Marketing Sherpa recently commented on the apparent email marketing trend of testing shorter and shorter subject lines. Rather than pack as many offers and calls to action as possible in the subject line, the short subject may stand out visually and attract the coveted clicks.
The blog post includes a testimonial from Content Director, Anne Holland that shorter subject lines for one of the Marketing Sherpa newsletters “invariably got better open rates.”
One online retailer that I’ve observed often “goes short” is Urban Outfitters. Here’s a screenshot of the last few months’ of subject lines. Of course, if they are split testing subject lines, it may not be a perfect record of their campaign. But one subject line in particular may just be the world’s shortest subject line: A+
Assuming Urban Outfitters is doing rigorous testing, the trend I see in my inbox indicates it’s either working or test results haven’t been dismal enough to abandon the strategy, depending on how long the testing period is.
I’m not convinced the copy is the most compelling…”Naming Names” and “Turn It Up” don’t give me enough information about the email content to motivate me to click on the offer. I chuckled at the “Aloha, Mr. Hand” throwback, but wonder how many of Urban’s current target demographic could place the movie it’s from. However, the unconventional titles are consistent with Urban’s image. So long as the customer expects attractive offers after the click, this strategy could work well for U.O.
To truly get an A+, Urban Outfitters could work on their pre-header text and take advantage of marketing within it, rather than showing Gmail and other email users “Having trouble with the email below…” messsage every time.
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Subject lines seem to be less and less important in my experience with email marketing.
Customers know you’re marketing to them, they recognize your name, and if they don’t want the message that’s as far as it usually gets.
Subject lines are becoming like bad pickup lines. People are throwing them out there and know one is buying it.
I agree with the comment above.
You can be cutsie and funny in the header, but i think the old curiosity is the main thing.
The main job of the subject line is to atleast get the email opened and not make it look like spam or get it kicked from spam filters.
So it is a tough job, but I think test, test, test is the key
Linda, I think that Urban Outfitters, with their quirky, indie and young image, is one of the few retailers that can get away with subject lines like these. Could you imagine Sears or Macy’s using anything like those? Shorter is definitely better–plenty of studies have shown that–but you still need to say something telling in your subject line. I don’t believe that the point of the subject line is to generate an open. I believe the point is to inform subscribers what the email is largely about, giving them the information they need to decide if opening this particular email is worth their time. No matter what we do, there’s no way every email will be relevant to every subscriber. If I’ve already bought my Mother’s Day gift, then I’m unlikely to waste my time looking at another Mother’s Day email, for instance. Tricking me into opening a Mother’s Day email isn’t likely to convince me to buy my mom another gift. So respect your subscribers’ time and use telling subject lines, but do keep it brief.
I’ve noticed Rampage is doing similar. I just received an email with the subject “Lighten Up.”
But that tells me nothing about what’s behind the click. It could mean “it’s Spring, switch to lighter colors” or “lose some weight” or “take a chill pill” – which is a bit of a turn-off.
I suppose from a marketer’s point of view the open seems like a worthy goal – it makes your open rate metric look better and makes you feel your subject line was a success. I like Chad’s user-centric approach to what the subject line is for – to explain the email and let the customer decide if it’s worth the click. I suppose the real sweet spot is getting very skilled at providing compelling offers to interested recipients at the right time. Piece of cake, eh?
I really like this post. You’ve touched on something that is overlooked most often.
I feel that if you want to grow as a business, you need to concentrate on the e-mails more so that you can attract new customers.
Back in the day, when I first started using e-mail as a marketing tool, I tried to use witty one liners and include dates or time frames so that it helped the viewer in determining the urgency of the e-mail.
Linda -
I think the comments by you and Chad sum things up nicely. I *do* believe that the subject line is still an important component of the “open/don’t open” decision. As Chad points out, it must be consistent with who you are as a company and what you represent. Urban Outfitters has a bit more room to write “fun” subject lines; however, I still think that a subject line needs a *bit* more info than just a cute “A+”. Also, their “Hello!” subject line bleeds of spam. I think you can still get away with a short subject line that incorporates “A+” but adds more detail. For example:
A+: This week only
Are you and A+?
Okay – so those aren’t GREAT, but you get the point.
dj at bronto