Good email subject lines can make all the difference between a failed and successful campaign.

Writing good subject lines, which will make an actual person open the email, takes a lot of testing. But, arguably, it is one of the most important elements of an email marketing campaign!

Here are some statistics for you:

• Businesses have only seven seconds to make a good first impression on customers;
• A vast percentage of the 376 billion emails sent daily go unopened, let alone unread.

If you’re an email marketer, these facts are tied together by a single thread: email subject lines. In this post, we will focus on writing good subject lines to boost your open rates and, as a result, the overall bottom line of your email marketing campaigns!

What is an Email Subject Line?

What is an Email Preheader?

This is another sometimes overlooked element of engaging email subject lines.

This is a text that follows the subject line and is a sneak peek at what is in the email body. This is a second chance to grab attention in your email campaign!

Why are Email Subject Lines So Important?

Email subject lines are the first contact email subscribers have with your email marketing campaigns. Learning how to come up with the subject line of an email can make or break your campaign.

The right email subject line entices readers to open, click, and buy. Some half of recipients open emails due to catchy email subject lines alone. Nearly 70% report emails as spam on the same basis.

On the other hand, the wrong email subject line can drive customers away and even see your brand relegated to the spam folder. 

No matter how well-crafted your campaigns are, your efforts are worthless if your audience never sees your content. That’s why email marketers have to write catchy email subject lines every time – no exceptions.

While the process requires extra work, you can improve your open and click-through rates, spread brand awareness, and avoid the trash folder (or the spam folder!).

Are you new to email marketing? Learn more by reading our guide on “How to Get Started in Email Marketing!“

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7 Ingredients of a Converting Subject Line

Most industries that use email marketing see a 21% open rate, with 30-40% being above-average. But with the right email subject line, you can drive these statistics up.

The best email subject line tips all start with a few ingredients. Think of them like your spice rack: while you don’t have to include all of them every time, mixing and matching can deliver fantastic results.

1. Personalization

Now more than ever, marketers can use data about their target audience to provide the ultimate customer experience. Email subject lines are no exception; a little personalization here offers the sense of importance and connection readers crave.

2. Benefit

When opening marketing emails, most people ask: “What’s in it for me?” 

Your email subject line provides the perfect location to answer that question upfront. Including or hinting at freebies, discounts, or new information can inspire higher open rates among your audience.

3. Relevance

Generally, subscribers read emails to stay informed or learn more about a brand or topic (or receive a sweet discount). 

Crafting email subject lines relevant to their lives, trending topics, and your brand is a great way to compel clicks.

4. Urgency

Most people live in chronic FOMO, or fear of missing out.

By communicating urgency in your subject line and offering a solution, you can help readers scratch that itch. (For instance, you may put a deadline on a sale or countdown to the start of an upcoming event.)

Still, you’ll want to use this tactic sparingly. Otherwise, your urgent emails become “just another Tuesday.”

5. Intrigue

Sometimes, email subject lines work because they establish benefits upfront. Other times, it’s because they confer a mystery or question that readers just have to solve. 

Tantalizing email subject lines often increase open rates because readers have to click to satisfy their curiosity.

6. Celebrity Branding

Adding a relevant celebrity’s name to your subject line can boost clicks based purely on name recognition. (And a desire to learn what Kim K. is up to these days.) But only use this strategy if it aligns with your brand; don’t throw out famous names just for recognition.

7. Engaging Previews

Previews aren’t exactly part of your subject line, but they’re almost as important. Preview text provides a sneak peek at your email’s contents beside the subject line.

Take this opportunity to complement your subject line and further engage with your audience. 

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Email Subject Line Best Practices

Every email campaign has its own purpose, which means your email subject lines should match it. 

While the style, tone, and direction of your subject lines will change, adhering to these best practices can help you make the most of your online marketing efforts.

Determine the CTA – if Any

Not every email subject line needs a call-to-action – but every email does. 

If you incorporate your CTA into your subject line, use it to inform recipients why they should open it, be it to receive free stuff or receive important information.

Segment Your Lists

Many marketers blast emails to everyone on their lists. But sometimes, that causes more confusion than clicks. For instance, if you send a list of the best “local” bars to someone 3,000 miles away, you’re not just not providing relevance; you’re showing you don’t know your readers at all.

Haven’t started using Tailwind’s marketing suite yet? You can easily manage your social media platforms, email marketing, and campaign planning all in one place. Explore our suite of time-saving marketing tools with a forever-free plan!

Use Tokens of Personalization

You’ve heard of tokens of appreciation – now, we’re talking tokens of personalization.

Avoid Spam Traps

Several subject line factors can lead readers to send you straight to the spam folder. Or even worse, the email spam filter will do it automatically. 

Some spam traps look like:

• Loud punctuation (LIKE ALL CAPS and lots of exclamation marks!!!!!!!)
• Including multiple types of punctuation in the same subject line !?*–/!}{
• Aggressively salesy or clickbait-y language (“FREE!” “Buy Now!” “Make $$$ Today!”)
• Weird   spacing  issues
• Special or unreadable fonts
• False or misleading statements that go unfulfilled in your email’s copy

Instead of focusing on this “unique” style of promotion, try offering expertise, information, or even a little wit to build real connections. And, make sure your email provider uses built-in best practices to avoid spam traps or federal violations. Tailwind email was built with these factors in mind.

