Email marketing subject line mistakes to avoid

English: email envelope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The subject line represents one of the most crucial parts of an email marketing campaign. It’s the first thing an end-user sees and, as they say, first impressions are everything. If it’s enticing enough, the user will click through to the main body copy. However, if it is dull, lifeless and full of mistakes, the recipient will have no hesitation in sending it straight to the delete folder.

So, how can you avoid some of the worst subject line errors?

First of all, make sure you remove all spammy keywords and phrases. You may think that ‘free stuff’ and ‘great prizes’ might entice the user, but the only thing this will entice is the spam folder. The vast majority of email providers tend to filter out emails which contain these sorts of spam phrases like ‘money off’, ‘gift’ and ‘sign up’.

Furthermore, personalisation is key to email marketing. If a recipient believes that your subject lines were created by an automated service then the personalisation factor is lost, meaning that the customers feels like just another number in a list of thousands.

Even though subject lines tend not to have a character limit, it’s common knowledge that the best subject lines are short, sharp and to the point. This way, it doesn’t give too much away about the actual main content but entices the reader to open and find out more. Furthermore, a long subject line may not show up on certain mobile devices or tablets, which could have significant ramifications in the mobile market. If mobile users can’t even see half the subject line, then chances are they aren’t going to click through and read the whole email.

These are just a few of the common mistakes made by some email marketing professionals. By avoiding some of these pitfalls, marketing professionals should be well on their way to improving their campaigns.