It is no secret that people's inboxes are crowded and those same recipients are often juggling multiple email accounts for work, home and a combination of the two. Still, email remains one of the most effective ways to connect with end-users, engage them and move them toward purchase (in both B2B and B2C). Like optimizing for any marketing channel, however, there tends to be "tricks" to be had (and even better if they're backed by data).
After analyzing the subject lines of more than 7 billion emails,
Yes Lifecycle Marketing reports that subject lines under 21 characters generated a 31 percent higher-than-average open rate. Using this post's title as a subject line, for instance, would likely receive a low open rate.
Yes Lifecycle Marketing found that subject lines under 21 characters account for less than five percent of email subject lines with 74 percent of subject lines falling between 21 and 60 characters. Despite marketers using them the most, subject lines between 21 and 60 characters saw the lowest open rate at 13.8 percent.
"While shorter subject lines can sometimes stand out in the inbox, especially on mobile, length is only one of the many email components marketers should take into account when developing their campaigns," said Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "The key is still to give subscribers enough information up front to encourage them to open - either through a relevant, personalized subject line or through one that piques interest and appeals to consumers' curiosity."