Time Your Emails Wisely

Be Unique, But Brand-Aware

Crafting actionable subject lines requires understanding your audience and brand. Use your email subject lines to highlight what your brand does well. 

Don’t be afraid to throw your company name out there to build familiarity and engagement. At the same time, have the courage to take a little risk.

For many readers, there’s a fine line between memorable and repulsive. Finding your happy place means you can carve a unique niche while having some fun.  

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11 Tips to Write Great Subject Lines

Writing converting subject lines is an art, and like any art, it requires practice and testing. These tips can help you find your voice. 

1. Be Human

Even more serious brands can benefit from a conversational tone. 

Remember, your readers are people, not robots – meaning readability, connection, and friendliness often trump a cold tone. 

Even small, simple switches like using contractions can have a big impact!

2. Stay Short, Simple, and Sweet

Today, half of the emails are read on mobile, which cuts down the visible character count. 

At the same time, readers scan inboxes quickly, giving you just milliseconds to grab their attention.

Research shows that short subject lines – around 40 characters or 7 words – perform best. Precise, concise subject lines offer clear benefits, intrigue, or relevance without getting wordy.

“Increase your conversions by 50%!” offers fewer words and more benefits than “Here’s how to increase your marketing power while driving better conversions.”

3. Begin with Action-Oriented Verbs

A great email subject line is designed to inspire clicks, and nothing drives clicks like action verbs. Vibrant verbs give readers a sense of urgency or excitement that dull descriptions simply don’t.

Who wants to attend a “Local dinner with a singer” when you can “Dine with Lady Gaga” instead?

4. Make People Feel Special

Birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries…people love to feel special and included. Provoke a sense of belonging that boosts loyalty and conversions by making people feel like “insiders” with powerful phrases like:

• Exclusive offer
• Private invite
• VIPs only!
• Just for you
• A gift from us to our beloved customers

5. Include Deadlines

You can capitalize on the power of FOMO – and remove distractions – by including deadlines that encourage readers to prioritize your offers.

From leveraging multi-email promotions to creating urgency around expiring events, the “now or never” language often produces greater results.

6. Pose Compelling Questions

Asking questions expands the idea of intrigue mentioned earlier. With the right question and a good subject line, you can show off your knowledge, pique curiosity, and engage minds.

Because questions feel incomplete without an answer, you can also inspire readers to open emails to learn more within. 

These can be anything from “Are you making these 10 critical business mistakes?” to “Do you know how long a giraffe’s tongue is?”

You can also get a little personal with a simple “Rough day?” or “Need a break?”

7. Use Numbers

Millions of businesses rely on vague subject lines that convey no real data to drive paltry conversions. But tossing numbers into your email subject lines can improve notice and open rates. 

Whether you’re offering “50% off – today only!” or a list of “Top 10 things we love about our customers!” numbers provide unavoidable benefits to readers.

8. Get Witty with It

A good email subject line should be relatively short – but that doesn’t mean it should be boring. Introducing a little humor with your self-indulgent wittiness can make your audience crack a smile and click on for more.

For instance, puns give you the opportunity to make yourself sound fun and relatable. (Take Quirky’s (a cable management product) “Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it.” which offers both wit and a self-reverential poke.) 

You can look into other kinds of wordplay, too, like:

• Alliterations
• Rhymes
• Word imitations
• References and allusions

Any of these can help your email subject lines stick out in users’ minds and grab attention while offering great value. 

9. Draft Multiple Subject Lines

10.  Get Feedback

Sometimes, you need to get out of your own head and see problems from someone else’s perspective. 

Ask your colleagues, spouse, or even your kids to look over your ideas. And if they have suggestions of their own, don’t be afraid to listen up! 

You do not have to look for exact subject line copy, but rather suggestions and alternative points of view. 

11.  A/B Test Your Email Subject Lines

These tips and best practices can get you started on your subject line journey. But you shouldn’t just take our word for it – ultimately, your brand and customers are unique and need a personalized touch. 

By A/B testing your subject lines, you can experiment to see what works with the most biased (and relevant) crowd of all: your own readers.

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12 Examples of Catchy Email Subject Lines

Now, you have all the tools to start writing email subject lines that convert. For added inspiration, consider these catchy subject lines that have appeared in inboxes 🙂 

1. Best of Groupon: The Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)

Some rules are made to be broken – for experts, anyway.

From mentioning the brand name to offering benefits to throwing in a jab at Steven, Groupon schools marketers in top-notch subject lines – all while breaking the most basic rule: keep it short and sweet.

2. Essential Oils…Learn what they do!

Mother Earth Pillows sells, you guessed it, pillows! (Specifically therapeutic pillows.)

But this subject line broadens their scope by offering knowledge on a related topic: essential oils – something many therapeutic pillow users may be interested in.

Now that’s knowing your audience. 

3. real baseball fans eat burritos

The lower-caps. The pointed jab at burgers and beer. The knowledge that “real” fans eat burritos – as if everyone already knew that, right?

With this subject line, Boloco markets its product while convincing readers that Red Sox fans crave burritos, not burgers.  

