Standout Subject Lines: Get Opened, Get Read, Get Results!

Editor's Notes

• #3: Opening Hello, I’m __________________ and welcome to today’s webinar, _________________. We’ll get started in just a few moments, but before we do, I have some housekeeping items to take care of.  The first of those is to make sure my audio is working correctly. So, if you can hear me, do me a quick favor and open up your chat window in the Citrix GoToWebinar tools and type in what the weather is like in your area. I’ll do it too! By using the chat window, you’re telling me that you’ve heard my instructions and that my microphone is working correctly. Thanks everyone for participating! Let’s talk about what we’ll be doing today. Our webinar will be about 45 minutes. We’ll have plenty of time for Q&A after our webinar, and I encourage you to use the chat window you just used to tell me about the weather to enter your questions. I’ll cover those during the Q&A at the end. Now, the next thing on my list is to make sure you have contact information for the Citrix GoToWebinar helpdesk. If you have any technical issues during the webinar – you can’t see the slides or can’t hear audio – call the helpdesk or visit their support website. [COPY AND PASTE INTO CITRIX CHAT WINDOW]  Citrix helpdesk: (855) 352-9002 or http://support.citrixonline.com/Webinar I’ve just typed the Citrix phone number and website into the chat window, and you can use that contact information to reach them for any technical issues you may experience. How to get the slides Now I know you’re probably wondering how and when you’ll receive a copy of the webinar slides. You’ll actually get a copy of them today! At the end of the webinar, right before the Q&A, I’ll share a link to the copy of the slides in the chat window. You can click on that link and access a PDF of the slides on your Internet browser. All the slide links are listed here: G:\ContentCrew\Webinar Content\Slide PDF Download Links.docx
• #4: Let me take just a minute to explain what Constant Contact is for those in the room that may not be familiar. Constant Contact is a do-it-yourself online marketing system. You can use it to create and manage campaigns. The company is best known for its email marketing tools. [CLICK TO BUILD] It’s easy to create and send mass email, like newsletters or announcements and updates. [CLICK TO BUILD] You can run special promotions or offers; [CLICK TO BUILD] you can build online surveys and polls to gather feedback; and [CLICK TO BUILD] you can promote and manage your events using Constant Contact with registration tools, payment acceptance, invitations– all in one place. [CLICK TO BUILD] All of this is all built on top of a really good contact database, so that you can load all of your contacts, your customers, stakeholders, volunteers, staff, your board – whatever lists you are keeping in various spreadsheets or in your Outlook, Gmail or Yahoo folders can be loaded and organized easily in Constant Contact so that your people and your marketing campaigns are all together in one spot. Oh, and it costs most people between $20 - $75 a month to manage all of it.
• #5: “At its core, marketing is about getting results that you can measure. So let’s kick off this session with a simple definition, or a framework, for what marketing really is. You already know, generally, what it is – but when I say the word marketing, I mean something very specific and it’s important that we are on the same page. My definition of marketing has three simple parts – you define an audience: a group of people that you want to target. You reach out to them with a message that is specific to that audience. And you seek to elicit a physical and measurable response. A click, a reply, a call, a purchase, a referral – these are all actions that represent a decision made by a human to react to your message. Keep this in mind as we discuss marketing and marketing campaigns and the ways to deliver the most effective campaigns. You’re doing these things because you want people – your customers, your clients, your donors or supporters – to DO SOMETHING. [click to next slide]
• #6: [CLICK] Now that you know the goal of new marketing, try to think about Subject Lines as the gatekeepers to these next steps. If you can get someone to open your email out of curiosity or because they are expecting something satisfying or informative, getting that open will lead to what you are marketing to achieve. After a subscriber decides to read your email upon viewing the subject line, the calls to action lead to these types of measurable actions. [CLICK] This is why you market your business or nonprofit so that your readers do these things for you can generate revenue or donations for your organization. Because you’re sending messages in hopes that the reader will take that next step, crafting your subject lines with these goals in mind will get you closer to getting these responses from your subscribers so they can in turn respond to your message in the ways you want them too. Remember that your overall goals come back to why you’re in business or what’s going to keep you in business: [CLICK] to generate revenue or donations. If the results you’re getting don’t lead in some way directly to that bottom line, then you should evaluate why you’re driving those types of responses.
• #7: Email marketing is hard to beat. It’s where everyone is these days for everything from updates from you bank or service providers, to messages from mom or the kids and of course promotional messages from businesses you subscribe to and frequent. [CLICK] 91% U.S. adults like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with and [CLICK] 138% of people spend more after receiving email offers than those who never receive any at all. At the heart of that is the fact that emails are successful because of Standout Subject Lines – if the subject lines don’t grab your attention – whether they be from Amazon or your bank, your phone company, or the restaurant or boutique in town you always go to, those senders know that the subject line will make or break the success of that message and the calls to action included in the email to drive you to their business or to take a specific action. So crafting your subject line to persuade someone to open is absolutely key with email marketing. Source: Marketing Sherpa- survey of consumer attitudes - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marketingsherpa-survey-of-consumer-attitudes-towards-email-marketing-reveals-strong-preference-for-email-compared-with-all-other-communications-300029767.html Source: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/convince-convert/15-email-statistics-that-are-shaping-the-future/
• #8: So that is why we are here today because we want to bring to light how crucial subject lines are to making sure that your emails bring you more business and generate more revenue or awareness wherever people are viewing your email – on a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. There is an art and a science to crafting compelling subject lines that inspire easy action intended to generate more business or awareness for you and it’s not as hard as it may seem. With a few tricks and tips and some practice and measuring, you’ll be able to craft more compelling and interesting subject lines for your emails that will help your messages Stand Out on Mobile and Desktop.
