Successful email marketing is all about capturing the attention of your audience as quickly as possible and then holding their attention long enough to get your point across and get them to do what you want them to do.

That might sound fairly easy but it isn’t. Think about how you read your email, especially when your inbox is bursting at the seams. If you’re anything like me, you’ll scan down the list of subject lines and ‘From’ list and open only those emails from people you know and the ones which have interesting, relevant to you subject lines.

The rest are likely destined to end up in the trash, unopened, unread and thoroughly wasted.

That’s why when you’re planning your email marketing campaign the subject line of your emails is one of the most important things to consider. It has to engage the reader instantly and like I said, that’s no easy task.

Look at these two examples and you’ll see what I meant by the title of this article. You’re a loan company and it’s coming up to Christmas, typically one of your busiest times of the year as people need a bit extra to pay for the holiday and all it entails.

To get people to take out a loan with you rather than your competitors you think an email marketing campaign would be a good idea (you’d be right!). You come up with this subject line:

“Get more money for Christmas!”

It’s not bad. The idea of having more money at Christmas is no doubt appealing. But it’s not great and, as people are pre-programmed to think that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, it will set alarm bells ringing straightaway. Not only that, if your audience doesn’t think they need any extra money, your email is going in the bin with the rest of the junk.

What you need to do is plant the idea that they might need more money and that you might be able to help.

“Hi [name], could you use a little bit more money this Christmas?”

This is infinitely better as a subject line. First of all, it’s personal. People always respond better to be addressed directly. Secondly, it requires the reader to stop and think about the question. It plants the seed that, you know what, they might need a bit extra this year. It will be enough for them to open the email and find out how they can get it, at least.

Now you’re into the body of your email and you can start answering the question for them – with more questions! All gradually guiding them to your call to action. Something like this would work well:

“Think about it – Christmas is an expensive time of year. Who couldn’t do with a bit extra cash to buy that present for a loved one or make that Christmas dinner that bit more special?

With a loan from [company name] you can enjoy a fantastic Christmas without worrying about the cost. Call us now for a hassle-free, affordable cash injection, just when you need it.”

Obviously you would spend more time crafting than message than I have for this example, but the idea is there – it will get your target audience thinking “Yeah, I could do with a bit extra right now, I’ll give them a call.

Now you can see why I titled this article as I did. A question is often more powerful than an answer – at least in capturing the attention of your audience. Providing the answer gets them to buy though, don’t forget that!

Author Bio: Ian Grainger is writing on behalf of Extravision, specialists in email marketing.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: email marketing, subject lines, copywriting