4. Trip or Treat! Up to $300 off ends tomorrow

EF’s spooky subject line couples a quirky emoji with a sense of time-bound urgency. Absolutely boo-tiful.

5. Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring.

Here, Warby Parker combines a conversational tone with a personalized, relevant touch. Helpful, friendly, and approachable? Time to get those new glasses!

6. Don’t Open This Email

What’s better than answering questions? Getting away with something forbidden.

This subject line from Manicube gives readers the feeling they’re doing just that by telling them not to do the thing – thereby ensuring their readers will do the opposite of what they tell them.

Pretty clever if you ask us. (Not that you did.)

7. 10 bizarre money habits making Millennials richer

What brings together numbers, money, and Millennials? This subject line from Refinery29 that just screams “Open me!” (And we’re sure readers did, too.)

8. Not Cool, Guys

If there’s one thing BuzzFeed knows, it’s how to deliver on its clickbait. Just look at the preview text that followed this enigma of a subject line: “Okay, WHO left the passive-aggressive sticky note on my fridge?”

9. We Need To Talk…

PPC Protect boosted its open rate to 63% with this simple subject line. Not only does it sound important, but it triggers your curiosity (and perhaps a little anxiety, too).

10. TGIF!

Acronym-only subject lines mark the epitome of short, sweet, and relatable. 

11.  Join us for a Bling-ing good time

This email subject line from The Basketry builds on the power of risqué (alluding curse words) while marketing their product and upcoming event. (The rest of the email offered their contact information and an invitation to an upcoming “Breakfast & Bling” event.)

12.   “Yes, this is a fundraising email” and “Hey”

Simple, straightforward…and garnering open rates of nearly 80%. These two boring email subject lines, sent by Al Franken and Barack Obama, illustrate the power of celebrity names – and a bit of honest intrigue.

Key Takeaways

• Good email subject lines can make all the difference between a failed and successful email marketing campaign.
• A/B test subject lines often. Keep testing the winner against a new contender. Improvement never stops. 
• Personalization is a good foundation for a high open-rate subject line. 
• Questions work exceptionally well, don’t overuse them.
• Shocking subject lines may have a negative effect, be careful! 

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FAQs

What is a good example of a subject line for an email?

“Quick question?” – one of the most converting email subject lines is a question. This lets the person know that you’re not going to take up too much of their time (think: brevity), but you do need their help with something.

What makes a catchy subject line?

Keep it brief and personal. Questions work great as well. Just make sure that it is not clickbait!

How do you create urgency with subject lines?

“Ends today” – time constraints are a great way to create urgency. It lets the person know they need to act now if they’re interested.

“Only 2 left!” – scarcity is another great way to create urgency. If there’s only a limited number of something available, people are more likely to act quickly to get them.

Producing quality content takes time. And with businesses stretched thin, keeping up with the demands of running multiple campaigns across multiple channels can easily leave you feeling stressed and frustrated. 

But the great thing about content is that it can be repurposed. The content you produce for social media can work beautifully in your email marketing campaigns too. 

And we’re going to look at how content repurposing can make your email marketing even better.

Five ways to use your social media content in emails

 1. Showcase user-generated content (UGC)

Social media is a great place to find images created by your very own customers (known as user-generated content or UGC for short).  

If you sell a physical product, such as a clothing brand or homeware, there’s a good chance that loyal customers might photograph what they’ve bought from you and share the images on social media. 

And MeUndies has put this user-generated content to extra use by including some of the most popular Instagram images in their email marketing campaigns.

The only images in this email are images created by customers and influencers on Instagram. This not only showcases the MeUndies products but also encourages subscribers to follow MeUndies on Instagram. 

Plus, featuring UGC is an effective form of social proof – potential customers see other happy customers wearing MeUndies underwear and that helps bring them closer to buying their own.

2. Use your social media feed and images in your email templates

Images are an important part of good email design. But producing high-quality images can be time-consuming and expensive. 

To save on time and cost, use images and link your feed from your social media accounts in your email templates. 

When you add your social media feed into your email, it encourages your subscribers to engage with your brand in multiple ways, as well as allows them to view your brand from new perspectives. Especially if you have a heavily visual type of business, such as jewelry.

Images from Instagram and Pinterest can be used to create newsletter headers. Here’s an example from the wellness brand Well + Good:

Creating a strong brand image across your various marketing channels will help your audience become even more familiar with your offering. 

But it’s not just the email header where you can use social media images – you can also use them in the email footer. The bottom of an email is the perfect place to mention your social media channels and encourage subscribers to become followers. And using content from your social media channels will show subscribers what they can look forward to when they follow you. 

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3. Create an email from existing social media creative 

4. Round up your most popular posts

This is another example of using user-generated content and each image includes the handle of the Instagrammer that created the content. It has the added bonus of encouraging email subscribers to create more UGC – when they see that others have had their Instagram posts featured in an email campaign, they’ll be inspired to seek their own ‘five minutes of fame’ by submitting similar content for Urban Outfitters to feature in their next campaign. 

Though you don’t have to use UGC – you can round up your own social media content too. Urban Outfitters sent a similar email to their subscribers rounding up their most-pinned items on Pinterest. 

