How to write email subject lines Search Marketing Newsletter Archives - High RankingsAdvisor Issue No. 149 2005

Top copywriter Karon Thackston's advise on writing email subject lines to grab the readers attention and avoid the delte button...

How To Write Persuasive Subject Lines By Karon Thackston starts from the findings that " The second-biggest motivator in opening email is the subject line. (The first is the "from" line.) and covers what to do with the 3 seconds and approximately six words you have to make an impression. Her top 3 email subject line tips that work successfully are:


1. Make An Offer

2. State a Benefit

3. Evoke Curiosity

She concludes with examples of winning subject lines: "Some of the best subject lines hook readers by piquing their curiosity, and then reel them in to read the entire message.

"Are You Still Wearing These Fashion "Don'ts"?"

"The Secrets to [Whatever] Never Before Revealed"

"Link-popularity Scams You Should Avoid"

Of course, the key to writing the best subject lines is knowing your target customers, making the topic relevant, and testing, testing, testing."

From research into email open rates she highlights "the other interesting fact from the DoubleClick email survey is that relevancy is a major player. Over 55% of respondents said they deleted email that wasn't relevant because they considered it spam. DoubleClick also reported that the average open rate was 27.5% (for text or HTML messages). That gives you a baseline to gauge your success."

How To Increase Your Sales & Your Search Engine Positioning Karon Thackston's Step-By-Step Copywriting Course

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