Advice on Writing E-mail Subject Lines

Focus on the benefits to the person rather than the offer details, e.g. say "Keep warm this December" rather than "25% off winter coats".

Sales related phrases such as sale, discount, budget and half price won't help get your e-mail opened.

It needs to be relevant to a person to get them to open the e-mail.

Keep it brief. On a desktop computer, the subject line cuts off at 50 characters. Mobile devices cut the subject line off at 35 characters.

Create intrigue. Don't give away everything in your subject line, make sure there's still a reason to open the e-mail. E.g. "Open (You'll thank me for this)".

Make It Personal

"Personal Sounding" e-mail subject lines get better open rates.

Make your e-mails some as though you are only writing to that one person.

Test Your Subject Lines

No-one is born a subject line writing expert. Instead, test different headlines and find out for yourself what works.

Further Resources for E-mail Subject Lines

Email Subject Line Advice From Marketing Experts
A collection of resources from Web Marketing Today, 8 Apr 2015.