When It Comes To Subject Lines, Size Does Not Matter Too Much

subject linesSubject lines: Recently we explained that it is a good idea to keep your emails short rather than long when communicating with your subscribers.

People are busy, they are increasingly also doing something else when reading emails and they don’t have very much time to spend reading each one.

So when you are using an auto-responder like RocketResponder, it is a good idea not to make too much of a demand on people’s time if you want to keep your subscribers happy.

However when it comes to the subject lines, the size is much less important than you might think.

The only job of the subject line is to grab the reader’s attention in such a way that they go on to open the email.

Sometimes if takes a very short subject line to achieve this goal and sometimes it takes one a bit longer.

The bottom line is don’t be frightened of writing a long subject line if you think that it what it takes.

It is far better to write a good subject line which is long than a bad subject line which is too short.

In fact I remember seeing the results of a survey into subject lines where billions of subject lines, ranging from the very shortest ones right up to long ones of 148 characters or more, were analyzed.

When these were checked to see if there was a difference between subject line length and the numbers of opens and clicks the results were…there was virtually no difference at all.

So when it comes to subject lines don’t worry about length, just worry about making them so interesting that your email gets opened.

See also: Rocket Responder – When It Comes To Writing Emails, Size Matters

Email subject lines – final selection for now

Email subject lines

Here is the final look at email subject lines for the year – I thought I would give you a break next month with the holidays coming up.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and that your own RocketResponder emails have had improved open rates because you have been taking care with your own subject lines.

So here are the final six for now at least:

  • WOW! This is HOT HOT HOT Right NOW! – Ok well maybe it is “hot hot hot” but it seems like you are trying too hard to convince me. Result: Very offputting and I will move on. Unopened and deleted.
  • Mega Stoon – What is it with two word subject lines which make absolutely no sense at all? Stop doing it. This is driving me crazy. Deleted for the sake of my sanity.
  • sanity – Seriously the very next email which caught my eye had the subject line “sanity” and nothing else. These people are testing my patience.
  • Use this & get new leads instantly! – At last an email I want to open. Notice how I am not told what “this” is. The idea is that I have to open the email to find out. An excellent subject line. I knew there was one out there this month.
  • Alphabet Soup: IPAS & PBAs – I am totally lost already. If the subject line is this confusing then I am highly unlikely to want to find out what the body of the email has in store. Not opened.
  • Patrick Want to do us both a Favor? – Who doesn’t want to do a favor for someone? And who doesn’t like having a favor done for them? So this is an email I would certainly open. As an aside it came from the same person who sent the Alphabet Soup email, so for any given person some subject lines work and others don’t.

Let me know some of your favorite and least favorite subject lines and also let me know what you have thought of this series…and whether you would like to see some more of the same.

Email subject lines – the examples keep coming

email subject lines

We continue our RocketResponder series on email subject lines with six more examples.

I was asked the other day if these examples are real or whether I have just made them up.

Well I can assure you that every single one of them is 100 per cent genuine.

So here is this month’s selection:

  • Ganhe dinheiro visitando essa pagina – Well as I don’t speak Portuguese I would give this one a miss.
  • Before you join a site you intend to join anyway do it through us… – The problem here is that I don’t know who “us” is and I am not given any real incentive as to why I might want to join a site through the people who sent the email. This just fails to grab me or capture my attention enough to open the email.
  • stuck at start? – This is good. Anyone who feels that they are stuck at the beginning and have no clue what to do next would probably at least consider opening this email. Nicely done.
  • Youve Found Gold $1000-$8000 Commissions: FREE Report – This might be true or it might not be. In any event I don’t believe it so I won’t be clicking on the link. Yes I do make snap decisions when reading a subject line…and so do you.
  • Auto responders – What does that mean? You might as well say “Dog food,” Green paper,” or “Dirty shoes.” Come on you can do better than that!
  • MULTY ONE – Yes that was the subject line. It makes Auto responders sound almost interesting. The point of a subject line is to get the email opened and not to confuse the poor reader.

We will be back next month with some more.

Email subject lines – the examples keep on coming

Email subject lines

Thanks to everyone who has said that they enjoy this series of email subject lines blog posts.

We enjoy putting together and we want all RocketResponder users to get the very best possible results out of the service we provide.

Here are six examples of other people’s subject lines to have a look at:

  • Find the Hidden Promo Codes! Then Tell Others! – No! If I find them I am keeping them to myself. It does sound like too much hard work but if I had a bit of time on my hands I might have opened this email. A bit unsure of this one really. This is one of those subject lines where I want to hear your views.
  • *LAUNCH*- HAPPENING NOW** Earn 75% Comm. PAID DAILY – What purpose the four asterisks actually serve is beyond me. And is it only me but does 75 per cent commission put any one else off? I just think that if a program owner has to give away so much of his income then something does not seem quite right. Not a chance of me ever clicking this email. Deleted.
  • RE-LAUNCH! Cash JackPot Points! 2 Level Commissions Now @VLD! – I don’t have the faintest idea what this is about and I am not going to waste any time trying to find out. Terrible subject line.
  • Patrick Join Us for Wonderful Wednesday Webinars – This just works. Wonderful Wednesday Webinars is the phrase which makes me open up the email. A winner.
  • Ahhh F**K THIS! – This is, without doubt, the worst subject line I have ever read. It was so bad that I replied to the guy who sent it and told him never to contact me again. There is just no excuse for this kind of language. No matter how good your offer is or how ideally suited it is for me, if you put this kind of email in my inbox I will never want to do business with you.
  • SafeList With a Twist – and a Cycler! – This was winning for me until the part about the cycler. SafeList With a Twist is all that was needed to capture my attention enough to open the email. Know to quit when you are ahead. Sometimes less really is more.

Meet back here same time next month for another look at this fascinating subject (if you excuse the terrible pun that is.)

Email subject lines – the real life examples continue

email subject lines

How are your RocketResponder emails coming along?

If you have been following this series you should really be thinking about your subject lines now.

How many of these people put enough thought into their own subject lines do you think?

  • What can we do for you? – I like this as it puts the recipient of the email right at the heart of the message. It got the email opened and once inside the sender wasted no time in explaining what his program could do. I would only have changed it to read “Look what we can do for you…” just to avoid someone answering the question with the answer “nothing” and clicking delete. My change avoids the negative altogether and turns the subject line into a call to action which has the subtext – “Open this email to find out what we can do for you.” Good subject line. Liked it a lot.
  • Patrick Here is an Extremely Simple Business Model that WORKS! – Love the message, hate the grammar. The mixture of capital letters and lower case letters is off putting and the random all capital word at the end is even more so. This detracts from what is actually a very powerful marketing message. I will forgive the grammar errors and open it any way. Works for me.
  • LibertaGia – If your subject line looks like a spelling mistake I won’t open the email. Deleted already.
  • ListJumper == High CTR! – I know what ListJumper is and I know what CTR stands for. However take a step back when you write a subject line. If I didn’t already know these terms then this would mean nothing to me at all. As for the two equals signs in the middle I have no idea what that is all about. Not a great subject line by any means but I have seen worse. I wouldn’t be tempted to use it.
  • WARNING .. highly addictive! – That is all it would take to get me to open this email. Remember all you want to do is build up enough curiosity to get the email opened. In this case three words is all that is needed. Best of the month.
  • Let Me Show You The Way – Yes, this works too. Hooked in six words this time. The internet can be a daunting, scary place, especially for the new and inexperienced. Why would you not want someone to show you the way? Opened.

I am off on the look out for some more now, see you back here in a month.