4. Share social media polls and survey results

Of course, you can also run social media polls as a survey via email and collect results across multiple channels. This will give you even more results to later share with your audience. 

6. Include social media testimonials

And thankfully social media testimonials are easy to collect – simply search posts you’ve been tagged in and pick the most positive ones. If you’re low on social media testimonials, use one of these 25 proven ways to get more customer reviews on social media. 

Wrapping up

Constantly having to come up with new ideas for email marketing campaigns can be frustrating. But by repurposing existing social media content, you can save time, money, and your sanity. 

So when you’re next looking at a blank email template, wondering what to send to your subscribers, remember to:

• Keep an eye on your most popular social media posts to better understand your audience and use these insights to decide what content to include in your emails. 

• Collect user-generated content to give you a broader catalog of images and provide social proof to customers who might be sitting on the fence. 

• Make your best social media content work harder by creating email templates and entire email campaigns from it – deliver the same message with consistent design across multiple channels to make sure it’s seen and heard. 

Repurposing content is just one way to integrate social media with your email marketing. And when done well, each channel feeds into the other, giving you greater reach, increased engagement, and more opportunities for conversions. 

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FAQ

What is content repurposing?

Content repurposing is a common marketing tool in which you take already existing content, such as your social media content, and recycle it into a new format suitable for another one of your business’s marketing channels, such as email!

Why repurpose your content for email?

Many marketers and business owners understand that “content is king”. However, having to constantly come up with and create new content for every marketing channel is extremely challenging and time-consuming. By repurposing your content you are saving yourself and your employees time and energy to use on other initiatives.

How do you write good email content from your social media content?

The important thing to remember is that your social media marketing and your email marketing are very different. You can’t simply copy and paste your social media content into an email template and call it good. The best way to write good email content from your social media content is to reformat it. This can be expanding on sections or shortening them, adding links, reworking or removing images, and trying to avoid copying all of the content verbatim, as your email list will likely notice.

Learning how to create a successful email marketing campaign is one of the best ways to connect with your customers and promote your business.

It actually does it so well that it is one of the most profitable marketing strategies. ROI on email marketing can be around 36:1. Meaning that you will get $36 for every $1 spent. Hard to beat! 

But not all email marketing campaigns are that successful. There are many tweaks and tips that can make all the difference between a good campaign and a waste of resources.

In this post, we will explain how to create an email marketing campaign, provide you with actionable strategies, and make sure that your road to success is shorter (and easier) so you can learn how to do email marketing yourself, successfully!

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What is an Email Marketing Campaign?

An email marketing campaign is a set of messages sent at specific intervals with a commercial purpose.

The goal is to promote a product or service, engage customers, or drive traffic to your website.

A successful campaign requires proper planning, execution, and constant A/B testing. 

But enough of the introduction, let’s get to the action!

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Email Marketing Campaign Types

Outreach Email Campaigns

This campaign is sent to people who don’t know your company yet.

It serves as the introduction and usually contains a CTA to learn more or sign up for your product.

The main objective is to increase brand awareness and get new leads.

Lead Nurturing Campaigns

You would use this email campaign when you have already captured a lead, but they haven’t converted yet.

The goal is to build a relationship with the lead and move them further down your sales funnel.

Welcome Email Campaigns

Welcome campaign emails are sent to new customers. It’s a way to introduce your brand, build rapport, and make sure they start off on the right foot.

In this email, you would usually thank them for the purchase (or for their trust) and give them a quick overview of what they can expect from your product or service.

You might also want to include a CTA to get them started or learn more about your service.

Newsletter

An email newsletter is a great way to keep your customers updated on what’s new with your business and your industry.

This is a great opportunity to establish yourself as an authority in your niche and build trust.

While it can be used to promote special offers, product launches, new posts, or events – you can also send industry updates or just articles that piqued your interest.

Promotional Emails

Sure, all the emails you send to your customers are promotional. But while the others are “soft” promotions, this one is right-in-your-face.

This email is typically used to promote sales, discounts, or special offers. You don’t want to come across as being too “salesy” or spammy, so be sure to strike the right balance. 

Offer a great deal, be straightforward about it but at the same time keep the customer relationship in mind.

Seasonal Email Campaign

Whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, or any other holiday, it is a great time to pitch your seasonal offer to your audience.

You can use this type of email to promote anything from discounts and sales to competitions and giveaways.

Just find a way to tie your offer to the particular season or festivity – and you should see an increase in the results!

Reactivation Email Campaigns

Sometimes people just need a little reminder about your brand before they’re ready to buy from you.

You can use reactivation emails to reach out to those customers who haven’t interacted with you for a while and give them a nudge in the right direction.

Customer Retention Emails

It’s always cheaper to keep a customer than to find a new one. 

Make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure that your customers stay happy and engaged with your brand.

If your service was not working, reach out to the affected customers. 

Or maybe you know they are about to receive your product – so ask them how they like it.

Every little bit of attention helps to achieve a lower churn rate. 

Product Announcements

Rolling out an update? Launching a new feature? Let your customers know!

Product announcements are a great way to keep your customers in the loop about what is going on with your business.

They also give you a reason to email your list and remind them about your brand!

Customer Support Campaigns

Email can be a great way to keep in touch with your customers and offer them support.

