Boost your engagement and conversions with surefire headlines that don’t require you to be a seasoned copywriter or to reinvent the wheel.
For starters, tried-and-tested formulas can give you a head start and work like magic when writing engagement-driving headlines.
Let’s get one thing straight out of the door. If you’re being task to write copy for a brand or product, creative copywriting, the lyrically opulent variant, is not what will work.
Write lean. Make every word, every character count.
I’ve often seen budding copywriters, usually with a love of creative writing, a degree in literature and their own blog failing at effective marketing copy. They can be too wordy, too descriptive and overly perfectionist.
These skills are fantastic grounding, no doubt, but they will not move the dial.
So how to approach writing effective headlines?
The simple answer is: Think customer-first!
Put yourself in your target audience and understand what could spark their interest and gets them to engage.
Email in particular is by default a game of your email against their inbox; not just your competitors, but friends, family, emailed receipt of purchases, newsletters and not to forget, every spam email that makes it past the spam filter.
When sending emails you might be reporting on sales or the number of orders placed. Or maybe you are task with clicks to read an article.
It is crucial to break down the user journey and identify the various bottlenecks or drop-off points. That can be generally broken down into these three phases:
- Send time & day
=> KPI: Opens - Subject line
=> KPI: Opens - CTA clicks (in the email)
=> KPI: Clicks
“Put yourself in your target audience and understand what questions they have on topics and what they will want to see.
What offers immediate and direct answers to their challenges and jobs to be done in relation to your brand, product, or product feature.”
With that in mind, check out this compilation of 11 surefire email subject lines that have been shown to be most impactful and drive engagement.
But as always: Experiment. Experiment. Experiment.
Use this as guidance or as your starting points. Know your audience or if you’re a young startup, start to identify who you’re ideal customer is and what drives them.
The journey is the goal.
How to [Achieve a Desired Outcome]
[Large Number] of Ways to [Achieve an Outcome]
The Ultimate Guide to [Achieve a Desired Outcome]
Warning! Are You [Doing Something Undesirable]?
[Number] Proven [Actions/Ways] to [Achieve a Desired Result]
[Number] Mistakes Most People Make When/With [Common Action]
[Number] Secrets to [Achieve a Desired Outcome]
[Number] Lessons I Learned When/From [Experience]
No/Yes, You [Pre-Empt Objection] to [Achieve a Desired Result]
[Person] Did [Unusual Action] [Timeframe]. Here’s What Happened
How [A Seemingly Inconsequential Action] Can Lead to [Undesirable Result]
