6 Best Practices for Email Subject Lines

Updated: May 19, 2022

According to Statistica, billions of emails are sent out daily to 3.9 billion users. Consequently, the inboxes of your target audience are likely being flooded with emails every day at an aggressive rate. This begs the question: what can you do to ensure that your customer opens yours? One critical item to getting your email read is the effectiveness of the headline or subject line. Subject lines are often the most influential factor. Check out these 6 Best Practices for Email Subject Lines.

1.) Use Emoji’s — carefully

Nowadays, we love emojis – everyone is using them in their communications, from teenagers to grandparents. But have you ever considered using them for your destination’s newsletter? There are many reasons why using emojis in your subject lines can be beneficial.

You know the adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. Emojis are no different and can be used to excellent effect to save some space or replace words. There’s nothing worse than a lengthy subject line. They are also helpful in conveying your emotion. Most importantly, they help make your email stand out in crowded inboxes. Don’t use too many. We recommend no more than three in your subject line. Don’t know what emoji to use? You can use online resources to find the perfect emoji, such as emojipedia.org.

2.) Keep it Short & Simple

About 42% of your email audience is mobile users (EmailMonday, 2019). So keeping your emails mobile-friendly is crucial. It’s imperative that your subject line is not too long and does not convey its whole meaning to these mobile users. Mailchimp suggests keeping subject lines to 9 words or 60 characters at max. Keeping your email subject line short can even generate more user curiosity and cause a higher open rate.

3.) Use a Call to Action

Try using a Call to Action with a sense of urgency. No one wants to miss out on something. Since we have lost so much time this year, we want to be able to make up for it. Using a Call to Action in your email subject line such as “Book Now for 20% Off!” or “Today Only” creates a sense of urgency for users to engage quickly and increase engagement.

4.) Use Number or Listed Content

Did you write a blog about those 5 Best things to do in Your Destination? Or what about the 10 Reasons you Have to Visit? Why not highlight that within your email subject line. Users tend to flock to content that is easily and quickly consumed, like bullet points or videos. The age of social media has conditioned us to gravitate toward visuals and short text over full, detailed textual content.

5.) Avoid ALL CAPS and Excess Punctuation!!!!!!!!!

We know you’re excited to tell your customer base about your destination and that fantastic deal you have to offer. But you want to make sure that you’re not overpowering the subject lines. Overuse of punctuation can look like it might be a spam email – especially when using many characters. Limit your punctuation to 3 marks per subject line at max. Using all CAPS may seem to be a good idea, but it can come off as overly aggressive and appear to be spam and be filtered out automatically.

6.) Do Tell What’s in the Email

Users may be more inclined to open your email if you are upfront and say precisely what’s in your email. This is particularly important when a user has bought something or downloaded an offer. Doing so helps the email capture attention and ensures the reader knows exactly what they can find upon opening. The Travel Vertical’s latest email is the perfect example of utilizing their subject line to emphasize everything that you can expect to be in the email.

Do you consistently do these 6 Best Practices for Email subject lines? For more tips and tricks on digital marketing and tourism, make sure to check out our Blog and sign up for our e-newsletter! Be sure also to check out the 5 Things your Blog Headlines Must Do! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.