You can use email to answer frequently asked questions, give customer service updates, or even offer live chat support.

Cross-sell Campaigns

Do you have a product that goes great with another product? If so, let your customers know!

Cross-selling is a great way to increase order value and customer satisfaction. You can also use email to upsell or down-sell customers on different products from your offer.

E-Commerce Email Campaigns

Everything that we described above can be implemented in e-commerce, but there are some additional options.

For example, you can use email campaigns to send abandoned cart emails, order confirmation emails, and start a whole post-purchase email campaign!

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How to Create an Effective Email Marketing Campaign

2. Choose the right setup.

Technical aspects of email marketing go beyond the scope of this post, so we will just quickly run through some of the most critical tips.

• Do not send from generic domains. Use a subdomain associated with your brand. So no gmails, outlooks, yahoos, or proton mail – it looks unprofessional.

• If you are working with a big list and have not previously launched campaigns – consider using subdomains. It limits the risk of spam flags and blacklisting.

You will need to use one of the email marketing tools. There are plenty of email service providers that you can use – referred to as Autoresponders Tailwind being one of them!

Tailwind is your go-to social media and email marketing platform that helps you work more quickly and see your analytics all in one place. Tailwind’s email capabilities were built with email marketing best practices in mind to help you increase conversions and overall ROI on your email marketing campaigns. Get started for FREE below!

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3. Who is your client?

You have a list of emails, but who are those people? Who is your target audience?

Behind every subscriber is someone who decided to give you their email in exchange for something.

What are the decision-making triggers in your niche? The people on your list want to get value.

A major part of a successful email marketing strategy is to clarify the goals of your audience and create a campaign that will help them reach them.

4. Segment your audience

You have an extensive list, and you want to send everyone the same message. But not all subscribers are in the same stage of their buyer’s journey.

Better results can be achieved by segmenting your audience and sending them more targeted content.

There are many ways to segment your audience, for example, by:

• Location
• Gender
• Age
• Profession
• Income
• Interests
• Purchase history

Or anything else that is important in your niche. 

Segmentation will allow you to target the customer profiles better. Your message will be more powerful, converting into better results.

5. Personalization vs. automatization

You are sending an email to thousands of people, but that does not mean there should be no personalization.

In many cases, generalization could be a conversion killer. 

Just mentioning the first name of the subscriber might already be enough. In case you have something else you can use, like the name of the company, city, or interests – consider how you can seamlessly inject it into the email body.

In case you are not sure if you are not getting too personal – you probably are. No need to congratulate them on their recent trip to Cabo that you scraped from Facebook.

6. Define a CTA

Each message in your email campaign should have a goal. Even the newsletters or welcome messages. 

They may seem like an on-off thing, but that would be incorrect. Everything should be a part of a wider strategy with an end goal in mind.

Each message should always have a clear call to action. Without it, people will not know what you want them to do, and your email campaign will have no real impact.

The CTA will depend on the type of email campaign. For example, it could be:

• Visit the website
• Read the blog post
• Download the e-book
• Give us your feedback

Conclude the email with an action request! 

7. Create a schedule

The best-performing email campaigns are those that are consistent. People like to know what to expect from you and when to expect it.

If they know that every Monday, they will get an email with the latest news in your niche, they are more likely to open it.

Also, do not forget about proper email timing. Do not expect people to open a “hobby” email on Monday morning. The same goes for sending a business niche email on Saturday.

Each niche has its own audience with its specific needs, so it is crucial to do your research and understand when people are most receptive to your message.

8. Keep it short

If you plan a campaign that will send emails every three days – keep the messages short and to the point.

On the other hand, if you are sending one email a month, you can make it longer. 

The main point is to keep the audience engaged with email copy that connects, at an appropriate length. If they receive 5 pages of text every second day, they will quickly lose interest.

You must find a balance between not boring the subscribers ( to the point that they stop opening your emails) and efficient monetization of your list, which is correlated with sending frequency.

9. A/B Testing

When your campaign is launched and running – pay attention to all the data that you will be receiving.

• Which email subject line worked best?
• What day and time has the best open rates?
• Do images in email decrease delivery rates?
• Which email copy brought the best results?

Take the top performer and test it against another option. Keep doing that. A/B testing stops only when you have 100% rates on everything that matters…so never. 

Better deliverability, slight improvements in open rates, and a bump in CTR – will do wonders for your bottom line.

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Tips to Create a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

In addition to the steps that we described in the previous section, here are some of the tips that you can try.

Experiment a bit

Don’t go crazy in every email campaign, but from time to time – do something unusual.

A weird subject line, crazy CTA, more personalized copy – you never know what will move the needle.

Email marketing is all about testing and experimenting. Don’t just test A/B test minuscule changes. Once every couple of emails – try to do something radical.

Don’t overspend

If you are working on a new domain, don’t start sending out 100 emails daily right from the bat.

That is the best way to get into the spam folder. 

There is a whole “science” behind warming up a new email address. Start sending 15 emails daily, and every 3-4 weeks, increase it by 5-10 per day.

If you already have an aged domain that is a “seasoned” email sender – this should not be an issue.

Platform choice

There are many email marketing software platforms to choose from. MailChimp, Constant Contact, and AWeber are some of the more popular ones.

