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Study: Shorter E-mail Subject Lines Perform Better

I found this article in the January 13, 2009 edition of FundRaising Success www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com. Allthough the publication is directed at non-profits, the article had considerable application to for-profit businesses as well.

When it comes to e-mail subject lines, shorter is better. Epsilon recently released the findings of a comprehensive study that examined more than a billion e-mails to determine best practices for creating subject lines and found that "shorter subject lines correlate with higher open rates and click rates … ," the company said in a recent press release.

"Epsilon experts evaluated the correlation between the length of a subject line of each campaign and the unique open and total click rates," the company said. "In addition to subject line length, the study suggests that subject line word order, word choice, and brand and audience awareness are also critical success factors. Additionally, it is crucial that marketers perform subject line testing to increase open and click rates."

Thane Stallings, senior analytic consultant for Epsilon Strategic Services, is quoted as saying, “Companies are spending little time thinking about and testing subject lines, compared to the resources and time devoted to creative development. The reality is that more people will see a subject line than its accompanying creative.”

Here are some guidelines for successful e-mail subject lines culled from the Epsilon report:

1. Front load subject lines with the most important information.
2. Keep the subject line as short as possible to convey the message.
3. Use longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so.
4. When in doubt, test.
   

The full report is available at www.epsilon.com/emailsubjectline