You can put together the most fantastic email marketing campaigns, but no one will open them unless they’re interested in the headline. People are so bombarded with emails and notifications all day long, you need to make sure your campaigns stand out.
A lot of writers go overboard with this and end up falling into ‘clickbait’ territory. However, there are plenty of ways you can get attention without shady titling practices. Once you get an idea of what makes for an engaging email headline, you clickthrough rates should skyrocket.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at a collection of six of our favorite email marketing headlines. We’ll talk about what makes them so good and how to go about emulating their success. Let’s get to it!
1. “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring”
This headline is a classic in the email marketing world. It’s an email that Warby Parker sends to its customers right before their prescription expires. Let me break down why this is such a favorite of mine:
- It’s a perfect example of sending a marketing email at the right time.
- The tone of the headline is pretty casual, so it doesn’t come across as too salesy.
To build on that second point, imagine if you replaced that headline with “Renew your prescription now!” It comes on too strong, and if you’re anything like me, that email would get ignored or sent straight into the spam folder.
2. “Where to Drink Beer Right Now”
As far as headlines go, this one is pretty straightforward. If you’ve had a long day and want to grab a beer, you’d probably click on it. The guys at Eater Boston know that, so they sent that little gem out at 6:45 PM in the middle of the week.
Six forty-five is the perfect hour to send out that email. You’re bound to catch people coming out of the office or those who are already on their way back, and those two groups are more likely to convert to sales.
As far as the day goes, Wednesday isn’t usually a day where most people go out for a beer. However, that’s exactly why they sent that email then. On Friday, people don’t need a prompt to go out and have a drink. However, if you can convince them to do so on Wednesday – when they wouldn’t have otherwise – you get a bump to business.
The takeaway here is twofold. First, you need to consider what time of the day to sent out emails if they contain offers. Secondly, email campaigns can be a great way to drum up business during slow times, so you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment by sending out blasts during different days.
3. “The Broke Girl’s Guide to a Luxury Vacation”
This headline comes courtesy from Refinery29, a female-focused digital media company. I’m a big fan of the title they chose for three reasons:
- It promises value by implying it will teach you how to get something good in exchange for little money.
- It’s a great example of ‘self-identification,’ which is a concept we’ll explore in a minute.
- I’m not a girl, but I appreciate being included.
The way this headline is worded, chances are it will only resonate with people that identify themselves as ‘broke girls.’ That means you probably won’t get as much traction with well-off men or women, or pretty much anyone else outside that segment.
However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Highly-targeted email campaigns can be a hit if a good chunk of your subscribers share a common interest or trait. For example, if you’re blogging about running shoes, most of your audience would probably identify themselves as ‘runners.’ Therefore, using that word in your headlines could resonate with them.
4. “Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”
If you want to get someone’s attention, make them laugh. Funny emails aren’t something you’d expect from Groupon, but then again, anyone can surprise you.
The main headline here isn’t anything to write home about. “Deals that make us proud” is rather generic and on its own, it’s something neither you or I would probably click on. However, just by tacking on a joke at the end, suddenly you have people’s attention.
That email would get a quick laugh from me, and I’d click on it out of curiosity. Then, if it’s engaging enough, I’ll read through the rest of it. However, the hardest part is getting that first click, which is where humor can help you.
5. “Your Butt Will Look Great in These Workout Pants”
Here’s another example of a funny headline. However, this email from Fabletics offers a better example of a highly-targeted campaign. If you’re anything like me, you worry all day long about how your butt looks in whatever you’re wearing. That means this email would be sure to get a click from us.
However, this email doesn’t just succeed because of a funny title. It promotes a specific product (jeans), and it does so by tapping into a fear that most people who want to buy new ones share. That is, the question “Will these look good on me?”. The headline reassures you right away, which is an excellent marketing technique.
6. “63-Point Checklist for Creating the Ultimate Opt-in Form”
Blogging is highly competitive these days. Whatever subject you write about you’re probably not the first one to get there, so you always need to provide more value than the competition does.
One great way to do this is using the Skyscraper Technique, which involves building the most thorough resources you can. That’s exactly the approach this email headline takes and why I like it so much.
This title hammers home the point that it offers you the ultimate resource to create opt-in forms. If that goal happens to be something you’re interested in, then you’ll probably click on it without a second thought.
Chances are you know what your email subscribers are interested in since you’re blogging for a specific niche. That means if you can tap into those interests and desires and offer something valuable through your emails, then you shouldn’t have problems getting people to open them.
Conclusion
If you check your email right now, chances are you’ll find a lot of messages you haven’t paid attention to. It’s not your fault, either. There’s so much digital noise to deal with everyday that we can’t pay attention to it all, so we prioritize important and interesting messages.
Your goal is to make sure your blog’s email campaigns fall into the ‘interesting’ category. That should keep your open rate high, which in turn could lead to more conversions.
Email marketing is just one aspect of running a blog though. If you need help getting everything else set up, check out our Start a Blog guide and let us know if you have any questions below!
Image credit: Pixabay.