Step-by-Step Guide for Crafting
Effective Email Subject Lines
The primary aim of effective email subject lines is to catch the reader’s attention, encourage them to open the email, and make them involved into active engagement and further interactions. Here is a practical step-by-step guide to help you write subject lines that work for your B2B audience and bring better results:
Step 1. Generating Ideas
Before writing your email and creating the subject line, start with the preparation stage which includes compiling a list of your audience’s preferences and what they care about. When you know the potential recipients, you can look at professional email subject line examples for inspiration. For brainstorming new ideas, it’s highly important to collaborate with your team and come up with different options to test.
Step 2. Keep It Short and Clear
While choosing the best subject line for your email, try to avoid long or complex phrases, because people usually have limited time to grasp the main idea of the message. Every word should have a purpose. Shorter email subject lines can be more effective, especially on mobile devices as most people check their emails on their phones. Such subject lines are easier to read, it isn’t lost in a busy inbox and gets opened.
Step 3. Use Action Words and Urgency
Your subject lines need to motivate readers to take immediate steps. For example, include in your subject line action words like ‘get’. ‘discover’, ‘join’, to create a sense of energy and encourage recipients to take action. Moreover, add a sense of urgency with phrases like "Today Only" or "Ends Soon", such a technique has a psychological influence on your readers and creates a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out on such a nice opportunity). Action words in combination with urgency make readers open your email and take immediate action because it feels highly important and sounds like the last chance.
Step 4. Personalize for Your Audience
If you want to catch the immediate attention of your recipients, craft your subject line taking into account different segments of your audience. It’s a good idea to mention the recipient’s name, past purchases, or location to build a connection and increase the chances of your email being opened. According to the psychological aspect, people want to get emails that feel like they were written just for them, which can greatly increase open rates and click-through rates. This step can improve your email marketing strategy and bring better results in your sales.
Step 5. Test and Refine
It’s almost impossible to be sure that your subject line is perfect without testing. Testing and refining can improve your subject lines and increase possibility of gaining success. Testing helps you see what works best for your specific audience, so you can improve your approach to maximize engagement. Moreover, you can analyze open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Using real data will help you craft even better subject lines in the future, leading to stronger results and higher conversions.
Step 6. Choose the Best Timing
Timing is extremely important in statistics whether your email gets opened or ignored. Even the best subject line can fail if your audience gets it at the wrong time. People usually check their emails at different times during the day, and receiving the message when they’re most likely to be active can make a huge difference. For example, a professional audience might open their inbox in the early morning before work, while others might check emails in the evening. It may sound impossible to know the exact perfect time to send your emails, but by analyzing your audience’s routines and preferences, you can choose the approximate time your recipients are most likely to take action. Moreover, you can use tools to schedule your emails at the right times when your audience is most likely to be active, especially on mobile devices. So, perfect timing can increase your chances of engagement and conversions.
With a well-developed strategy and by following these steps, you can create subject lines that connect with your audience and improve your email marketing results.