• #9: As a small business, you don’t have time to do things that don’t work, so when it comes to your subject lines, you want to get into the habit of optimizing your subject lines to get the best results possible for your marketing efforts every time. We’re going to show you some easy ways to do that today. [CLICK] Approximately one third of people decide to open an email based solely on the subject line so that subject line needs to be a standout subject line whether they’re reading on a desktop computer or a smartphone or tablet. There is a lot of competition for our attention these days in our inboxes, but after today’s webinar you’ll have some tricks of the trade you can start to use on your next email campaign to rise above the competition. After a few campaigns of implementing what we’ll show you here today, you’ll be a pro at getting real measurable results for your marketing efforts. [CLICK TO NEXT ] [DON’T READ ALOUD] Sources: 35% of all recipients of email choose whether or not to open a message on the subject line alone. - inwise "The Magic Words: The Importance of the Subject and 'From' Lines for Email Marketing" (2012) Constant Contact/CMB Study (3/27/12) http://news.constantcontact.com/research/032712-new-study-constant-contact-and-chadwick-martin-bailey-reveals-why-and-how-consumers-  Reason for opening emails from businesses or nonprofits: 64% say the organization it is from, 47% say the subject line  58% of consumers subscribe to emails to receive discounts and special offers
• #10: Now consider the impact of mobile. Why are we talking about mobile marketing in a Subject Line webinar?? [CLICK] Well 53% of emails are opened on mobile (Litmus, January 2014) https://litmus.com/blog/email-client-market-share-where-people-opened-in-2013/litmus-email-client-market-share-2013-infographic and... [CLICK] did you know the average person looks at their phones approximately 150 times per day? http://socialmediatoday.com/socialbarrel/1523671/why-businesses-need-notice-sms-marketing-infographic http://www.phonearena.com/news/average-person-looks-at-his-phone-150-times-per-day_id26636 Source: The Radicati Group, Inc Mobile Statistics Report, 2015-2019 http://www.radicati.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mobile-Statistics-Report-2015-2019-Executive-Summary.pdf Your email could be one of those messages they are checking and we want your message to stand out in a crowded inbox – whether that be on mobile or desktop computer. There are some things to consider nowadays when marketing to your subscribers in regard to mobile devices. Not all devices are created equal – they all display emails slightly differently but there are some things that you can do to anticipate that and optimize your subject lines for optimal display on the majority of mobile and desktop devices. We’re going to show you are few things that you can harness to further drive home your message through good subject lines. That said, this webinar is not meant to be about design best practices for mobile friendly or mobile responsive. We do have other webinars that take a deeper dive into harnessing the power of mobile and designing your campaigns to display well on a mobile device too. Please see our list of monthly webinars if you are looking for more information about designing for mobile. That said, please keep in mind today that these best practices for your subject lines will touch a bit upon the assumption that many people are reading emails on mobile devices so these best practices are about crafting Standout Subject Lines for mobile and desktop. Constant Contact/CMB Study (3/27/12)  Reason for opening emails from businesses or nonprofits: 64% say the organization it is from, 47% say the subject line  58% of consumers subscribe to emails to receive discounts and special offers [SPEAKER OPTIONAL: AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT FOR SHORT MOBILE BEST PRACTICES] By show of hands, who in the audience has a smartphone? Excellent, well let me ask those of you who raised your hand, have you ever had to pinch and expand an email message that looked interesting judging by the subject line, and had to scroll back and forth to get it all into view? You’d have to be pretty committed to that business to do that every time you get an email from them or take that extra step to click on a link or what’s more, purchase right from that email. As a SMB owner you don’t want to take that risk or put your subscribers through that nuisance, so designing for mobile and crafting your subject lines and emails go hand-in-hand and learning some best practices will help improve your open rate and generate more business or awareness for your business or nonprofit. Rule of thumb - design for mobile in mind, so it will look good on both mobile devices & desktop, that way you don’t have to design two versions of the email. It is harder to make large templates and multiple columns look good on a mobile device than it is to make a single-column template with a balanced text-to-image ratio and call-to-action buttons look good on a desktop computer.
• #11: We have a great session planned for you today! Let’s talk about what we’re going to cover today: : [CLICK TO BUILD EACH AND THEN READ ALOUD] Why are Subject Lines for important to your business? – We’ll look at why subject lines are important in marketing your small business or non-profit to get the best results possible. How to write good ones - We’ll show you some techniques you can use to improve your subject lines starting today and some methods to help get those creative juices flowing when you’re crafting your next subject line Write subject lines for desktop and mobile in mind –We’ll look at how smartphones are changing the way email is read and how you can optimize your subject line by leveraging preheader text to further pull readers into your email when they’re viewing your message on a mobile phone Next Steps – We’ll send you out the door armed with confidence and fresh tips to use on your next email
• #12: [CLICK] First stop: Let’s talk about why Subject Lines are so Important
• #13: An email that isn’t opened isn’t effective in helping you reach your marketing goals, so I want to talk about three words that you need to keep in mind as you go about crafting better subject lines...
• #14: [ANIMATES ON IT’S OWN] Look at these three words. These three words rule your world as a marketer and as a consumer or business person. Every email or social media post that you get and every one that you send or post falls into one of these three categories. Now. Later. Or Never. Think about this morning when you checked your email. Whether you were aware of it or not, you were sorting your messages into these three categories automatically. Now, later, never. But it’s important that you know that – you need to know this both as a recipient and as a sender. How do you make sure that you are a now? You don’t want to be never – obviously. And a later, let’s face it, is a well-intentioned never. Right? You flag it or tell yourself, “oh, I’ll come back to that” but 9 times out of 10…do you?
