Email marketing remains one of the most popular forms of marketing.
- 87% of marketing leaders say email marketing is critical to the success of their company
- 44% of marketing professionals say email is their most effective marketing channel
- 14% of marketers say that email campaigns provide the strongest ROI of any marketing strategy
[Source: Shopify]
However, if you want a great return on your investment, your emails must be exceptional. They must be personal, emotive, intriguing, persuasive, and, above all, human.
It’s all about the subject line
The first thing your recipient will see is your subject line. If you get that wrong, your email will go straight to the trash.
I get a lot of unsolicited emails, and I’ve noted that an increasing number are preceding the subject line text with either FW or RE.
No. No. No. NO.
The thinking behind it is that I will assume it is a follow-up email from someone I know and will open it. I’m not that stupid. That is, of course, if it gets past my spam filter. The overall impression of a company that uses this tactic is laziness.
Why?
Rather than spending time thinking about their recipients, they’re taking a shortcut, hoping I’ll be dim enough to open it. It’s unprofessional.
If you can’t create a catchy subject line that hooks your reader, don’t bother doing any email marketing. You’ll be doing more harm than good.
Subject lines need hooks
Here’s a case in point.
I’ve been working with an amazing company on a series of nurture emails. They wanted to get away from their usual approach, which wasn’t working, and adopt something a bit more creative.
To cut a long story short, one of the emails was to the healthcare sector, which is a huge target for cyberattacks. After researching the sector and the issues it faces, I came across a shocking statistic: the average cost of a healthcare breach is $11 million.
That stopped me dead. It will also shock many companies, making it an excellent hook. But how to use it?
As it stands, it’s just a statement of fact—a ‘so what’ phrase.
However, using it to create the subject line” Does your organisation have a spare $11 million?” turns it from a statement to a worrying question—one that they want to learn more about.
Can you see the difference?
Of course, the body of your email must also be strong and compelling, but that’s a subject for another article. Right now, my main concern is helping you to understand the difference between a subject line that hooks and one that doesn’t even tickle.
Your email marketing takeaway
Don’t try to use the FW or RE shortcut in your email marketing. It’s unprofessional.
Your recipients deserve more.
Sally Ormond – professional freelance copywriter. Briar Copywriting Ltd.