How to Write the Perfect Ecommerce Email Subject Line

3. Various types of email subject lines

There are several broad categories of email subject lines, and you will need to decide which one best suits your organization, your intended audience and the purpose of each email send. Once you have aligned one of the high-level categories with your specific business goals, you can peruse many of the examples of successful subject lines in said category for inspiration. Remember, though, this is only a starting point, and you will have to customize the subject line within your category so that it is on-brand for your company and speaks specifically to your customers.

Ten of the most notable groups of email subject lines include:

1. Questions

You can go in almost any direction with a question subject line, but the ultimate goal is to get your reader to think about the possibilities and want to click to discover the answer. This connects the message of the email to their own personal experience, and it piques their curiosity too. For instance, “7 fresh denim styles. Which one will you choose?”

2. Special sales

For online stores having a sale, advertising the promotion in the subject line provides a very compelling reason to open. It starts a chain reaction:

• Opening the email to learn more
• Visiting the website, even if they only have the intention of browsing
• Letting your products and Ecommerce architecture do the remaining work and facilitate purchases

Keep in mind that any relevant data concerning the specifics of the sale should be included at the beginning of the subject line. Think, “40% off all new sofas!” instead of, “All new sofas are now 40% off!”

3. Driving a sense of urgency

If you fail to prompt the reader to open your email upon first noticing it in their inbox, it is fairly unlikely that it will ever happen. You may get them to return later via an email search, but the ideal outcome is for them to open and read your email immediately. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to give them a reason to click now right in the subject line. A subject line such as, “6 hours left for this opportunity!” lets the reader know they should take action quickly.

4. Minimalist

The Obama 2012 campaign team created one of the most infamous minimalist subject lines in email history with, “Hey.” Now, this is ultra-minimalist, and it certainly would not have had the same effect if anyone but the President of the United States had sent it, but there is still an important lesson to be learned. Most subjects in a recipient’s inbox will be testing the character limits of the platform, so sending something very short and to-the-point can help you differentiate yourself. The one caveat is that you also need to ensure that the email inside provides something of substance to the recipient, otherwise your audience may feel angered and deceived by a vague subject line meant purely for clickbait.

5. Data-driven

Statistics do not only build credibility, they can also help your audience visualize an outcome you are describing. They offer a promise of something beyond vague generalities, and they instill in your reader the sense that you have the data to back up your claims. Consider the difference between the following: “Discover how to reach more customers” compared to “Increase your customer reach by 75%.” The latter example spurs the reader to imagine what a 75% increase in customers would mean for their business.

6. Personalized

Addressing a subject line to a specific reader by their first name can be a powerful tool, especially when used in conjunction with other strategies. Using the recipient’s first name followed by a question or statistics further connects the information in the subject to them directly, and it helps them to internalize why this email is relevant to their life. Including personalized info about the recipient’s location can be useful as well, because it aligns your message with their pride in their area (just think about how people cheer at concerts when musicians mention their town!).

7. Humorous

You certainly do not have to write funny email subject lines (and humor may not even be compatible with your brand), but if you can do it and it makes sense, it forges a strong connection with the reader immediately and makes your message more memorable. One easy way to accomplish this is to think of plays on pop culture references that you can tie to your brand.

8. Announcements

Teasing big news is an effective way to compel a person to click, mainly because people do not like being out-of-the-loop. When crafting this type of email subject line, it is helpful to give the recipient some information about the announcement upfront. For example, you can mention in the subject that you are introducing a new product or opening a new location, or that you have been selected for a prestigious award. However, do not give away too much, and save the most pertinent details for the email content itself.

9. Numbered lists

It has become commonplace to poke fun at Buzzfeed-style numbered lists, as people write them off as nothing more than Internet clickbait. It is true that their ubiquity has resulted in countless posts that provide minimal reader value, but what is often overlooked is that people still click on them. When you can combine the impulse to click generated by numbered lists with valuable content to go along with them, you can create something your recipients will be happy to open all the time.

10. Call-to-action

Compelling the audience to take some sort of action is a classic marketing and sales strategy because it works. Every interaction you have with a customer tells a story, even if it is as short as the average email subject line. Recipients want to know what their role in the story is, and the call-to-action clearly specifies what they need to do in order to reap the benefits of the transaction. Sometimes it is also helpful to include a phrase such as, “Join us,” in order to underline the idea that this is a mutually-beneficial partnership.