• #15: Three reasons people open email is because: [CLICK TO BUILD 1x1 ] [CLICK: 1] They recognize the sender, or the “from name” – make sure you identify yourself as a brand so that your emails are easily recognizable - In fact, according to a study conducted by Constant Contact in 2012, 64% of recipients reported that the organization who sent the message was a major reason for opening the organization’s email. Constant Contact: http://news.constantcontact.com/research/032712-new-study-constant-contact-and-chadwick-martin-bailey-reveals-why-and-how-consumers- [CLICK: 2] The time they received a given message is important – You want to make reading your message convenient to them pay attention to when your recipients are opening your emails and send consistently at this time [CLICK: 3] Lastly, was it worth reading? Does the subject line compel them to click on your message and read more about it? [click to next slide]
• #16: Here is a simple method for writing more powerful subject and headlines. It’s called the 2-2-2 principle. [CLICK AS YOU READ EACH] The first two is for the 2 seconds you typically have to compel them to pay attention. The second two is for the first two words of your subject line or headline. That’s really all they read before making a decision. And not a decision about whether to read your message, but as to whether or not they will bother to read the rest of the subject line. Consider how you’re reading emails these days. How many of you are reading emails on mobile devices like a tablet or smartphone? I know I am reading on all three. So when it comes to reading email on a phone, keep in mind that if you’re subject line is too long, part of your message can be cut off or truncated to fit the screen size, so plan for that, test for that when crafting your subject lines and you’ll have a better chance of grabbing the attention you need ‘today’. The third to is for “today”, “why does this email or message matter today”– today is the third two. If you can answer that question in your subject line or headline, as close to the first two words as possible, more people will stop and at least open your message.It’s important to point out that you don’t need to go to the “urgency well” all the time, meaning you don’t always have to put a time stamp on it or Say things like “today only” or “by close of business” or like that. It’s more about making it very clear to people that your message is relevant and timely in order to win that now, later or never battle. Think about using phrases like, “You won’t believe what we have in the store”, or exclusive phrases like, “Only people who read this will do this tomorrow” to compel people to read it right away, (even if they have other things to do, it’s alluring enough to get them to open) think about those ’25 cats who can’t handle this hot weather” type lists that people post on Facebook or that you see from Buzzfeed and how irresistible they are to read even when you’re busy and shouldn’t be reading them.
• #17: Subject Lines must fulfill a purpose and needs to entice your readers The Purpose Remember the 222 principle we just talked about here. “2 seconds, 2 words, 2day” Does it clearly answer the question of why someone would open your email before the others in the inbox? Make sure your message clearly identifies the email's purpose. You can get creative and be clever about how you craft it but as long as you are alluding to an element of your email’s content, the more creative your subject line is the more it will stand out amongst the rest in a subscriber’s inbox and a natural curiosity will catch their attention wondering what else is in store. Write your subject lines after you have written and designed your next email campaign. You’ll have a much better grasp after that point about what the end goal or purpose is to your email, so ideas will roll off your tongue at that point. But experiment with what works best for your creative process.
• #18: Your goal is to pull them into your email. You can highlight relevance, usefulness, value or educational value at the opening of your message to catch their attention. Or, you and switch it up and do something unexpected or non-traditional or unusual. Use preheader text or ‘the teaser text’ as a hook or a second chance to draw your subscribers into your email after they’ve considered the subject line. Because this space allows for slightly more words, this is where you want to take your subject line a bit further by explaining or elaborating on your subject line. *Remember* - this is seen specifically on a mobile device right below the subject line even if it is made invisible to desktop viewers. Customize the message to match the interests of your audience. [PRO TIP] *If you are segmenting (categorizing) your lists (a good marketing practice), use relevant personal interest information that you’ve collected over time and position your subject line to match those interests. Also, match your message tone to reflect your brand – Is your brand informative? Sassy? Funny? Quirky? A thought leader? Incorporate that element of your brand’s personality into your subject lines in just a few words.
• #19: When you get these slides, follow these tips to make sure that your emails won’t get flagged as spam. Make sure you’re not doing things we’ve found spammers to do in their emails. These are things that will likely get your emails sent to readers’ spam folders Don’t use these typical spammy words. When you get the slides, the first bullet here contains a chart you can refer to which contains words that spam-filters are trained to block if they catch them in subject lines but here are some examples of words NOT to use: [READ ALOUD] Don’t use: The word free Act now Lose weight Money Fast Guaranteed Advertisement Don’t use all caps Don’t use excessive punctuation or symbols like the pound or dollar sign or percentage symbol Need a reminder of what practices are in a spam email? You can always compare your subject line to what’s in your own junk mail folder and try to do the opposite of the messages you find in there. (And don’t forget to delete the buggers!) You can check before you send – if you’re using Constant Contact, it has a built in spam checker. It will tell you if there’s a chance you might be seen as spam and suggests ways to fix any potential issues it identifies. You’ll see it on the top left hand corner of the email editor next to the undo buttons if you’re using Constant Contact as your mass email provider.
