A new study by eMarketer dove into consumer behaviors with respect to opening your e-mail messages. Generally, consumers pay less attention to e-mail; when they do, they tend to focus on shorter messages. So what is that perfect subject line?
I can’t tell you.
In the eMarketer article, Consumers Opening Fewer E-Mails, they describe a sizable advantage in using shorter subject lines for marketing. I suspect this is due to the fact it requires less time to scan so people assume the e-mail is short and to the point. Of course, I am describing this from my own consumer behavior more than my marketing experience.
“Subject lines of less than 35 characters yielded an average open rate of 19.6% and a 3.1% average click rate. E-mails with subject lines of 35 or more characters drew average open rates of 14.8% and average click rates of 1.9%.”
–eMarketer, “Consumers Opening Fewer E-Mails”
In addition to this statistic, you can’t deny the fact that consumers are relying much less on e-mail as they evolve their technology needs. As evident in the graph below, attention to e-mail has dropped. I firmly believe as e-mail usage drops, RSS and social media adoption will rise. Send every e-mail as if it were your last, as it may very well be.
Regardless, as marketers, we all need to respect and embrace the needs of our consumers. We can do this by setting proper expectations when people opt-in to your e-mail marketing. Just as important, you need to engage with your consumers on an expected, regular fashion — not only blasting your contacts about a sale – interact and share relevant information for what they requested. I suggest for you to read the 10-Round Spam Smack-Down to find out if you’re sending spam and our e-mail best practices, too.
Simply put, do the right thing for your prospects and customers. Respect their time and they will respect yours. Best-case scenario, you make a ton of sales; worst-case scenario, you don’t make a sale. It’s OK. Always test and find out what works in your industry.
Have you found any interesting subject lines that made you open an e-mail? Share them in the comments below so we all can see what works. 
[Image credit: idogcow on Flickr]
Joe,
I found that if I start a conversation in the subject line, I get a huge open rate. e.g. Hi Meny I would like to know if and then in the body of the email I would continue the sentence.
Take care,
Meny Hoffman
Recently an unsolicited email that I received (and opened) was titled, “If you read nothing else, please read this” – that worked I did open it. But it wasn’t as interesting as it sounded. The email subject needs to match the email subject line in terms of keeping my attention. Typically I am more apt to open an email if both the sender is a name I recognize and the title engages me (something I want to know).
Meny,
I think that subject line is very effective. Just to reiterate what you’ve shared, have the subject line leading and in the top of the body, continue the message. I’ve received a few messages like this and it works on me.
Thanks for your comments. I look forward to more.
~Joe
Kris,
I totally agree that e-mails need to have as much bite as their bark. Nothing turns me off more about e-mail when the subject line is powerful and the message is lame. Maintaining consumers’ e-mail reputation is equally as important as maintaining a good IP reputation (for e-mail deliverability).
Thanks for your insightful thoughts, Kris. I look forward to hearing from you more.
~Joe
Hedge Your Bets
I have found that creating a brand within the brand is the best way to author shorter subject lines that get great open rates. The subject line of an email then has two opportunities to capture the viewers attention: 1) the name of the sub-brand; and 2) the actual subject line.
Flywheel
http://jivesystems.com/