of text that appear right after the subject line. An email preheader is extremely important as it tells your customer what the email is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can either write it yourself or it will automatically display the first few words of your email. We suggest you type out your own email preheaders and personalize it wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-the-ultimate-hack-to-write-better-subject-lines\"><strong>The Ultimate Hack to Write Better Subject Lines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The above tips can improve your open rates to a great extent, but they aren\u2019t enough if you\u2019re pitching to high-ticket customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These people receive quite a few well-crafted emails every day, so you need to go the extra mile while crafting your email subject lines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In such cases, personalization should be your key strategy. You need to analyze your prospect\u2019s personality and tailor your subject lines accordingly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if you could take a quick peek into your prospect\u2019s mind and find out key aspects of their personality? It would definitely come in handy while pitching to them. For example, if your prospect likes educational content, you can add a couple of statistics and facts in your sales email. If they&#8217;re more story-driven, you can throw in an anecdote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you will need to spend several hours researching your prospect to get such information. This is where prospect intelligence comes in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine being able to use artificial intelligence to get detailed insights into how your customers think and feel. It could be a real game-changer in your sales strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve used technology like this before, then you\u2019d know how quickly you can get detailed prospect intelligence reports (Humantic AI gives you personality insights and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/humantic-ai\/iklikkgplppchknjhfkmkjnnopomaifc\" target=\"_blank\">information on buying traits in 15 seconds<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you go about crafting stronger subject lines? Sound off in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve spent hours composing your sales email. Why not spend a few minutes optimizing the subject line? Here are a few pointers you should keep in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cold-emails","8":"category-sales-prospecting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions\/305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}