Write Email Subject Lines that Generate High Open Rates

The holder of a BS from Rider University (Dean’s List) and an MBA from Seton Hall University, Carmine Fusco, is the owner of CLM Global Enterprises LLC. An affiliate marketer, Carmine Fusco, partners with brands to market their products to his email list.

When writing emails, many affiliate marketers make the mistake of not paying attention to their subject lines. In fact, they direct all their focus to the content of the email and relegate the subject line to last on their priority lists. However, the subject line is what people judge emails by. If you don’t pique their interest with it, they might not open your email.

Structurally, the best subject lines are short and to the point. People read half of all emails on their phones. While computer screens allow up to 60 characters for email subjects, phone screens only fit about 30 characters. Therefore, as a marketer, you should keep your headings short, placing the most relevant information at the front. Specificity is key. In your heading, communicate exactly what the email is about, narrowing it down to one idea. You can also use industry-specific keywords in case your readers use filters to segment emails. This increases the likelihood that they will read your email. Avoid filler words like “Hello” as they take too much valuable space.

Thematically, a good subject line arouses a sense of urgency or curiosity. Urgency prompts readers to take action while curiosity invites them to open and read the email. You could highlight a time constraint in your heading to create urgency, say a fast-approaching deadline. For curiosity, you could use your heading to tease readers into opening the email by starting a story that goes into the body of the email. You could even personalize your emails, leading with the reader’s name, or leverage name recognition to pique readers’ interests using a celebrity’s or associate’s name.