• #20: When you get these slides, follow these tips to make sure that your emails won’t get flagged as spam. Make sure you’re not doing things we’ve found spammers to do in their emails. These are things that will likely get your emails sent to readers’ spam folders Don’t use these typical spammy words. When you get the slides, the first bullet here contains a chart you can refer to which contains words that spam-filters are trained to block if they catch them in subject lines. [READ ALOUD] Don’t use: The word free Act now Fast Guaranteed Advertisement Don’t use all caps Don’t use excessive punctuation or symbols like the pound or dollar sign or percentage symbol Need a reminder of what practices are in a spam email? Can always compare to what’s in your own junk mail folder. You can check before you send – if you’re using Constant Contact, it has a built in spam checker. It will tell you if there’s a chance you might be seen as spam and suggests ways to fix any potential issues it identifies. You’ll see it on the top left hand corner of the email editor next to the undo buttons if you’re using Constant Contact.
• #21: Alright. Let’s talk about the good stuff – how to write good subject lines.
• #22: Having a good subject line can be the difference between new sales and/or attendance to your fundraising event or silence on the other end. If it doesn’t positively interrupt one’s flow when perusing their inbox, your message will likely fall into that “well-intentioned later” or “never” category we talked about using the 2-2-2 Principle. You might have a beautifully designed template with all the right stuff in it, but without a subject line that makes one pause or wonder, that message will not get opened.
• #23: Your subject lines are the gatekeepers to higher open rates and better quality engagement from subscribers reading your email campaigns. Your subject line can produce such measureable responses as: -New or More Sales -More Event attendees -Fundraising success -and even audience participation and engagement with your brand They might seem small, but there is no limit to what you can do with a subject line with a little creativity and technique. Let’s dive into some techniques that you can turn to for inspiration next time you’re designing and writing your next marketing campaign. [CLICK TO NEXT SLIDE]
• #24: [CLICK AND READ EACH ALOUD. BOXES WILL APPEAR] Standout subject lines attract attention. Period. They move someone to click on your message to view its entirety and engage with your call to action. Let’s go over some techniques to apply to every email campaign you create: Short and sweet – 4-7 words is an ideal span to grasp and react to on mobile or desktop. They want you to offer information that is hard to click away from in a split second. They are willing to be distracted for a moment, but it better be worth it. Make an attractive offer - They want discounts or special offers that feel exclusive and valuable. Offer something that is sustainable for your business to realistically support or honor, and tell your subscribers why the offer is so great. They want it to look clean on a smartphone screen so there’s no need to scroll side to side or pinch and un-pinch to read tiny text or to adjust settings to compensate for clashing colors. Choose a mobile friendly, single-column template. Use hard-to-miss buttons and links for your call to action. And keep mobile in mind – ‘Embrace the space’ as we say around links and buttons for easy phone finger-clicking. Brand identity - If readers see your brand in the subject line and they’re loyal customers/supporters, they’re more likely to open your email because they’ve had previous positive associations with your personalized brand – try to incorporate your brand name in the subject line without sounding too ‘sales-y’. Or, try to use your brand as a play on words or if your organization has a rich following or community, use inside jokes or terms. Get creative with this technique and try to incorporate your brand in your subject line in creative ways. An air of mystery or a statement that piques one’s curiosity and makes them think, “Huh? What could this be about?” is effective if you can make them laugh or become informed about something after opening it but use it sparingly and make sure to deliver an expected punch – you don’t want to be deceptive. Questions pique curiosity and have the power to make one think introspectively for a moment. When they’re thinking about their own lives if you can get them to open your email in hopes of attaining a level of self-improvement so deliver some. Then, rinse, wash, repeat. Urgency or scarcity tactics can grab a reader’s attention for fear of missing out. No one likes to miss out on something they later find out they really wanted or cared about, so try using this with your next subject line. “Ex. I got an email the other day for something I’d been looking at, but I didn’t open it soon enough and the offer had expired and I was upset for missing out, but I’d completely bypassed the subject line because it didn’t seem urgent or like the offer would expire. If you’re offering something that is limited, spell this out in your subject line. Dates work really well to grab attention too. Entertain, warn, inform – use humor to inspire laughter. Funny subject lines can open a lot of doors (or in this case, emails!). Warning your audience of something to avoid can gently alarm someone, compelling them to open your email to get that helpful warning about something. Think about times when you’ve received emails warning of the dangers of extreme weather conditions and the effects they can have on your pets or property or about a rise in tick populations in the summer, for example. Informing someone of something they may not have known is also a great way to get someone to open your email. People love to improve their lives in small ways, why not share your expertise in your subject line and teach them about something they didn’t know. Like:” Cayenne pepper deters pests” might be a landscaper’s or homeopath’s subject line. Literary techniques – some literary techniques were made for eye-catching headlines. Think about using techniques such as allusion, alliteration and onomatopoeia in your subject lines because they’ve worked for authors and advertisers for decades to compel people to take action or purchase the work or product, and will work in your subject lines too. More on this in a bit. Top Lists - readers are willing to be distracted for a moment –As much as they may not want to be, readers want to be distracted by lists and content that makes them think or entertains them for a moment, adding value to their work day. Think of top appeal lists as ‘info-snacks’, it’s a snack for your brain that you find online to educate or entertain you for a moment. Let’s go into that a bit more because they are a really hot/popular trend right now. [CLICK TO NEXT SLIDE]
• #25: [CLICK 1X TO AUTO-BUILD] Top Appeal – as we just mentioned, readers are willing to be distracted for a moment. Who doesn’t love to read Top Lists online that you find on social media or at the top of your Yahoo! or AOL account? They pull you in immediately even if you know you shouldn’t be reading about the 25 Worst Dressed Celebrities at the Oscars. A lot of people are turning to lists that have top ranking items. These are quick – if you have top 3 tips or particularly an odd number followed by the promise of a list in the subject line, people are more (tempted) or encouraged to read something that’s quick and easy that makes them think or learn something but doesn’t take too much of their time than they would be reading a message that was read “June Newsletter”. The connotation is that it will take much more time to read and they don’t feel they can give that up. People are time-starved. They think: “Only 3 tips? Or top 10 reasons? I can remember that many things.” Someone can print out or refer to the list and use it as a resource. Since the Top Appeal can be a really popular trick for getting more opens, these additional ideas listed are suggested ways that you can adapt any of your content to fit a Top Appeal list. A lot of content can be formatted to create emails that can be clustered into a Top Appeal subject line. Think about the overall theme of your newsletter and pull together a list. What do they all have in common? Order it into a list with a common theme and use that number and theme to draw people into opening your message for “5 Reasons to Wear Sunscreen This Summer” or “3 Deadliest Pests” or “6 Places to Avoid this Summer.” Remember, you want to appeal to that question of ‘Why? Why should I open this?’ As long as it provides a benefit or a pleasant distraction to the reader in the subject line, they are more apt to open it and read the rest of the message. A lot of content you create can be ordered into a top list so give it a try some time on your next subject line and you’ll be surprised with the change in open rates you’ll get.
• #26: Let’s take what we just learned about subject line techniques and discuss some more examples. [Click]The “Top” appeal – a quick list of easily digestible pieces of information: “7 must haves for Fall” “3 end-of-year tax tips” “Top 10 Best Beauty Products this year” [Click]Create a sense of urgency to drive action: “Only 1 day left!” “Limited time offer – don’t miss out!” “Only 12 seats left – get your ticket before Friday” “You won’t believe what we have in store for you” [Click]Be personal – use words like “you”, ”your”, or “we”: “What you need to know about your personal finances” “Find out what we can do for your home today” “7 Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine” [Click]Ask a question: “How can we help your business grow?” “Do you feel prepared for this winter?” “Would you know what to do if you saw this?” [Click]Exclusivity helps drive action: “An exclusive offer for you!” “Only crafters would understand this feeling…” [Click]Don’t want to miss out: “You won’t believe your eyes when you see this” “If you aren’t doing this everyday you’re doing it wrong” “13 Signs You’re Budgeting Wrong”
• #27: Other techniques have proven to be popular when crafting compelling subject lines. Now, before you have a flashback to your high school English class, bear with me for a second. Some literary techniques are here to stay and unfortunately your high school English teacher however insufferable they may have been to you, they taught you some useful writing techniques that it turns out you WILL actually need to use in ‘real life.’ We don’t have to tell you that language is powerful, but there are some quick and easy hacks you can make with your subject lines that will help your subject lines stick in someone’s head or bring to mind other references that can move readers from their inbox and into your email. Try using these techniques on your next subject line. [CLICK TO BUILD EACH 1 BY 1] Onomatopoeia – Words that describe sounds stand out because they’re somewhat unusual and also generate an auditory sound or memory in a readers’ head. If someone sent you an email that said, “Shh! We never told you” wouldn’t you wonder what it was all about? I sure would. Allusions- Allusions are perhaps one of the easiest to write. Think about something that’s going in our world today that could relate to your message. Maybe there’s a new hit song that you hate, but is all over the radio. Could you allude to it in a clever way? Say you’re a nonprofit that helps to rebuild damaged homes or maybe you’re a construction company. You might take ‘April Newsletter’ and turn it into, “We came in with a wrecking ball” and then feature before or after shots in your email of the property you’ve broke ground on. This is alluding to a pop singer Miley Cyrus’ song yes, but you can allude to any famous body of work that can help deliver your subject material, too which can make your subject line witty and make someone laugh, too. Alliteration – this will take a little more flexing of the brain muscles, but it’s really fun, I promise. So grab an office buddy and a coffee (or a beer!) and come up with a boring subject line about the content of your email. Then, throw out some words that describe the topic(s) or your email and try to see you can get them all to start with the same letter or sound. “Seven Savory Summer Snacks” Chunking – Chunking is sometimes thought of as a psychological concept for grouping things together for better and quicker memory absorption. You see this a lot nowadays with blogs. Because people are scanning a lot more and doing a bunch of stuff at one time on their devices or computers, chunking allows someone to scan a blog post to quickly absorb the key points the blogger is trying to make. The same is true for your subject lines. If you are someone who sends newsletters every month and wants to spice it up a bit, try chunking. You can put together the best and most interesting or important touchpoints from all that’s in your newsletter and ‘chunk’ them together. Here’s an example: “Chocolate. Wine, Santa… and cool Junk!” This was a subject line I once wrote for an antique store I worked with for an series of promotions leading up to a Christmastime shopping kickoff event in their antique store. They had a chocolate bar, photos with Santa, and wine for the parents. These things are not usually associated with their store but by chunking them together we were able to drum up significant interest in their event which was very well attended in the end. “Serious Snow storms, massive floods, and you” alludes to the contents of this nonprofit’s newsletter in a more intriguing way. Numbers – We’ve talked about using numbers earlier in this webinar when we discussed top appeal lists. You can also use numbers in others ways too. You can use numbers to identify a series of promotional emails leading up to a bit sale, fundraiser, or event. Think: “Reason #3: Entertainment by Boston band Lake Street Dive” Reason #4: There will be wine.” If you’re a consultant, or practitioner try using numbers in campaign designed to educate, inform or call your customers to action. Maybe you’re a retail business or even a non-profit, try something like “6 out of 10 people say they prefer gold”, or “56 percent! Thanks to our supporters” – something like this won’t trigger spam filters and will also make one wonder what more there is to this. Something like “17 different outfits from this one scarf” implies that the email will show readers how to do this, so deliver on it and watch your open rates increase. [OPTIONAL READ] For advanced marketers: Open-ended – These kinds of subject lines can be fun to come up with. They can honestly work for B2Bs, B2Cs, and NPs too. It can lead into any topic and will work with any content. You see this a lot on Upworthy.com for example or Buzzfeed.com “We can’t get enough of these cuties” a NP animal shelter might say about newly born puppies or kittens. Or “Look what arrived today” a retail shop might say about a hot item. It assumes an interpersonal tone as if the speaker were going to show you something. It plays upon a natural curiosity that results from the speaker assuming the reader is in earshot, or can see what their referencing or pointing to. Try this as you get better at writing good subject lines and you’ll be surprised how many more opens you can get from curious people.
