Trending
How often do you delete an email without opening it? We’re guessing pretty often, especially if the subject line is boring.
Email marketing is a great way to keep your firm at the top of potential clients’ minds. But a bad subject line can ruin your chances of ever reaching them. This is why it’s so important to snag your reader’s attention with your subject line.
With these 7 tips, you’ll have the tools you need to write effective and click-worthy subject lines in no time.
1. Ask the reader a question
Posing a question in your subject line makes readers stop and think. Subject line questions like “Are You On Track For Retirement?” or” Are Your Struggling to Save Enough For Your Emergency Fund?” challenge the reader to connect to your content. If they can relate the content to themselves, they’ll be more likely to think the content is applicable to their life.
You can also think about Google Searches. When people want information, they search for a specific question. What question is your content answering? Start there to reel them in.
For example, check out this subject line from HubSpot:
2. Use numbers
When you open your inbox, you probably see an overwhelming amount of letters and words. Numbers will stand out against all of this clutter and more easily catch someone’s eye.
Even better, numbers provide a sense of comfort to readers by signifying a definite beginning and end to the email. Including a specific number defines the amount of information they’ll get from your newsletter and how long it might take to read. If the reader knows this before clicking, they’ll be much more likely to take the next step.
For example, if your email newsletter includes a roundup of recent blogs, specify how many articles the reader will get. A subject line like “5 Articles You Can’t Miss For Your Financial Future” will help the reader understand what they’re getting from opening the email and how much time it will take to get through.
Check out this subject line from Content Marketing Institute as a great example:
3. Use emojis
Just like numbers, emojis stand out against the thousands of letters in an inbox. Emojis are also a fun way to spice up your content and keep readers interested. You can use an emoji to show emotion, substitute for a word or emphasize an idea. However, beware of overusing emojis. Emojis should be used only when they’re relevant and enhance your content.
There are countless emojis that you can choose from, but you should choose them wisely. You should also consider your firm’s voice. In some circumstances, the use of emojis can seem unprofessional. So don’t throw a smiley face emoji in your subject line unless it’s beneficial to your content.
If you’re unsure of what an emoji might mean, or you need access to emojis on desktop, then check out Emojipedia. From here you can search for emoji meanings and copy and paste emojis right into your subject line.
Check out a few examples of emoji use here.
Constant Contact shows how emojis can pop against the words in an inbox.
4. Evoke curiosity
Your subject line should be like a movie trailer that leaves the audience wanting more. People are naturally curious and crave information, so you should make it obvious your newsletter contains some knowledge that is valuable to potential clients. Define what you’re providing of value and why your audience should care. You should be keeping your niche and their needs at the center of the subject.
Try using words that catch reader attention. Below, we stirred up curiosity by including “news you don’t want to miss!” in the email subject. This makes readers feel like they can’t pass up reading.
5. Personalize your subject line
No two email subscribers are exactly the same, and not every client has the same wants or needs. This means you should never send the same email blast to every subscriber on your list. For example, millennials will have very different pain points and areas of interests than retiring business owners and recent leads will benefit from different information than your long-term clients.
You should start your email marketing by creating segmented lists depending on your clients’ wants and needs and where they are in the financial advising process. You can do this by creating more than on newsletter with different content tailored to each of your segments.
FMG’s email integrations makes it easy to implement personalization into your emails by pulling directly from your CRM’s data.
6. Make it exclusive
Including words like “exclusive” or “limited” can make potential clients feel powerful. People naturally find value in things that are rare, so positioning your content as exclusive can make them more eager to take action. The more rare you make your content or offering seem in the subject line, the more they’ll want to get in on it.
For example, show how opening your newsletter will give “exclusive tips” to smart spending or financial planning. If you offer free introductory calls, prompt them to “sign up today” to get started soon. If you’re hosting an upcoming workshop or webinar, include a countdown in your subject line to create a sense of urgency.
Exclusivity is often used when writing prospecting emails, but can also be leveraged in client communications. So don’t forget to use it in both approaches.
7. Test before you send
Once you’ve practiced these tricks, it’s always good to get a second opinion on your subject line. Whether it’s running the line by a coworker or using an online tool, getting another set of eyes on it can ensure you’re sending the most convincing and interesting content to your leads’ inboxes.
We recommend CoSchedule, a free email subject line tester online. By simply typing your subject line idea into the tool, CoSchedule will analyze its effectiveness to drive more opens, clicks, and conversions. It will help you capitalize on keywords that convert, optimize word count, and conduct A/B testing. Not only does it score the effectiveness of your subject line ideas, but it can also help you figure out which are most effective in getting engagement.
Wrapping things up
With these 7 steps, your email newsletters will be hard to ignore. Sell your value, catch subscriber’s eyes, and continue testing subject lines to capture clicks and conversions!
Related: How Financial Advisors Can Record Marketing Videos On A Shoestring Budget