Subject Lines that Work III

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Today’s post is the third in the Subject Lines that Work Series (subsequent posts on November 11, and November 18.) Here are a few more in hopes of helping your message stand out in an inbox that is quickly running out of room.

1) Ends Friday: Save 21% on your $75 purchase – We’re including this one for a few reasons, for starters the percentage off was unusual for the sending company, they usually offer a 15% discount. The cataloger also pushed up the minimum purchase from $50 to $75, also a twist for them. Luck also played a role, because the Friday deadline was actually the 21st of the month – which subtly reinforced the 21% savings and communicated the urgency. The group also ran a second segment test with the subject line – Save 21% until the 21st.

2) Gift Ideas for Any Occasion – This subject line is a powerful way to show variety and subtlety communicate your willingness to help. Recipients are coaxed to browse the site rather a specific item/ price point. This subject line would be even greater if it was from a bank or a company selling memberships, because they’re offering gift alternatives.

3) Lock in Your Holiday Savings – I received this email from a cataloger, intrigued I opened to learn that I could lock in my savings coupon for the next 30 days. There was a sense of mystery in this email because I had to go to a landing page to find the percentage savings and the amount of time I had to redeem.

4) Your Account Aggregation Service – I received this from my bank regarding a service I had subscribed to through my banking profile; I opened the email to read about the changes to the service. The same principles apply to any other sender, if the recipient has elected to receive information on a specialty product/ service then talk to them about it through a special email – this simple approach is very focused and effective.

5) It’s time to Refill – This was a reminder email and a good use of a recurring campaigns reminding the recipient that they need to order more. It is also a good way to extend the life of a product/ service.

6) Looking forward to meeting you… – Last week we included the “Don’t Miss Out” subject line and follow up. This is an alternate take, sending a reminder with a personal invitation may earn additional attention. Build excitement by leveraging personalized invitations from the recipient’s individual sales reps – this could be to a seminar or webinar with a promise for a personal follow-up; the odds of grabbing attention increases if this is done in conjunction with the general invitations.

7) Start Saving With this Exclusive Coupon – This subject line is geared toward the recipient that opens, clicks through to your site and browses around but has yet to make their first purchase. To help push them into the buyer category, send a special coupon for their first purchase, run tests to determine their threshold and get them started.

Check back for more in our Subject Line Series.