Pick a reputable platform that allows plenty of personalization and, most importantly, automation features.

Look for the “if the user clicks X, then Y happens” type of funnel. It will allow you to quickly move subscribers through your funnel and provide deeper segmentation options.

Company info

Required by some regulations, and all in all, a good practice is to have the company’s address in the signature of your email.

In case the actual address is not available, at least some kind of company/brand information should be included.

Unsubscribe link

While it might be counterintuitive, make it easy for your subscribers to unsubscribe.

In case the unsubscribe link is not at the bottom of the email or it is hidden too well – some recipients may press the spam button, decreasing the overall deliverability of your domain.

Sure, it has to happen many times – but it compounds. If the user wants to leave, let them leave.

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What are the Most Important Email Marketing Metrics?

We talked about the importance of analysis, testing, and comparison. Here are some of the main email metrics and what they mean to your campaign.

Open rate

This is the percentage of emails opened over those delivered. The optimal percentage will depend on your industry. 

To optimize this metric, you should try to send your emails at different times and days to find out which ones give you the best results.

A/B testing email subject lines can also lead to notable improvements in your open rates. So do not be afraid to experiment. 

Click-through rate

CTR is the percentage of clicks on the links in your email coming from recipients who have opened the email.

This metric lets you know how many customers are interacting with your email and if they are interested in the content you are sending.

It can be improved with better CTA and, of course, overall targeting.

Conversion rate

Percentage of purchases (or other goals) from the clicks that you got in your email campaign.

After a user has opened your email, the next step should be to convert them, that is, to carry out the action that you have set as a goal.

For example: buying a product or completing a form.

You cant deduct conversion rates from 10 clicks, so wait for at least 100 clicks to make any conclusions.

Bounce rate

The bounce rate is the percentage of emails that could not be delivered. 

That usually means that the email you were sending to does not exist.

Unsubscribe rate

This is the percentage of people who decided to stop receiving your future emails.

They may not be interested in the content you are offering, or it is not what they expected to get. 

You can try to retain them by customizing your unsubscribe page and adding some persuasive copy or an interesting offer.

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Key Takeaways and FAQs

• Successful Email Marketing Campaigns can bring one of the highest ROI among marketing strategies.
• Be clear about the campaign goal, plan ahead and cater to the audience and the occasion.
• Testing is a significant part of email marketing. Analyze the results and experiment with various tactics.

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FAQ

What is an email drip campaign?

An email drip campaign is an automated series of emails that are sent out over a period of time. The frequency and content of the emails can be customized according to your needs and goals.

Drip campaigns do not stop sending, even after the CTA was executed.

What is an email blast?

An email blast is a mass email that is sent out to a large group of people at once. The content of the email is usually the same for all recipients.

Email blasts are generally less targeted than drip campaigns and can result in a high number of unsubscriptions.

When should I send marketing emails?

The best time to send marketing emails depends on your audience and the type of email you’re sending. For example, if you’re sending a promotional email, you may want to send it on a day when people are more likely to be in a buying mood. If you’re sending an email newsletter, you may want to send it in the morning or at lunch break, to make sure that people have time to go through it.

How often should I send marketing emails?

The frequency of your email marketing campaigns will depend on your audience and the type of email you’re sending.

If you’re sending a promotional email, you may want to send it weekly, or monthly. If you’re sending an email newsletter, you may want to send it daily or weekly.

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Email marketing is the bread and butter of modern growth tactics. It remains one of the best ways to attract customers, build your brand, and boost your bottom line!

With effective email marketing campaigns, you can drive consistent conversions and enjoy more personal relationships.

But if you employ weak email marketing strategies, you’ll never achieve your full potential.

To ensure you achieve the desired results, you’ll need to start with the right email marketing strategy for your brand!

Why Do You Need an Email Marketing Strategy?

Email marketing is one of the most influential (and affordable) digital marketing strategies. By reaching right into subscribers’ inboxes, you’ll enjoy a direct link to your customer base.  

Plus, it has one of the best returns on investment (ROI) in the business, with every $1 spent returning an average of $42 in revenue. Effective email marketing campaigns even beat out content marketing and paid search!  

Not to mention all the other perks a successful email marketing campaign promotes – you can sell products, share the good news, and improve cart abandonment rates. Or, you can get more personal and take the time to share a story or re-engage with lost subscribers.

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Define Your Audience

You can’t target your audience if you don’t know who they are. The more information you gather about your customers (even if they don’t exist yet), the more success you’ll see.

Build Your Email List

Next, it’s time to build your email marketing list. Ideally, you’ll curate a list chock-full of engaged subscribers who choose to receive the valuable content you create.

(Note: You should never buy an email list. Purchasing customer emails isn’t just ineffective; some spam filters will shut down entire email marketing campaigns based on past spam complaints.)

You can build your email list by:

• Adding opt-in or subscription forms on your webpage
• Designing standalone lead capture pages to promote offers like free webinars or eBooks
• Offering lead magnets, like discounts or free shipping, in exchange for emails
• Boosting your email marketing list on social media

Pick Your Design

Every email campaign will likely have a different flourish to set it apart. But first, you need to decide on the basics, such as your brand colors, ideal fonts, and email signature.

