Email marketing is the perfect promotional tool for retail businesses, but it’s tricky to get right. You can design the most attractive, eye-catching retail email with incredibly engaging content, but if you get that subject line wrong, no one is going to see it.
So, how do you write a subject line that will ensure people open the email, read your hard work and – most importantly – click through to those product pages?
To get your creative juices flowing, here’s 10 brilliant, retail-ready email subject lines that’ll raise open rates. They fall into two categories: offer-based and the slightly more creative:
Offer!
1. Enjoy our opening offer at <new location>
Opened a new outlet? Why not spread the word with email marketing?
Combine your new opening with a special offer that can’t be ignored, and you should find that people come flocking from far and wide.
2. Ends TODAY: free shipping
There’s nothing like a bit of urgency in email marketing to get people clicking ‘open’.
If you’ve been running a limited time offer and the final day has arrived, make a big noise about it via email. If you can, combine it with a last minute discount, too – that really helps.
3. We’ve got an exclusive offer just for YOU
Personalisation is a brilliant email marketing tactic, but you don’t have to be ultra clever about it.
By simply using the phrase ‘for you’ in your subject line, you’re immediately suggesting that the offer on the table is personalised, and that will mean a lot to most subscribers.
4. We’ve only got a few left – order your <product> today
Another example of urgency, this will help you shift products that have been flying off the shelves but which have recently stalled.
5. Check out our great gifts for Mother’s Day
If there’s a national event, holiday or ‘day’ on the horizon, use it to your advantage and send an email campaign that relates to it.
The event will probably be on your subscribers’ minds, therefore you’ll catch them at just the right time.
Creative!
1. Was it something we said? Please come back 🙁
If you’re able to export a list of lapsed customers from your system, you can import them into your email marketing client and send them a heartfelt reminder you exist.
2. It’s ok, we don’t mind you waiting until the last minute…
If you’re running a time bound offer, you can have a bit of fun with this tongue-in-cheek reference to people who are yet to pull the trigger on a purchase.
3. Crikey, it’s cold out there – let us warm you up!
If you sell something that’s relatable to the weather (i.e. clothing) use Mother Nature’s actions to fuel your email marketing subject lines.
Too cold? Tell them you’ll warm them up. Too warm? Cool them down with a great offer or new product announcement.
4. We made this just for you. Hope you like it…
Got a new product to announce? The above subject line suggestion should offer enough temptation to get people clicking.
There’s nothing like a cliffhanger in email marketing.
5. Take your favourite from these 10 products
In one fell swoop, the above subject line will practically convince subscribers that they need to make a choice and purchase something from you.
Nifty, eh?
Wrap up
That’s it! Ten awesome subject lines that should light a fire under your retail email marketing campaigns.
