The holidays are here and so are the scads of subject lines in my inbox.
I took a peruse and thought you might be interested in some we thought needed a bit of help and some we think are fabulous!
Below that is a listing of some generic subject lines you can take and use for your own business as well as a few industries I picked out specifically. First let's start off with the basics...
Subject Line 101
- Not too long - 40-50 characters
- Don't repeat your from label, it's a waste of space
- Don't use all caps
- Don't overuse punctuation
- Don't abuse the word "Free"
- Most important information in the beginning
That said, let's see a few subject lines that need help.
Help Needed!
Nieman Marcus: FREE SHIPPING + The Gifting Event: Great gifts for everyoneAND YOU!
Too many caps, too long, too much punctuation weird spacing. This one hurts my eyes.
Banana Republic: Your Holiday Offer is Here + Men's Outerwear
What is the offer Banana?
Real Subject Lines We Like!
- Shutterfly: janine, 2 days to enjoy holiday cards on us
- RICHART Chocolate: Handmade French Truffles 2006
- Frontgate: Remember, Save 20% Site-wide at Frontgate.com
- Brookstone: Full-size authentic arcade games--just like you remember
Generic Subject Lines We Like
- Buy one, get two widgets
- Gift baskets under $45
- Gifts under $20 No S and H
- Holiday Daily: widgets under $20
- Customer faves under $30
- [Gift Certificate] $25 e-gift sent immediately
- Buy before Nov.30 get 20% off
- Order by 12/22, Holiday delivery guaranteed
- Buy a widget 10% goes to a cancer cure
- Stocking Stuffer Alert-Get a $5 gift card with purchase
- [Offline Specific] Invitation: Wine in-store Saturday the 22nd
- [Offline Specific] Last minute shoppers: Open until 9pm
Subject Lines for Salons or Day Spas for the Holidays
- Get Party-Ready Now - $35 for Mani/Pedi
- Holiday Rejuvenate - Spiced Scented Massage
- [Gift Certificate] Last minute shoppers: $35 Mani/Pedi day
- $20-$50 Gift baskets in stock
Subject Lines for Restaurants for the Holidays
- Have {COMPANY_NAME}’s holiday party with us
- Appetizers for you and 9 friends on us
- Last minute: Give a $50 gift card this season
- Take a shopping break, come in for a drink
- Bring this coupon in for a free appetizer with purchase
- Shop at Sally’s and get a drink at Harry’s
Subject Lines for Wineries
- Book now - 10 dates left for holiday parties
- Wine clubs: The gift that gives all year long
- Trio of wine under $50 with gift pack and card
- 40% holiday discount for wine club members
- Discounts and Free S&H for wine members
- 2005 Cab with our gift of Riedel wine glasses
Hopefully this helps, if you've got any ideas to contribute, bring 'em on!
How could Nieman Marcus and Banana Republic get it all wrong? These guys have been there for a long time. Maybe it was a one time miss on their part never to happen again.
Posted by: bigfish games | May 12, 2011 at 01:47 PM
Karl: This is a custom template we did with TypePad.
Posted by: Janine Popick | November 06, 2010 at 08:39 AM
Great find this blog. I've just started blogging myself. Is this a template that is customeisable?
Posted by: Karl R | November 02, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Writing compelling subject lines that generate click throughs is equal parts Art and Science. It's funny how the subject lines that get results do not change much over time. They must be speaking to something in the human psyche.
Posted by: Call Center Consulting | October 19, 2010 at 08:46 AM
Agreed Lynda - this a good post that I have just stumbled upon as well.
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Posted by: Jim Bailes | July 30, 2010 at 11:28 AM
Wow this is an old post I stumbled across on a search. However, little has changed and the most effective subject lines change little with time!
Posted by: Lynda | July 28, 2010 at 06:20 PM