• #28: Now that you have gotten a bit more familiar with other techniques you can employ in your next email subject lines, let’s try an brief exercise together. Let’s pretend that we’ve just finished writing and designing our email campaign and we need to start writing a good subject line. Write in the first subject line that comes to mind in the subject line section, just as a placeholder. It can be boring and unoriginal, the key is to just have something there to start with that sort of applies to the topics of your email. Next, try using these techniques as well as the others we discussed to improve it and make it more interesting and compelling to your readers. Let’s brainstorm this together. Later when you are really ready to apply this to your next email, you’ll want to get with a partner, a buddy, or a co-worker or spouse to come up with a few different examples you could use for your subject line or subsequent reengagement campaigns which we’ll discuss a bit later. So here we go: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH LINE, REVEALS THE BASIC SUBJECT LINE, THE TECHNIQUE TO TRY, AND 2 REVEALS. FEEL FREE TO VAMP ON THIS AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS NEEDED FOR THE SESSION]
• #29: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH BASIC SUBJECT LINE WITH ONE REVEAL. RDDs CAN GET OTHER INPUT FROM AUDIENCE MEMBERS BUT OFFER THEIR OWN REVEALS] Ad-lib: Read them all aloud and try to be interactive.
• #30: Now that you know how to optimize your subject lines and how to position your email for success in all sorts of reading environments, if you are still in need of inspiration try these tactics to get those creative juices flowing: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH 1X1] Check the news – how are they using headlines to make you want to read stories? How do those stories align with the headline and? Can you apply this technique to your email subject line? Look at what others are doing – follow companies like yours or that you admire to get a sense for what they’re doing. Turn your marketing hat on next time you’re going through your personal inbox, and take note of the marketing subject lines that compelled you to open them to see what they were about. Replicate that. Search results headlines – On a search engine, type in something similar to the topic of your newsletter to see which headlines appear first. Then, try to write your subject in a similar fashion. Blog Post Titles - If your’re already writing blog posts, you’re already writing subject lines, this becomes this for your Tweet, for your subject (those slides that change to show repurposed content) Twitter – Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters; people have to fit their message into tight space. See how others are crafting their tweets and try to use their technique on your subject lines with even fewer words Sites like Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Mashable are pros at getting you to read their content. Pay attention to articles your friends are sharing on Facebook from them, or go to their respective websites and take note of the headlines that entice you to click on articles. What about it caught your attention? Can you identify which technique they used? Now rewrite your subject line using their headline are inspiration. LINK TO THE THREE LISTED SITES FOR THE PDF
• #31: Now that you know how to optimize your subject lines and how to position your email for success in all sorts of reading environments, if you are still in need of inspiration try these tactics to get those creative juices flowing: [CLICK TO BUILD EACH 1X1] Check the news – how are they using headlines to make you want to read stories? How do those stories align with the headline and? Can you apply this technique to your email subject line? Look at what others are doing – follow companies like yours or that you admire to get a sense for what they’re doing. Turn your marketing hat on next time you’re going through your personal inbox, and take note of the marketing subject lines that compelled you to open them to see what they were about. Replicate that. Search results headlines – On a search engine, type in something similar to the topic of your newsletter to see which headlines appear first. Then, try to write your subject in a similar fashion. Blog Post Titles - If your’re already writing blog posts, you’re already writing subject lines, this becomes this for your Tweet, for your subject (those slides that change to show repurposed content) Twitter – Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters; people have to fit their message into tight space. See how others are crafting their tweets and try to use their technique on your subject lines with even fewer words Sites like Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Mashable are pros at getting you to read their content. Pay attention to articles your friends are sharing on Facebook from them, or go to their respective websites and take note of the headlines that entice you to click on articles. What about it caught your attention? Can you identify which technique they used? Now rewrite your subject line using their headline are inspiration. LINK TO THE THREE LISTED SITES FOR THE PDF
• #32: Let’s talk about how to plan for how your subject line will look on desktop or mobile devices and show you how to take control of that.
• #33: Mobile plays a big role in your marketing. It’s where many people are viewing email these days and making purchasing decisions.
