How to write the perfect email subject line for newsletters

Newsletter marketing offers a relatively simple way to address a large group of customers in a targeted manner, to make them aware of your web project. Often, however, little effort is invested into the first thing that catches the recipient’s eye: the newsletter subject line. If you make the subject line appealing and original, customers will be more likely to open the newsletter. Subject lines that are too cryptic or gimmicky could mean your newsletter is simply deleted and never read.

The subject line of your newsletter is the first thing that the reader will see in their inbox. However, is it possible to get customers interested in your own company, product, or offer just by sending promotional e-mails? The key to this lies in a subject line that is well thought-out and appealingly designed. Apart from the appropriate optical layout, there are four essential elements:

• Good content
• Correct addressing
• Clear design
• Appropriate length

Since the subject line is the first thing that a customer sees from your company, and ultimately what makes them decide whether to read or ignore it, you need to make sure that it doesn’t contain any errors. If the content, addressing, presentation, and length of the newsletter subject line are as accurate as possible, as well as clear and useful, you increase the chance of more conversions.

You won’t be successful if you don’t constantly optimise your newsletters, especially their subject lines. There are some adjustments that writers can make, so here’s how to make the subject line reader-friendly and meaningful:

The subject line of each newsletter has the disadvantage in that it offers very little space for meaningful content. In the subject field, there’s enough room about for 30 to 70 characters, depending on whether it is viewed on a desktop or mobile device. Since the text will be cut off if it’s any longer, it is advisable to not exceed the maximum length of 30 to 50 characters, to make sure the whole subject line can be read regardless of the device it’s viewed on. Some e-mail clients even display the first few lines of the newsletter (around 80 characters) as a preview ('preheader'). In any case, you should put the most important information and keywords at the beginning of the subject line so that they are seen first.

With the right mix of information, entertainment, and advertising, you can make your newsletter stand out from the competition and awaken interest in your product or service. This should also be reflected in your newsletter’s subject line. So be calm, creative, and make it obvious what the newsletter is about. If possible, adapt the subject line to the style of your newsletter and get potential customers interested in your product or service.

The subject line of your newsletter should clarify what the content is about. The user wants to know whether it is worth opening the e-mail instead of sending it straight to the recycle bin. If the subject line is incomprehensible or promises content that does not appear in the e-mail, you will quickly lose a potential customer. An error-free, compact, and meaningful subject line is more likely to win people over. With concise facts and important information e.g. special deals for a limited time or discounts, you also keep the reader’s interest.

You can use Unicode® characters or emojis to improve the structure of your web offer and break it up a bit. These can help generate and maintain attention, but also come with risks: only use these special characters when they add value to your project, otherwise they come across as spam, and aren’t displayed correctly by all e-mail clients. Therefore, you have to consider whether it makes sense to use them in your newsletter.

Now that you have a good understanding of what belongs in a newsletter subject line, you will know why the following should never be included:

Nothing lands in the recycling bin faster than a newsletter with an uninspiring subject. If you want to catch the reader’s attention, you need to make the newsletter as interesting as possible and know which topics will win your target group over. Monosyllabic or generic subject lines won’t impress.

Creativity and originality are welcome in the newsletter subject line. However, make sure you don’t go overboard or use language that’s too complicated. Using too many characters, insider terms, abbreviations, or abstract expressions aren’t recommended, since the customer might not be able to work out what your newsletter is about. More details can be included in the text body if need be. Incorrect spelling, missing words, and false information are also taboo.

You should pay close attention to your choice of words in the subject line. Certain symbols aren’t displayed correctly by some clients or are directly classified as 'junk mail'. If you think you’re one step ahead of the competition by using crazy slogans, modern spam filters are designed to detect certain word combinations and often remove them before the customer has had a chance to see them. You will notice this due to the low opening rate. Typical spam characteristics include the excessive use of intrusive phrases, as well as uppercase letters, exclamation marks, spaces, symbols, and commercial terms.

You shouldn’t write the sender, recipient, or company name twice. It’s not necessary since they are usually included in the header. In addition, repeating words means you have less character space.

Your e-mails are designed to help you increase your reach and revenue. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) reveal the success of a newsletter or e-mail campaign. The main KPIs in e-mail marketing are click-through rates and opening rates. The aim of your e-mail strategy should be to persuade customers to open the newsletters, to impress readers with content, and to create the basis for more conversions.

To achieve this goal, it is important to continually optimise the content and design of your newsletter’s subject line and to keep central points in mind. As far as the ideal subject line is concerned, here is a summary of the most important points. Subject lines should:

• Give the most important information in a direct way
• Make it clear what the added value and benefits of your offer are
• Be the first port of call to make readers interested in your offer, information, or products
• Be straightforward, clear, and as precise as possible for each inbox 
• Not contain dubious wording

There’s no one-size-fits-all method for the perfect newsletter subject line, since every product, every offer, and every target group, is different. In principle, however: Make your newsletter as appealing, comprehensible, and original as possible. Don’t be discouraged when things go wrong, since even newsletters need to be constantly optimised. If you’re creative, provide accurate information, and know a lot about your own offer, you can stand out from the crowd and gain the interest of potential customers.