How to Write Email Subject Lines That Will Actually Be OpenedGet to the point and get personal.

ByNina Zipkin

golubovy | Getty Images

Whether your email, be it a pitch to investors or marketing to customers, gets read, deleted or lost in an inbox black hole can all depend on how you craft your subject line.

Yes Lifestyle Marketing进行了分析的主题行the most reach. Read on for the do's and don'ts of making your email stand out in the right way.
Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images

Be succinct.

The study found that subject lines with 10 characters or less had the best open rates, at a 26 percent average. But this isn't the norm -- 74 percent of subject lines are between 21 and 60 characters. Those have the lowest open rate of 13.8 percent. Additionally, subject lines that were under 21 characters yielded a 31 percent higher-than-average open rate but are only 5 percent of all email subject lines.
Marc Romanelli | Getty Images

Get personal.

Subject lines that included the recipient's name or recently purchased or browsed items had 50 percent higher open rates, 58 percent higher click-to-open rate and had nearly 2.5 times the unique click rates than emails that were not as personalized. But only 2 percent of emails sent in the second quarter of 2017 had personalized subject lines, according to the research.

izusek | Getty Images

Include details.

While you'd think that subject lines that are longer than 60 characters would have the worst open rates, that's actually incorrect. The open rate for the category -- making up 21 percent of all emails -- is 14.8 percent, which is higher than emails with subject lines between 10 to 60 characters. At that length, you can generate interest by including a number of specific keywords relevant to the recipient.

Don’t think one-size-fits-all.

The same rules will not apply within every industry. For the hospitality/travel industry, the most successful open rates came from subject lines under 20 characters. But for publishing and financial services, that was the case when the subject lines were 21 to 60 characters. Subject lines under 20 characters did overwhelming better for retail (18.3 percent) and tech (17.5 percent) than the other two categories

Don’t give everything away.

During the second quarter of 2017, 23 percent of the brands polled sent users emails about carts with unpurchased items. Sixty-two percent of those messages had subject lines between 31 and 50 characters, and got a below-average open rate of 11.9 percent. They often aimed to entice customers to come back to abandoned carts with promises of discounts. However, these were more readily disregarded than the shorter subject lines between 21 and 30 that had the highest open rate at 36.8 percent, with subject lines that read, "you forgot something."

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

'It's Getting Worse By the Week': Kevin O'Leary Issues Grave Warning About Commercial Real Estate Industry

The "Shark Tank" star spoke to impending devaluation of stocks in the industry on FOX Business' "Varney & Co."

Growing a Business

Running a Profitable Restaurant Is Not Easy. But Coach Chip Klose Has a Plan for You.

Author and restaurant coach Chip Klose discusses his method for making 20% profit in the restaurant business.

Data & Recovery

Invest in This IT Education Bundle While it's Only $50

Train your team on IT and cybersecurity fundamentals with this limited-time deal

Business News

Walgreens' Battle Over High-Tech Cooler Doors Heats Up

The lawsuit, initially filed in June, is seeking $200 million in damages.

Management

5 Essential Tips on How to Be a Great Manager

Here are five key tips that will help you become an effective and successful manager.

Business News

These Great-Grandparents Booked 51 Back-to-Back Cruises Because It's 'Cheaper Than a Retirement Home'

Retirees Marty and Jess Ansen hopped on a cruise ship nearly two years ago and never left.