I bet your newly launched product is envious. Probably, you’ve got a snazzy new blog post and a hell bent exciting news to share with your customers. In fact, your recent event was bomb successful and you cannot wait to share it with your community.
So you have sat down, drafted a perfect mail and hit that SEND. After all, even if conventional, e-mail marketing still beats social by 40x for customer acquisition.
Unfortunately, condition applied to the fact is that your customer should at least OPEN your mail. With 7,988 unread mails in my inbox, I can vouch for the fact that an average customer opens only 24% of promotional mails in their inbox.
This is exactly why a smartass subject is so crucial while designing your mailers.
How do you do that? By scrolling down till number five.
1. Make Them Curious
Anything which incites curiosity, make humans pause. Your subject line got to hold them up and tingle their curiosity. Remember, this is your break it or make it moment — only 0.2 seconds to make them go, “Yes, I would like to know that!” The key is to promise them value in exchange of their attention.
Did you know _______ ? (insert a cool fact)
3 Ideas To _______ (insert a *free* value)
NAME, Take the _______ world by storm. (insert their industry)
2. Be Bold, Call Them Out
If you are planning to break into their personal inbox, you better do that effectively. Get closer, get personal. Don’t be scared to go bold. Including your customer’s name goes without saying. But don’t stop here. We want you to really break in through the doors of a sales pitch. You want them to stop and say, “Who, me?”
Time is money. Guess, you care for neither, NAME. ( Let them be offended)
To be honest, you’ve disappointed us, NAME. ( What did I do?)
NAME, I love your content! (Sell your strategies/product by flattering them!)
3. Make Reverse Psychology your Friend
We are born rebels. The moment you ask us to refrain from doing something, we are going to just do that. We, as readers (and not consumers), are more interested in knowing why things don’t work as opposed to why they do. Of course, don’t be limited to the subject line. Use this concept when you’re drafting the mail body too. Needless to say, this is a little tricky and demands more attention.
Why You Shouldn’t Go Anywhere Near _____ (insert your restaurant)
We Know Why You Are Not Interested In Us (There, you got them interested!)
Do Not Open This Mail (so cliched, but works ALL THE TIME)
4. Leave Them Hangin’
We crave attention but we crave it even more when we are given only half of it. Leave them hangin’ asking for more. Again, don’t be scared to push the boundaries as you give them attention. Your customers are only as close to you as you think. Converse — and then quickly close it off to make them crave for more. See below how.
Hey NAME, Shall I count you in? (For what..?)
NAME, Dinner Tonight? (Obama used it all the time)
NAME, Sorry, but you need to know this. (striking Panic!)
5. Make Them Laugh
At the risk of sounding sexist, your customers are just as enigmatic as your girlfriend. Tough to crack, but a pinch of good humor always does the trick. Buzzfeed is said to have the most cracking subject lines. Checking inbox on a boring day is no fun. But if your golden 0.7 second had them smiling, you got them.
Deals That Make Us Proud — Unlike Our Nephew, Steve (Groupon, on point)
Okay, you used us. That’s what humans do. (Perfect breakup mail)
DID YOU MEAN TO ‘REPLY ALL’? (That’s funny and so-not-funny!)
E-mail marketing is not a gimmick. It’s a clever game of piquing interest in your consumers when they’re bombarded with options from all over the medium. You got to take that extra mile to tap them on their shoulder on a busy day. The interesting thing with writing mails is at it can be just as fun as you make it. So, go and talk to your consumers like they’re your bae. ‘Coz they are!