New research into the best and worst words to use in an email subject line show that while words such as ‘content’, ‘offer’ and ‘benefits’ increase email open rates, ‘Friday’, ‘Monday’ and ‘double’ could actually harm performance.
And while including the word ‘holiday’ will boost average open rates by 7%, the word ‘vacation’ will cause it to drop by 1.4%.
The data from Touchstone, the new subject line analysis tool from Alchemy Worx, reveals the words that result in a higher open rate when used within the email subject line, as well as those that could potentially harm campaign performance.
Whether you’re a retailer, travel, media & entertainment or financial services business, the data reveals that first impressions are always important and, in the case of the email subject line, some words are certainly better than others.
Email marketing data studied
The data comes from the Touchstones database of more than 21bn emails across a variety of sectors and currently being used by 2,500 email marketers to optimise their subject lines.
The figures also revealed that consumers are also discerning when it comes to the symbols that brands incorporate into their subject lines to stand out in the inbox, with a snowman (☃) having a markedly positive effect on open rates but pointing the finger (☞) having a negative impact (+66% and -10% compared to average open rates respectively).
Dela Quist (pictured), founder and CEO of Alchemy Worx, said: “The subject line is the most important part of an email and the data from Touchstone analysed the subject line in its entirety to show that a single word or symbol can make a dramatic difference. We are lucky to have always had access to a huge amount of data, allowing us to analyse the most effective way to engage with target audiences, but couldn’t use proprietary client data to help other marketers. So we created Touchstone – unique in its study of both words and the full subject lines in order to give a more accurate prediction of performance.”
Overall best & worst words
Best words – Content (open rate 59.0%); Policy (40.3%); Offer (36.6%); Benefits (30.5%); Premium (27.9%).
Worst words – Friday (open rate -4.0%); Monday (-3.4%); Double (-2.9%); Everyone (-2.9%); Videos (-2.7&).
Quist added: “Alchemy Worx is always looking for new ways to engage through email. By looking at the finer details, such as the best and worst words to use within subject lines, we can assist brands in managing campaigns to ensure they achieve the best click-through rates and conversions. We also realise reaction from consumers is not static, which is why we built a tool that enables brands to see their results clearly and compare them to the average for their sector.”