Planning ahead here ensures that no matter who actually composes your message, your emails hold to your high standards.

Plus, applying an identical color scheme and logo ensures brand familiarity with your audience.

Mobile-ize Your Infantry

Over 60% of emails are opened using a mobile device. Yet, 20% of all email marketing campaigns aren’t optimized for mobile.

That’s a big mistake – especially considering that mobile device customers are more likely to spend big than desktop customers.

Unoptimized emails lead to wonky, unreadable images and text and drive higher unsubscribe and delete rates.

Avoiding these mistakes can be as simple as inserting responsive email designs that are automatically optimized by the device.

Other tips include keeping the subject line short and minimizing the preheader’s length.

You should also make the call-to-action (CTA) big, bold, and beautiful to ensure it’s obvious on tiny screens.

Test in Different Clients and ISPs

Before you send emails for the first time, it’s crucial to test email clients and ISPs. The way clients handle data may alter how your designs look in a subscriber’s inbox.

Automate Your Campaigns

You should also consider automating your email campaigns. Trigger-based automation lets you send personalized messages and content based on:

• User behaviors, like visiting your website, clicking a link, or purchasing a products
• Demographic information like birthdays, holidays, and religious preferences
• Time-sensitive actions, such as expired subscriptions, reorder reminders, and re-engagement opportunities

You can also send out the classics like a handy welcome email, transactional emails, and thank-you emails. And don’t underestimate the power of “surprise” emails for your most loyal customers. (25% off goes a long way to building loyalty!)

Data supports using automation, too.

Triggered emails nab higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Trigger-based marketing has even been found to produce 500% better results than batch emails.

Leverage Social Media

Social media provides powerful tools to build your email list and further engagement. For instance, Facebook-boosted posts can increase traffic by nearly 50%.

You can use social media to build landing pages, share incentives, and premium content, and host webinars or digital get-togethers in real-time.

Remember: the more subscribers engage with your brand, the more memorable – and profitable – you’ll be.

Prepare to Measure Your Performance

It’s impossible to accurately predict how effective email marketing campaigns will be before you send them out.

But before you can measure their performance, you need to determine which metrics to gather.

Knowing which email metrics are most important for your campaigns before you send emails means you can segment your email strategy from the outset and optimize it as you gather more data.   

For instance, you may base email newsletter success based on open and click-through rates.

Meanwhile, your click-through rate, website traffic, and total sales may be more important for promotional emails.

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How to Create an Email Marketing Campaign That Works

Once you’ve defined your email marketing strategy, it’s time to move into the meat of your success: actual email campaigns.

Establish Frequency

Next, you need to determine the frequency of emails within this specific campaign.

Send emails too often, and you risk the dreaded unsubscribe button. Send too infrequently, and your customers may forget about you.

You’ll also want to think about your timing.

Many marketers swear by mid-week sends, while some target the weekend crowd!

Segment Your Email List

Segmenting subscribers allows you to deliver the best value to customers.

Unique interests or characteristics, location, purchase history, and industry all comprise segmentable data.

You can even use segmenting to re-engage inactive subscribers.

Conversely, failing to segment your emails, or segmenting them poorly, risks pushing customers away by meeting them at the wrong stage of the customer journey. You’ll also miss out on benefits like increased deliverability and opens, better click-through rates, and more conversions.

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6 Quick Email Marketing Tips to Optimize Your Strategy

2. Use a Real Reply-to Email Address and Signature

When you use a “do not reply” email address or generic sign-off, that turns off the engagement and reduces the likelihood that customers will respond positively to your brand.

The key is building engagement and excitement through authenticity and credibility.

3. Personalize Your Message

Personalization is a small tactic but a powerful one.

By capitalizing on customer data, you can insert a little spice into your strategy.

You can insert names into email subject lines, send welcome emails to new customers, offer birthday wishes (and discounts!), and recommend products based on previous purchases.

Remember: email marketing isn’t just another marketing channel; it’s crucial to each customer’s experience of your brand. There’s almost no end to the ways you can use personalized messages to improve the customer experience.

Best of all, 70% of brands don’t personalize their email marketing strategy. That means a little personalization goes a long way to helping you stand out against the competition.

4. Optimize your CTA

Your call-to-action can dramatically impact the click-through rates of your email marketing campaigns. (And in turn, your conversion rates.)

An ill-placed or poorly-designed CTA translates to fewer clicks and visitors and a smaller bottom line.

To improve your CTA, experiment with factors like:

• Buttons versus text
• Text font and size
• Colors (standing out is almost always better!)

Additionally, focus on the language you use in your CTAs. Tried-and-true tactics include starting with strong verbs (like buy and download), evoking emotion, and giving a reason to convert.

5. A/B Split Testing

How do you know that your email is perfectly optimized?

You test it, of course.

But don’t just limit yourself to A/B testing your subject line. (Though that’s important, too.)

Your home page and landing pages, templates, colors, fonts, CTA, personalization opportunities, and even segmentation should all be tested too.

And don’t forget your signature, sender name, image usage, and placement…

You get the point. There’s a lot to A/B test.

As you test these factors, you can build a database of customer preferences and optimize every email from the get-go.

Over time, you can re-test to keep up with consumer trends and perfect your email marketing strategy long-term.

