6 Hacks for Your Next Email Subject Line Test

Did you know subject lines for email marketing content are what drive the most conversions? It’s the first thing subscribers see when they open their inbox, so you need to capture and keep their attention with something clever that stirs their interest.

Unfortunately, we’re not all wordsmiths with perfect sentences in mind. Sometimes, we need help from email analytics software, updated algorithms, and proven marketing tactics. Those three things are always part of a good email marketing strategy. And so are the six hacks discussed below.

The 6 best tips for better email subject line testing:

• Know the online whereabouts of your target audience
• Segment your content for optimal impact
• Recycle effective marketing copy
• Include statistics and numbers
• Run A/B tests on different ideas
• Enhance visual marketing to include videos

1. Know the online whereabouts of your target audience

Understanding where your target demographic hangs out online is essential to give you insights into their buying habits and interests. This can help you craft more appealing subject lines for your welcome email campaigns.

You can define your audience in many ways. Here are the top five methods used by today’s email marketing pros:

• Collect buyer data to develop customer personas
• Use social media channels to gather marketing intel
• Integrate email analytics software to secure organic data
• Ask customers and prospects to complete surveys
• Research industry-relevant platforms and forums

The best tips for email marketing start with diligent audience research. Otherwise, it’s like shooting blindfolded, standing on your head. Use this first step as an opportunity to develop your brand’s voice.

2. Segment your content for optimal impact

The latest trend in boosting email deliverability is personalization. Few readers want generic content. Segment your campaigns into different interest groups, and you’ll increase subscriber trust and reach more potential customers.

Excellent subject lines are the hook, but you need plenty of tasty bait to keep readers biting. After using a subject line tester to create compelling copy, use progressive profiling techniques and software to define your audience’s attributes further.

3. Recycle effective marketing copy

Proven successful copy doesn’t have to die on your page. Upcycle it into your email campaign and then watch as it attracts more conversions.

Run your copy through free email testing software before sending it to determine its appeal. This step will provide you with insights on email marketing best practices while giving you clues for better keywords and CTAs.

The most effective marketing copy to recycle will include some of the following:

• Industry-specific data
• Positive customer feedback
• Active and engaging verbiage

You may need to revise some pieces to accomplish your emailing objective, and avoid redundancy.

4. Include numbers and statistics

Relevant and accurate statistics go a long way in attracting attention. Here’s an example: 33% of all email recipients admit they open links because of interesting subject lines.

The other 67% most likely enjoy the copy but don’t feel compelled enough to click. As well, millions of carefully crafted emails end up in recipient spam boxes every day.

An email subject line tester is a wonderful tool, but what about the rest of the content? Don’t waste a strong subject line with weak, dry copy, or you’ll get ignored. Good email marketing tools should help you put it all together for maximum efficiency.

If it seems like a lot of work to coordinate copy, just know that it’s well worth the effort. Email marketing generates around $38 for every $1 invested. That’s an ROI of nearly 3,800%, which means it’s one of the most effective methods used today.

5. Run A/B tests on different ideas

Knowing where to start with A/B testing programs can be complicated and overwhelming. There are so many best practices to follow, so organize your approach by prioritizing the right information.

Begin by picking the mind of the reader. Think about the steps they took to engage with the email, to begin with. If you’ve used intuitive email list management tactics, this part of the process should be easy because you already know your audience.

Just in case, here are five components to consider when conducting an A/B test for email subject lines and content:

• All-customer identifiers
• Product attributes
• Competitor verbiage
• Content word or character count
• Quality of the call-to-action (CTA)
• Keywords and phrases

Record which ideas work best. Remember, you may have to combine more than one idea to find the perfect pitch.

6. Enhance visual marketing to include videos

Engagement is important when encouraging organic conversions. It makes the subscriber feel the click was their own decision. Related video content can then remove the obvious sales pitch and speak for itself.

Even small businesses recognize the need for video content to drive sales through simplified brand awareness. B2B and B2C companies almost always link to visual content and digital channels for updated customer targeting campaigns.

When you share video content, subscribers and recipients can digest loads of information in bite-sized pieces without giving their undivided attention. The easier you make it on the reader, the more likely they are to click through and convert interest into sales or, better yet, brand loyalty.

Increase brand awareness and land new customers with email marketing

Tapping into your target audience’s mind is no easy task. Still, there’s plenty of software to help you out.

Combining marketing methods and running preliminary A/B email tests on all your subject lines improves your chances of turning moderate interest into lifelong brand loyalty.

Hooking subscribers with an attractive subject is only half the battle. You must also give them a reason to keep coming back, with content which speaks to their needs and offers meaningful solutions for their problems. Fail to do this, and readers might start associating your brand with spam.

Capturing your audience's attention is one thing, but encouraging them to click through is more difficult. Test your emails ahead of time, and you essentially prevent your company's hard work from going down the drain.