How to Write Email Subject Lines that Capture Your Audience

Are your emails being opened? If the answer is no or not really, then know that there are ways to increase the likelihood that you email will not only be opened but read as well. Want to know how?

The answer is your subject line.

This is the line of text that your audience first sees when they receive your email.

e.g.

Sender’s Name > Subject line > First sentence of email.

For some big-name brands, their business/sender's name is enough to guarantee an open, however for most businesses or entrepreneurs, their subject line is what draws their audiences’ interest. And if your emails aren’t being opened, chances are you are not capturing their attention with yours.

Most people don’t have time to read every single email they receive, especially if they receive hundreds every day, so more often than not, “unimportant” emails will be added to the bin, spam, or left unread. Not to say that your emails are “unimportant” but unless you have built a trustworthy and engaging report with your audience, chances are you will come across as just another email.

Catchy, intriguing subject lines are the way to fix this.

So what are the key elements to writing great email subject lines?

Pique their interest.

Give your audience a taste of what your email is about.

Just enough to spark their curiosity and get them to click through.

• Asking questions is a great way to do this.

• Use keywords that directly relate to your audience, niche and subject matter.

• Add the idea of scarcity - it will help trigger your audience into taking action; limited time, last one, 2 spots left, final chance, ends tonight, etc.

• If you’re offering a discount - include it. Your audience will see your business name, immediately followed by a discount, and will be more likely to react. Especially if they already have a good idea of who you are and what you do, alerting them to your offer could be the perfect draw card. For all you know that discount is what they’ve been waiting for to make a decision about buying from you. Beware of using this tactic too often though, as you don’t want to come across as spam.

e.g.

Kaeleigh Baxter > 50% Off my Best-Selling Copywriting Program. Limited Time Only.

(the sender / business name > discount, what the offer is via keywords, scarcity)

Do your Research

What works for one person, may not work for all.

You should know your audience better than anyone else.

• Target their pain points.

• What problem does your audience have that your email/message is the answer to?

• What keywords will they respond to?

• Why did your audience start following your email list to begin with?

Knowing your niche and audience is the best way to know exactly what to say, what voice to use and what action your audience would be likely to take as a result.

Don’t sound spammy.

Nobody likes to receive spam mail, it’s tacky and annoying and instills fear that if you open it, you may be opening yourself up to scammers and virus’, so understand if you take this approach with your emails, there’s every chance the email algorithms will automatically add your emails to your audience’s spam folder.

You don’t want this.

You want your audience to read your emails, you want them to click through to your website. You want them to buy from you.

So you need to avoid the following where possible:

• ALL CAPS

• Exclamation marks

• Referencing money

• Grammatical Errors

• Strangely formatted fonts

• Spam trigger-words

There are many ways to capture your audience’s attention and great subject lines are essential when it comes to emails. Once you know what works for you and your audience, be sure to master it.

Until next time,

Happy Writing!

Hi there! I’m Kaeleigh, a Creative Content & Copywriter who helps business owners and entrepreneurs generate leads, increase traffic and build their brands through engaging creative content.