Author: clickmail

You may have heard that if you don't write great headlines, your open rates for emails won't be as high as when your headlines are well-written.  It's true.  Take it one step further: if you don't write great headlines no one will want to read what you wrote.

If you're like most people, you probably struggle with the best way to tackle headlines and subject lines. Once you get used to it, however, things start to make sense. You should also keep a close eye on your open rates since they'll tell you which headlines work for your audience.  Let's take a look at 3 tips for writing great headlines:

Pay attention to the news.
One of the best tactics for learning to write headlines is to pay attention to magazines, newspapers and tabloids.  They are the kings and queens of incredible, catchy, short titles.  The verbs they use grab the reader right away and that's exactly what you need to do.

Also, monitor to what extent the news sensationalizes their content with lines like, "Lies your mother told you," and "This celebrity makes men cry in their sleep."  We all know it's mostly rubbish, but it does peak our curiosity and make us want to discover the answer.  Tone your ideas down a bit for the best results with email marketing.

Finally, if you notice a topic is very big in the news, use it to bolster your email open rate.  Remember the big mold scare a few years ago?  You might spin off of that to say, "3 Places You Need to Check for Mold Right Now," then provide the reader practical advice.

Image Source: litmus

Use a simple formula.
It looks like this: number + adjective + noun + (thing you are writing about.) (i.e. 7 Shocking Titles in Email Headline Writing) You can alter the formula anyway you like to work best for your audience. However, be sure that you provide an interesting, insightful reason for someone to keep reading without giving away anything until they open the email.  For example, "35% of Kids Hate Eating This Food for Dinner."  You are teasing the reader into wanting to read the rest of your email.

Don't be afraid to sensationalize a bit.
One of the keys to marketing copywriting is not to over-deliver or over-sell an item.  While the term typically means selling more than what you have in stock, this can also apply to experiences, ideas or feelings associated with an experience.

In a headline, you can sensationalize quite a bit more than you do in your permanent marketing.  You might say, Relax! The Best Spas of 2013. You simply have to tell the reader why you think they're the best, it's just your opinion, whereas in marketing, "The Best Massage Happens Here" is setting very high expectations for the buyer, right?

Image Source: litmus

The key to excellent headlines is knowing your audience and giving the tasty nuggets they will love reading from your business.  The creative aspect can be quite fun once you get the hang of email marketing headlines.  Just keep practicing and don't give up until you find the formula that increases your open rate.