Email marketing is the lifeblood of many marketer’s careers, and getting it right is quite a challenge. If you have to focus on just one area of an email marketing campaign, it would undoubtedly be the subject line. If you can get the subject line right, you will get people to open your messages, which is the biggest challenge to overcome.
There are an endless number of tips, tricks, guides, and products out there that offer to help write better quality subject lines, and many of them are quite good. Simply writing an engaging subject line, however, isn’t going to be enough. You need to make an effort to write a high quality, engaging, subject line that is written specifically for the people who will receive it.
What does that mean? You need to break up your email marketing lists into groups. Potentially lots of groups! Then write email subject lines tailored to each of those groups. Even if the main body of the email is all the same (which is also not recommended), having a custom subject line for each group can really help boost results.
Some of the different types of groups you can break your email list into include:
- Those who have Made a Single Purchase – If someone has bought something from you in the past, you obviously have their trust. Writing a subject line just for past purchasers can turn them into repeat customers.
- Multiple Purchase Customers – Those who have made multiple purchases from you in the past really deserve your attention! Write a subject line that reminds them of their past purchases, and encourages them to buy again.
- New Members – Those who have just recently signed up for your email list deserve special attention too. Consider reminding them why they signed up in the first place, and what opening your email will do for them.
- Inactive Members – If someone has been on your list for months, or even years, without opening something, it is time to be bold! Do what it takes to stand out in their email box. You want to either turn them into someone who is active, or get them off your list.
These are just a few of the different types of groups that you could be targeting with a custom subject line. Every business will need to come up with their own list of groups for this type of thing, but with a little bit of effort the results can be very positive.
