The subject line from a marketing email sent July 10 by Zazzle was very attractive and amusing:
“It’z Zazzle’z birthday week! Zelebrate with 25% off t-shirtz!”
Patrick Briggs, marketing program manager at Zazzle, said in an email to Multichannel Merchant that changing an “s” to a “z” in the subject line helps gain visibility in the inbox.
Briggs couldn’t specify the click-through rate for the email, but said this email campaign performed above average compared to similar campaigns last month and last year.
So what makes an interesting email subject line? Briggs offered the following tips:
Discounts and time-sensitive information first
If you’re trying to drive traffic with a timely discount, make sure that the first thing you mention is the offer and when it expires. If you put it at the end of the subject line it risks getting truncated by some email clients.
Be different and fun with your subject lines
“We love to think of fun and exciting subject lines that will make our customers smile,” Briggs said in the email to Multichannel Merchant. “If they smile at the subject line they are going to be more likely to open the email.”
Be yourself
Email subject lines should always reflect your brand attributes. If you go off brand with the subject line you risk alienating the customer from their understood relationship with your company.
