The first two rules any professional email marketer will tell you are this: Keep it short and don't be afraid to use your brand name. Your "subject line" and your "from" line are the only two spaces -- at least for those emailers who don't use preview panes -- in which you get to distinguish yourself and your brand, so get to the point and do it quickly.
During this year's Olympic games, internet marketing company Lyris helped NBC generate its daily email updates. The company quickly settled on the subject line "NBC Olympics: Top Stories," rather than using content from each day's stories. That approach enabled the readers who opted in to the emails to easily locate and identify the NBC messages.
John Arnold, author of "E-Mail Marketing for Dummies" and head of Constant Contact's marketing education division, says IT company Bek received good results with a similarly straightforward subject line. The line read: "Bek Tips: The Business Benefits of VOIP."
Lyris has used the same strategy for its own email marketing. Company director of product management J.D. Peterson says recipients responded better to "Lyris: Newsletter" than the other variations the company tried.
Professional emailers also emphasize the importance of time sensitivity and the need to give users a sense of urgency. Thane Stallings, a senior consultant at Epsilon, says it helps to include "something the consumer needs to do to take quick advantage of information." Coupons, offers for rebates and sale announcements all fall into this category.
Arnold reports that this strategy has proven successful for several of his clients. Scrapbooking site Create My Keepsake sent out a particularly successful email campaign with the subject line "Labor Day Sale -- 20% off coupon inside." The subject line relied on a familiar holiday theme and prompted the audience to open the email quickly.
Constant Contact ran another successful campaign for accessories company Sojourn Bags. Arnold says the subject line, which read "Free Shipping on New Fabrics," highlighted value and "hints at an announcement of new products."