6. Link to Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

Linking your social media to your email marketing campaigns can generate more activity and bring customers into the customer experience.

When subscribers see customers enjoying your brand and products, they’re more likely to click through and convert.

Aside from capitalizing on existing customers, you can also include CTAs on your various social media in your marketing campaigns.

You may even want to share the content of your emails on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Don’t be afraid to spread the word!

Key Takeaways

• Email marketing continues to be a popular, effective way to promote your brand and generate a higher ROI.
• Through your email marketing, you can connect with your audience, drive sales, and rally a community around your brand.
• Determine the best email marketing strategy by testing, optimizing, retesting, and reoptimizing. Running the paces ensures you don’t have to re-engage inactive subscribers later or hassle with high bounce rates.
• Your marketing efforts will build successful campaign strategies to see you through to the brand you always dreamed of.

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If writing marketing emails fills you with dread, then you are not alone.

Whether you’re not confident in your writing abilities, are afraid of hearing crickets, or simply don’t know what to say, email marketing is something that many brands struggle with.

As a result, many of the emails that wind up in our inboxes are dry, underwhelming, and uninspired. But it doesn’t have to be this way! 

By using a few simple concepts and a little bit of practice, you can craft killer emails that will not only captivate your audience but build a connection that will grow over time.

What to Include in Email Marketing Content

Marketing email copy can generally be split into three different sections:

• The subject line
• The body copy
• The call to action (CTA)

Let’s take a look at each element in turn and find out exactly what you need to create irresistible marketing emails. 

Write Click-Worthy Email Subject Lines

When it comes to marketing, getting your emails opened is half the battle. That’s where the all-important subject line comes in.

It may only be a few words long, but the subject line can dictate whether your well-crafted copy even sees the light of day. In fact, over a third of your subscribers will decide whether to open your email based on the subject line alone, so you’ve got to make it count.

 We all get bombarded with emails and so you need to give your subscribers a reason to click. There are a few different ways you can achieve this, though which one works best will depend on both the type of business you have and your brand voice.

Provoke Curiosity

Some of the best email subject lines are those that give an implicit promise that the reader will learn something new or interesting. These subject lines don’t necessarily give away too much about the content of the email but tease just enough to make your subscribers want to click!

Write Like A Human

One way to stand out from the crowd is to simply write a subject line as if you were sending an email to a friend. 

Create A Sense Of Urgency 

FOMO is real, and that is particularly true in the digital space. 

Don’t Forget The Importance of Your Preheader

Your preheader, or “Johnson Box” is the text that is right next to (desktop) or below (mobile) your email’s subject line. It is the first glimpse of your email copy that your reader will get. 

It can be a powerful second impression, right after your subject line, that helps a reader decide if they want to open your email and read further. Your preheader copy should stand out.

Our favorite preheaders include asking a question, adding emojis, and sounding as welcoming and humanizing as possible, similar to your subject line.

Email Content Writing: Embrace The Power Of Storytelling

Now that you know how to craft a captivating subject line, it’s time to tackle the body of your email. 

One of the best things you can do to forge a connection with your audience is to tell a story through your copy. Storytelling is a fundamentally human experience that allows you to create a stronger relationship with your audience. 

The stories you tell needn’t be the most exciting or monumental. You can simply take an everyday situation and relate it to your clients’ needs and desires.

Dive Right In

The key to success with storytelling emails is to get straight to it. 

Spark The Imagination

Just because you’re writing an email doesn’t mean you can’t use literary devices.  

Want more tips on how to create a complete email marketing campaign? Check out Tailwind’s Complete Email Marketing Guide!

Use Personalization

Add A Killer Call To Action

The Magic Formula for Email Marketing Copywriting

The perfect CTA copy strikes the perfect balance between describing the action and reinforcing value. 

For example, say you were a vegan blogger, and the goal of your email was to sell your eBook of quick, healthy dinners. You might write something like “click here to buy your copy.” Simple, right?

But it’s not the act of buying the eBook that your subscribers care about. It’s what the result of buying the eBook will be. Instead, you could try something like “discover delicious vegan recipes made in 30 minutes or less”, or “start cooking mouthwatering vegan food at home”. 

Not Ready To Sell? Start A Conversation

If you either don’t have anything to sell yet or it’s too early in the customer journey, you should still always include a CTA in your emails. 

An easy and effective CTA is to invite a reply. It could be a response to a question, an opinion on a topic, or even a reply with a single word if they would like to find out more.

Inviting a reply sets a conversation in motion, helping to build familiarity and trust in your brand. If you can offer a personal response, even better. We are so used to automated emails from unmanned inboxes. Speaking to a real human makes a company all the more memorable.

Don’t Forget Your Competitor and Audience Research

You don’t have to do all the heavy lifting yourself when it comes to finding out what exactly to write about and what interests your audience.

Competitor research is also important for email marketing writing. See what kind of emails they are writing and how they are constructing their campaign. What subjects are they focusing on? How are they speaking to you, the reader? Are they trying to draw you in with deals or emojis or questions? You can use all of this information and more to draw inspiration for your own email content.

Don’t forget other third-party sites like Quora and Reddit that can be great sources for learning what your audience is talking about!

FAQ

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