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A subject line is that space in an email where you fill in the subject of your message. However, in email marketing, a subject line is much more than that.

The subject line is your first line of defense against being thrown into a spam folder. Subject lines that stand out and are true to their content are one of the best ways to bring your emails directly to your customer base.

Best practices in email subject lines

While an email subject line may seem like a simple task, getting a higher ROI requires more sophistication.

Beginning with the length of the subject line, research suggests that subject lines with 41 characters or 7 words are optimal.

One of the best ways to make your marketing emails more effective is to make the content both trendy and personal. While studying your best performing subject line from previous campaigns can yield valuable and actionable insights, you can’t rely on these alone.

To help keep your subject lines trendy, you may benefit from the use of emojis. There’s been a fiery debate over using emojis in marketing emails that have leaned overwhelmingly in favor of using them. One of the most significant advantages of this is that emojis help the text in subject lines stand out. That splash of color attracts the eye and helps emails get noticed.

30% of emails to business professionals are spam

One of the easiest and most effective ways to make your emails stand out as unique is with a compelling subject line.

How to measure the success of email subject lines

Measuring the success of email subject lines is one of the most vital steps in email marketing. By examining the success rates of previously used subject lines and making a detailed comparative analysis, you can mark the patterns of what works and what doesn’t.

The amount of time that this particular practice can save is substantial. You’ll also save vast amounts of money that won’t be wasted on emails that don’t resonate and end up getting deleted without even being read.

Does it really matter?

The quality of an email subject line matters a great deal to any firm looking to maximize returns on email marketing campaigns. The risk of not optimizing your subject lines is that your promotional emails will never be read.

Finding the balance in subject lines is key and is achieved by taking the best subject lines that have worked in the past and adding something fresh, trendy, and highly personalized. Using this combination can yield the best results for your email marketing endeavors.

What now?

Now that you know some of the subject line best practices, you can start implementing them and enjoying the benefits. Remember, there’s a certain level of psychology involved in designing email subject lines. With these tips, however, you’ll be in good shape and can launch yourself ahead of the competition.

Get in touch with Campaign Monitor for the most effective email subject lines and marketing tools.

This blog provides general information and discussion about email marketing and related subjects. The content provided in this blog ("Content”), should not be construed as and is not intended to constitute financial, legal or tax advice. You should seek the advice of professionals prior to acting upon any information contained in the Content. All Content is provided strictly “as is” and we make no warranty or representation of any kind regarding the Content.

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