Thanks to the lighting pace of online marketing, new digital strategies come and go almost on a weekly basis. It’s perhaps surprising then, that one of the oldest channels in the marketer’s handbook has not only stood the test of time but actually steadily grown in importance over the decades.
The explosion of Smartphone use has helped keep email relevant for a younger audience, boosting the use of the platform as a marketing tactic by 83% in the last two years. Meanwhile, advances in technology mean it’s easier than ever for brands to track and personalise their campaigns to maximise results.
With this soar in the channel’s popularity, competition for attention in your guests’ inboxes has become fiercer than ever. If you want to get noticed and generate all-important clicks, you’ve got to make every character count.
Today, we’ll look at some tips for crafting subject lines and preview texts that will get your email content in front of as many eyes as possible.
Short and Irresistible Subject Lines = More Clicks
Subject line real estate has always been sparse, but now that the majority of your audience are consuming your email content on mobile devices, you’ve really got to make every character count.
On most devices you’ve effectively got as little as 33 characters to play with – that’s just a quarter the size of a tweet! Not every subject line you write has to be this short of course, but since longer lines will be truncated, it’s vital to put the most important and enticing information right at the front.
Which of the following would you be most likely to click on?
- Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy our range…
- We miss you! It’s time for you to come and…
- 50% off today only…
I’m guessing the last one. It skips the pleasantries and foregrounds the most crucial information. Your guests know exactly what they’re going to find when they open your emails, which means they’re going to be far more likely to click.
Create Compelling, Personalised Preview Text To Give Your Guests A Reason To Read
How much consideration do you give to your emails’ preview text? A lot of brands make the mistake of wasting this valuable snippet of text on standard “admin” stuff.
For instance:
“How do you feel about city breaks? View plain text version of this message. Check out our YouTube channel now”
This is important stuff. But it’s not going to do much to entice mobile readers to read your content.
This is far better.
“John, is it time for a city break? These half price deals are too good to miss.”
You only have around 90 characters of preview text to drive clicks, so make your first couple of sentences personalised, eye catching and hard to resist. If yours’ features a set of links back to your hotel website or boring text such as “click here to view message as PDF”, you’re missing a huge opportunity for engagement.
No matter how long you’ve been sending emails out to your guests; it’s time to refresh your approach to drive more engagement from Smartphone users. Ensure your subject lines are concise and super-relevant, make your preview text count, and you’ll inspire opens, click-throughs and bookings.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below!
RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:
- 5 Simple Email Marketing Resolutions For 2017
- These 3 Subject Line Tips Will Boost Your Email Open Rates
- Check These 5 Things Before Hitting 'Send' On Your Hotel's Next Email Marketing Campaign
