Many of the best minds in the advertising business would agree that the opening statement of a television or radio commercial is the most important part of the ad. In those initial few seconds, the advertiser needs to convey to the audience “I am talking to you, pay attention and do not flick the channel or change the station.” If that message is not communicated to the audience by capturing their attention, then in today’s fast paced world, the line of communication stops there and the thousands of dollars spent on the remaining 28 seconds of the ad have been wasted.
That 2-second opening statement is the equivalent to your email’s B2B subject line. The subject line is the gateway to your recipients actually looking at your message. It has to be engaging enough to prompt a response from your viewers and make them open your email.
Your B2B subject line needs to express relevance to the recipient or your email will be ignored. It should summarize your offer instead of selling your email. For example, when emailing professionals regarding a marketing event, the subject line “Buy your tickets now and prepare to be amazed” isn’t as convincing as “Discover new trends at this year’s Digital Marketing Conference”. A great way to develop your subject line is by thinking of it as a newspaper headline – articulate the most important element of the email in a few words.
There is however a dispute pertaining to sending emails to B2B prospects. One side says that these professionals are people and not robots, therefore, don’t immediately exclude humour and create a cold, stiff subject line. After all, how else are you to establish good rapport? A simple example of a subject line with no character is “New accounting software now available” as opposed to “Improve your productively with the latest accounting software.”
The second side states that adding character to your subject line is difficult because your target is busy; the faster you can deliver your message, the better. There is no need to spice up your subject line as your recipient’s mind is set on their work and there is no need to intrude on their business-minded train of thought. These prospects reject any ad or email that interferes with their business mind frame.
Both of these theories are logical and it is in the marketer’s hands to know which approach works best for their target audience. Perhaps the subject line “Let’s party the night way at A Splash of Colour’s Grand Opening” would work well to grab the attention of open-minded designers, but that same style of writing may not have the same impact on top-level executives.
How long should a subject line be? It’s best practice to keep it to 50 characters or less. You want your subject line to be simple. Less is more. Also, you may want to try and convey urgency and/or importance. Airlines have a higher open rate when using simple subject lines such as, “Trip Alteration” or “Special Weather Advisory.” The same can be implemented for a B2B subject line, for example “Real Estate Investments Alert”.
In closing, it can be a little tricky to identify the proper tone for the subject line of a B2B email campaign; should you use a strictly professional style of writing or would a friendly approach strengthen the rapport with your prospects? There’s no greater way to identify successful subject lines then by testing, so try and keep your subject line short. Where appropriate convey urgency. And enjoy the learning that is to come.
Related posts: