The subject line of your email can be the crucial factor in determining if you email gets opened. Selecting the perfect email campaign subject line is an art form in its own.

Subject Line Length

The general consensus is that the subject line of your email campaign should be under 50 characters. Dont put too much information in your subject line, keep it simple and to the point. However most of all – ensure your subject line gives a reason for the recipient to open your email.

While 50 characters is the general guideline, many popular email programs will display a lot less. My Yahoo email client will only show 27 characters. This will need to be considered when writing your subject line

Watch out for the cutoff point

Because many email clients will only show a limited amount of characters in your subject line, someones as low as 27 characters, you will need to be aware of the cutoff point. If a email client only shows half of your subject line it could completely change the meaning of your email.

Example:

Full subject line: 50% off children’s cloths
At 16 characters:  50% off children

As the example shows, automatic shortening of your subject line can completely change the meaning! An email promoting 50% off children will probably result in a very poor open rate.

Make it stand out

Even with email marketing, you have competition. You are probably not the only company selling your product or service and probably not the only company emailing your client. When you send your email campaign, like you website – it needs to be better than your competitors. Therefore you will need a better subject line than your competitors, a poor generic subject line may result in your competitors email being opened and not yours.

Rather than “summer offer”, put a bigger carrot on the stick, possibly consider “summer offer – 75% off iPads”

Summary

Your subject line plays a vital part in your email marketing, there are a few suggestions here which are well worth considering when you are designing your next campaign. Good luck and may the open rate be with you!