How To Write The Best Email Subject Line: A 7 Step Checklist

So, you’ve written an email and created a kickass email list. Now comes the part marketing companies agree is the most important. The email subject line. The one line that could make or break your entire email. The first line your contacts will see that will influence their decision to open it. Did you know? 35% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone! So how do you write a good one?

Here’s a 7 step checklist to help you write an email subject line that people will want to open.

Using a keyword tool, find words and phrases people would use to describe your content. Think about how you would describe your content to your friend. You want the language to be friendly and relatable.

You need to answer their most obvious question. What’s in it for me? For example, tease the content a little bit, mention a promotion if there is one. According to a study by MailChimp, the best email subject lines describe what’s in the email, without a hard sell.

Although you need to tease the content, keep it short and sweet. Ideally, your subject line should be around 6-8 words. The highest open rates go to emails with subject lines that are 30 characters or less and subject lines with 6-10 words have a higher open rate of 21%.  

Don’t get stuck in their spam folder! Avoid the spam filters with no “!!!!s” or CAPS. 69% of people report emails as spam based solely on the subject line.

Give them an action to follow. Whether it be to simply read your helpful tips, subscribe, fill out a form etc. Having an action to perform will help with your open rate.

Use the same language and tone as all your other content; your brand voice. You can also add an emoji if one appropriately fits your company or content. Emojis also help your email stand out in someone’s inbox. In fact, digital marketers at a small business conducted a test, and emails sent with emojis in the subject line had a 29% increase in unique opens, 28% increase in unique Click-Through Rate (CTR) and 93% overall increase in CTR.

Sometimes you have to brainstorm to get the best subject line. Write a bunch of variations and test them with the team. Get everyone to vote which subject line they like better, which they would actually open. The one with the most votes is your winner!

The Marketing Garage is an award-winning Toronto digital marketing company that has extensive experience in cultivating effective digital marketing strategies. We help businesses in many different sectors across North America fix their online marketing and branding. Our data-driven mix of SEO and digital marketing process is like no other.