72% share email because it’s entertaining
Among the most popular subject lines ever for this newsletter:
Now you see it
The Awwwww Factor
Paint the schnauzer
One-sentence stories
Can you read me now?
Don’t commit verbicide
Pleading for shorter sentences
Want to write subject lines that get clicked? Make them entertaining.
Why write clever email subject lines?
Entertainment comprises 2 of the top 3 reasons people share information via email or social media, according to a study by Chadwick Martin Bailey:
- Because I find it interesting/entertaining (72%)
- To get a laugh (58%)
- Because I think it will be helpful to recipients (58%)
3 ways to craft an entertaining subject line
So how do you write subject lines that are entertaining, funny or pique readers’ curiosity? Here are three ways:
1. Make it clever.
Try a little cheekiness, as in this subject line from RLM PR about a media barbecue with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos:
Jeff Bezos Has Great Buns
2. Avoid clickbait.
Subject lines with clickbait phrases — won’t believe, shocking and secret of — reduced read rates by .34%, 1.22% and 8.69%, respectively, according to research by Return Path.
3. Avoid labels.
“CEO’s Christmas message” is a label subject line. What does she say in her message? That’s a lot more compelling.
But don’t make it too clever.
This InterContinental Hotels subject line bombed in a study by usability expert Jakob Nielsen:
Open Your (I)s to the Wonders of the Sea
Recipients complain of “irritatingly cutesy” subject lines. Ouch! Don’t let that phrase apply to your messages.
How can you get your emails opened?
Your subject line is only one of four elements recipients consider before deciding whether to open or click.
If you’re only writing the subject line, you’re losing 75% of your chance to get opened.
Learn to address all four elements of “the envelope” at Think Inside the Inbox, our email-newsletter- and email-marketing-writing workshop that begins Oct. 17.
Plus: Learn how to write email subject lines that get clicked, how to increase campaign revenue by 760% by going beyond personalized emails, and how one organization multiplied campaign success by 1,000% by adding one more data point to tailored emails.
Save up to $100 with our group discounts.