Why Email Subject Lines Matter

In many ways, subject lines are the most important part of your emails. No, they aren’t the pictures carefully selected to catch your customers’ eyes. They aren’t the content you’ve put so much time putting together. Your subject lines, however, can have a heavy impact on how readers respond to your email. 

1. Subject Lines are the First Things Readers See

Your subject lines are the first interaction most customers are going to have with the content they’ve created. In your subject line, you have the opportunity to begin to create the reaction you want from your customers. How do you want them to respond to your email? How do you want them to view your company? The subject line is your first chance to create that response–and it’s an important part of the equation. 

2. Subject Lines Determine Whether or Not Your Content Will be Read

The average office worker receives an average of around 90 emails per day–and that’s emails that are sent and received in an office environment, not the ones that come to a customer’s personal email. Most customers open less than 25% of those emails. There are several things that determine whether or not a customer will open your email, including whether or not your content is trustworthy, what type of content you’ve produced in the past, and what type of content they believe that you’re sending–often based on that important subject line. 

3. Subject Lines are Easy to Personalize

Today’s customers are looking for more personalized content than ever, especially from their email marketing. If you send out personalized content, you’re more likely to catch your readers’ interest. You can use the reader’s name, the city where they live, or other information that’s more likely to catch their interest–and as a result, you’re more likely to engage and interest your readers before they even open the email. 

4. Subject Lines are a Great Place to Create an Emotional Response

When you’re crafting a great email, you want to create an emotional response in your readers: something that will lead them to take the response you want, whether that’s buying your product or checking out your blog for more information. The average person only spends about 15-20 seconds reading each individual email, which means you have a limited amount of time to catch their attention and create that response. By using your subject line, on the other hand, you can start off with an emotional reaction from your reader: something that will be more likely to increase their response from the beginning. For example, an urgent sale–one with items that may sell out quickly or deals that could disappear before the customer knows it–may be more likely to send them straight to your website to shop than one that is simply announcing the latest styles of the season. 

5. Subject Lines Encourage Curiosity

You want your readers to be interested in the content you’ve created. You want them to open your email, read through it, and take the action you’re asking for–usually visiting your website for more information. As you put together your subject line, consider how it can help spark curiosity. Is there a question your readers should want answered? Information that will pull them in and coax them to check out more of what you have to say? Your subject line is the perfect place to draw them in. 

Learn How Peak Performance Digital Can Help

As you’re crafting emails for your business, make sure you don’t miss out on the importance of subject lines. They’re more than just a placeholder that might give a glimpse of what’s inside the email. They’re a perfect opportunity to reach out to your customers and increase the odds that they’ll open your content. Want to learn more about crafting more effective emails? Contact us today to learn how we can help.