• #34: - 76% of people read email on their phones - 67% of b2b workers regularly view emails on their phones – Marketing Sherpa - 64% of key decision makers read emails on mobile devices – Marketing Sherpa There are no longer any excuses for not designing marketing messages for mobile and your subject lines are an integral part when it comes to your mobile strategy. On a small screen, your messages grab the attention of the reader immediately because there’s only so much time that one spends on their device in one sitting so it is worth understanding how your message is being read. Now we’re going to discuss a couple other things to keep in mind when optimizing your subject lines for mobile marketing before you hit send on your next message. http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2012/07/19/how-people-use-their-smartphones-infographic/
• #35: With those incredible mobile stats I just provided, your email templates need to be mobile-friendly period! You’ll want to make sure you have some basic mobile design best practices to ensure that your email looks good not only on desktop but on mobile too. But without going too in depth into design best practices, there are some important best practices to follow when designing your emails to accommodate mobile and desktop. We do have other webinars that go into this is detail, so I encourage you attend them or watch the on demand versions if you are curious about learning more. For now, here’s what you’ll want to focus on to make sure your email looks good : Choose mobile friendly templates or use single-column templates. Try to avoid using multiple columns, as this will be challenging to see on smaller screens and in preview pane windows and if you’ve put in all that work to craft a compelling subject line that got someone to open your email , you want people to enjoy your email as they read through it. Place your logo on the left or in the center - and link it to your website. This will ensure that your brand is easily recognized and the first thing one sees at the top after your subject line gets them to open the email. These day people assume they can click on images so deliver on that expectation and lead them directly to your website.  Use your brand colors – use free color match programs like ColorCop or Digital Color Meter to identify your exact colors that you use in your logo to establish brand recognition and consistency in every email Use a minimum of size 12pt font for the body of your email and at least size 22pt for headlines to grab attention to articles or elements of your email Use preheader text – preheader text is something that is gaining popularity with marketers in recent times. It’s usually this tiny text that is placed above your logo at the top of your email and it helps to add to your subject line. Email clients will detect this text before any other text of the email and it will appear just below your subject line when someone is read their inbox. Let’s talk about that a little bit more so you know what it is, how it looks, and how you can use it to ensure your subject line and email get you the results you want. [CLICK TO BUILD EACH, READ ALOUD AND ELABORATE]
• #36: You may have done this yourself, but think about how you read email. Do you double click on each email you receive, opening it? Or do you see a snapshot of it in the preview pane when you’re reading email from your computer and make a snap judgement from there whether you want to see the rest of the email? I know I do! Well, The preview pane is used to display the first top half of an email, splitting your desktop screen so that you can see the subject line in your inbox but see a quick visual of what the email looks like BEFORE you click to actually open and read the whole thing. Think about reading your work email in Outlook for example. Not everyone reads email this way, but it’s pretty common nowadays. You need to deliver your logo, your easily recognizable From Name and best images or content in the top half to encourage people to read the rest of it. Put your best information in the top half of your email as well as your call-to-action ‘above the scroll’ line because if you’re subject line got someone to open your email, they want to know quickly what it’s about and why they should respond to your call-to-action. This part of your email really ‘sells’ the rest of your message because it’s the first part of it they can see. Many of the emails you send will be opened using the preview pane so because many people view emails this way, design your email for the lowest common denominator –aka- for small screens – with a strong first half. [CLICK TO NEXT SLIDE]
• #37: Let’s have a look at how to identify Preheader text but first… What is preheader text? Email accounts will display the first line of text it can find in an email. When you understand that and control that message, that is what we mean when we say ‘Preheader text’. [CLICK] The first line of text that a device picks up from your email appears right under your subject line in a subscriber’s inbox as you can see on the right whether you planned it to or not. If you know that, you can control that message so it does not display just the first line of random text that it finds in your email. Some have come to consider this ‘teaser’ text when it is customized but it’s been relatively recently that marketers have begun utilizing the Preheader text to compliment subject lines using them as a ‘second chance’ or additional way to ‘hook’ the reader into opening and reading the email message. In it’s simplest form, I think of the Preheader text as a SECOND SUBJECT LINE – because that’s how it’s read on a mobile device and even on a desktop preview pane Think of it as a way to appeal to mobile viewers especially. This is because mobile devices have limited space to convey a message and there’s lots of competition in the average inbox. Think of using the Preheader text section next time you send a message. Why not write a second line of your subject line and put it in this section instead so that those reading on a mobile device find themselves reading that second line pulling them further into opening your message without them noticing their continuing to read, as you see on the image to the right. These days, people can be reading email from an array of different email apps from many different email providers on different devices. You can’t control HOW people read their email but you CAN control how you ‘HOOK’ readers into your message by writing alluring Subject Lines AND by utilizing Preheader text to further draw a reader into your email. With the tips that we’ve discussed today you’ll be able to confidently improve your Subject Lines and open rates and have a higher chance of having your entire message read if you remember to consider how your email will appear in the Preview Pane and how Preheader Text can work to compliment your Subject Line you’ve worked hard to craft. [RDDs CAN USE THIS MOMENT TO HAVE PEOPLE OPEN THEIR INBOXES ON THEIR SMARTPHONES IF THEY HAVE THE TIME TO SEE IF AUDIENCE CAN PICK OUT EMAILS THAT INCLUCED PREHEADER TEXT IN THEM] Core presenters: Next time you’re reading email on your smartphone, take a moment to see if you can pick out emailers who included preheader text in their emails that show up under the subject line while viewing on the phone. Think of it as a way to appeal to mobile viewers especially. These days, people can be reading email from a array of different email apps from many different email providers on different devices. You cannot control how people read their email but you CAN control how you ‘hook’ readers into your message by writing alluring Subject Lines AND using Preheader text to further draw a reader into your email. With the tips that we’ve discussed today you’ll be able to confidently improve your Subject Lines and open rates and have a higher chance of having your entire message read if you remember to consider the preview pane and the preheader text. Let’s show you what these look like.
