Carri Bugbee's List: Email marketing

• Product update emails are one example where content and product teams must harmonize for a successful outcome
• Product updates should be written for your true fans. That’s not to say that others won’t find them interesting, but information about a product isn’t a lead-gen tool or a sales tactic – it’s fuel for an already burning fire.

• You can see that the highest open rates occurred with four-word length subject lines and the lowest open rates were tied to nine-word length subject lines. But the click-to-open rates didn’t correlate, meaning high open rates did not correlate to high click-to-open rates.
• The winner was seven words for overall engagement. And if you write a subject line with eight words, well, you’re in for a shock! It’s nearly half the performance as subject lines with only one less word.

• Personalization is shown to increase open rates for most users, and may work well when combined with targeted automations such as birthday deals and post-purchase follow-ups.
• try to communicate the benefits of your promotions, or call attention to specific deals.
• Subject line researcher shows you the effectiveness of different keywords. Search for a word or phrase, and we'll compare your terms to all subject lines ever sent through MailChimp. Then we'll list related terms and phrases, and use a 5-star rating system to show you how each one performed.

• Create multiple versions of your campaign that are identical in every way but the subject line, and we'll send them to randomly selected parts of your list. We'll automatically send the campaign with the best open rate to the remainder of your list, and you'll learn a little about what kind of subject line appeals to your subscribers.

   

  Create an A/B Testing Campaign

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• The primary reason we’ve seen our best open rate climb ever upwards has been an ever-increasing focus on list hygiene.

   
• It’s natural that curiosity-based subject lines would become more powerful as the inbox gets more crowded.
• Scarcity, on the other hand, is a powerful tool but is best used conservatively as its impact diminishes the more it’s put into play. And while scarcity is a great driver of sales, it is often less effective at driving your overall open rate up.

• 1. Self-Interest

   

  These are your bread and butter subject lines—you should be using them most frequently.

   

  They are usually direct and speak to a specific benefit your audience will gain by opening the email.

• 2. Curiosity

   

  If self-interest subject lines work because they communicate a direct benefit of opening the email, curiosity-based ones succeed for the exact opposite reason.

   

  They pique the interest of subscribers without giving away too much information, leading to higher opens. 

• 3. Offer

   

  Do you like free stuff? Do you like to buy things?

   

  So does your email list.

• 4. Urgency/Scarcity

   

  This is the most powerful type of subject line you have at your disposal.

   

  Subject lines that communicate urgency and scarcity tell readers they must act now. 

• 5. Humanity

   

  Don’t forget to remind your list about the person or people behind your products.

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