• #38: Let’s have one more look at how these two elements work together. The Preview Pane is a way of seeing a bit of the email before opening it. This image shows how someone sees your subject line [CLICK] and preheader text in their inbox while reading your email in a preview pane, which as you can see displays the top half of your email. [CLICK] Notice, you can also see the Pre-header text above this person’s logo. All email accounts will display the From name and Subject line, and most will show the first line of text found in the email called the Preheader text which we’ve been discussing. So make sure you’ve included your logo with a link embedded to your website, that you have a clear From Name, and that the top half of your email looks good. [CLICK TO NEXT]
• #39: [CLICK – ALL WILL APPEAR, SPEAK TO EACH] When thinking of subject lines, think small. The Inbox will typically only show users the first 9-11 words of the pre-header text or any words above the logo. Take control of that fact and put a few power-packed words into a block above your company logo (which should always be placed at the top with a clickable link to your website.) Rule of thumb – write your subject lines between 6-10 words and don’t forget about mobile users because (53%) of email opens in the US occurred on a mobile device and you want not to exclude people who are reading on the go and who may be more apt sometimes to stop by your business or respond to your message. http://info.movableink.com/Device-Report-Q1-2015are using mobile phones to read emails Mobile phones will typically show the first 15 characters of the first text in the message, so take control of that feature we’ve referred to as ‘preheader text’ and write a second headline that will hook your reader into reading the rest of your email right from the get go. Think of it like a compliment to our subject line or the ‘next step or hook.’ This text should appear just above your logo block and we’ll go into that in just a bit but it is important to keep it in mind as you’re crafting your subject line. Think about 2-2-2 rule and those first 2 words. What will help readers take notice of your email? How can you make the topic of your email stand out from all the rest in the inbox? After writing the content for your email, try to summarize what it is all about, and condense that into your subject line and your pre-header text which we’ll discuss shortly. Source: https://blog.kissmetrics.com/your-next-email-subject-line/
• #40: So what’s next?
• #41: We’ve thrown a lot of information at you today and before we wrap up with a recap, we have one last thing we hope you take with you after today’s webinar. It’s important that we remind you of how important it is to measure your progress as you learn to perfect the art of a compelling subject line and your open rates steadily improve. To do this effectively, you want to make sure that you stay organized with your campaigns so that you can access your progress with just a glance at your analytics. When you create an email campaign, you want to make sure to label it according to what the email is about, so that in the future when you want to look back on something you’ve done, you don’t have to try to guess what the email was about if the title it was given was just the default filename. For example if you’re using Constant Contact, [CLICK] this first image points to the generic, default filename that every draft email you create in Constant Contact is given if you don’t take the time to label it. Imagine looking back upon a year’s worth of monthly newsletters and announcements that you sent out over the course of the year and seeing variations of this over and over! Nightmare if you’re trying to reference or measure anything. ( I know…#firstworldproblems, right?) If each campaign was never named with a unique filename, you’d have a year’s worth of campaigns that all look the same when looking at your analytics. From experience I can tell you that this is a headache and can be time-consuming to tackle. [CLICK] That’s why we strongly suggest naming every email campaign the same that name you’ll name your subject line. You can use a placeholder title as you’re working on your email just like you’d use in place of your optimized subject line but before you press send, you’ll want to rename it. You’ll thank us later. [CLICK] In this example we have shown you how to match your file name to your final subject line. You’ll see why this becomes important in the next slide.
• #42: After you start to put into practice these tips and tricks we’ve shared with you today for optimizing your subject lines, of course you’ll want to check your progress over time to see what’s working and what isn’t working. [CLICK] Because you’ve kept a clean record of your sent campaigns by saving them with your subject lines, you’ll be able to see with just a glance which subject lines performed the best and which returned higher open rates. This will help you to better understand what techniques your audience responds to and which they do not, over time making you a pro at reading your audience’s wants and needs and tailoring your marketing to continue to appeal to them. In this example you can see which campaign subject lines returned great open rates, and which did not. [OPTIONAL]: Can you pick out some of the techniques that were used? To increase your open rates, after the first email has been sent, give it a few days and make a copy of the original email but title it and use one of the other subject lines you had come up with in your brainstorming session to appeal exclusively to those who did not open your email the first time around. Oftentimes the second attempt will catch someone’s attention which will again increase your open rates and lead to more measurable results for your business. If you need help doing this I’ll be happy to send you my resend strategy. In the end, crafting compelling subject lines takes time and practice, but with a bit of time you’ll perfect the art and learn to enjoy the brainstorming process of writing them. And after having put in that much work to really master the craft, be sure to regularly track your progress with your built in analytics tools. You’ll be glad it’s organized and easy to read and report on so you can continue to make changes and adjust as needed.
• #43: We’ve covered a lot today. We hope you are now feeling more confident to write better subject lines for your campaigns. Let’s recap what we talked about today: Brainstorm at least 3 versions of your subject lines – Get into the habit of brainstorming multiple versions of your subject. First, write and design your email and then get with a friend, a coworker, a partner or spouse and have fun brainstorming Stand Out subject lines. After a few times this will become second nature and you’ll enjoy increased open rates and maybe a coffee or a beer with friends! Test on mobile & desktop before sending – Remember TO ALWAYS ALWAYS test your email in as many email accounts and devices as you can, like (iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Windows phones and tablets) - Sign up for some free accounts to see how AOL vs Yahoo! Or Outlook displays your subject line and your message. Do don’t want to spend all that time designing a great email and crafting a compelling subject line for a popular email client to truncate your subject line at a crucial word or render your email incorrectly. Consider preview pane and use preheader text – Look for templates that include a preheader text option and use it to your advantage! Craft your subject line first, and your preheader text should further convince someone to click on your message. Short and sweet is key, (but this also in a way give you a bit more wriggle room when you think about it) Monitor your progress – Make sure you are labeling your drafts the same way you label your subject lines to be able to track the progress of your new and improved subject lines over time. Most email providers will have good analytics tools so keep good records of your drafts because you’ll need to be using them to evaluate what is and isn’t working every month.
• #44: [Read these aloud]