Our Top 10 Email Subject Lines of 2018 So Far Published September 3, 2018 Every day of last year an estimated 269 billion emails were sent. That’s 35 times more emails than there are people on planet Earth, landing in inboxes every single day. But with global average open rates of just under 25 percent, only around 67 billion of these daily emails actually get opened. And the number of emails sent per day is set to rise over the next few years. Will open rates increase too? This will depend in part on how smart marketers are with their subject lines. As consumers receive an unprecedented number of emails, finding a way to stand out in the inbox is crucial. An attention-grabbing subject line is the best way to tempt recipients to click open. Here at Pure360, we’re always on the lookout for brands with a strong subject line game and take pleasure in sharing winning examples around the office. Concise, easy-to-digest, contextually relevant subject lines impress us. As do quirky, unexpected subject lines that break through the inbox noise. In this blog post, we ask the Pure360 team and several of our influential industry pals for their favourite email subject lines of 2018 so far. Read on to get inspired by our top 10 email subject line picks! Jordie van Rijn Email Marketing Consultant Email Monday Founder Email Vendor Selection What’s your favourite subject line? Jordie, people are looking at your LinkedIn profile — LinkedIn Why? “This subject line really pushes your psychologic pressure points. For starters, the timing is spot on. I think they only send it when you get a lot of views or are very active on LinkedIn and thus are ‘in market’. Marketing automation is all about timing, the perfect email doesn’t work if it is the wrong time. ‘People are looking at your LinkedIn profile’ plays into curiosity, implies urgency, a hint of vanity. It makes the reader (unconsciously) ask the question “What do you mean? who?”. Then the call to action promises to answer that question.” Komal Helyer Marketing Director Pure360 What’s your favourite subject line? Need a new bag? — Vivienne Westwood Why? “The majority of subject lines are pretty boring! To stand out, brands need to think creatively. This doesn’t mean getting overly complicated. Creativity lies in the ability to use a minimal number of words to provoke a strong emotional response. I love the creative simplicity of the “Need a new bag?” subject line by Vivienne Westwood. It plays into a fashion fan’s desire to stay stylish. This simple four worded question triggers a desire for a new bag in the reader, tempting them to open the email.” Kath Pay Founder & CEO Holistic Email Marketing What’s your favourite subject line? HIIT me with your best squat — Sweaty Betty Why? “It’s witty and a great play on words from a song by one of my old fav’s, Pat Benatar. Curiosity got the better of me and I HAD to open it. When I opened it, I wasn’t disappointed. It had a fab animated gif showing me all about the leggings and their benefits, plus some lovely user generated content, providing social proof. Plus, the copy is lovely and persuasive and draws you in i.e. ‘How you’re wearing them’.” Jenna Tiffany Founder & Strategy Director Let’s Talk Strategy What’s your favourite subject line? A little girl and her Rang-tan – Greenpeace Why? “The reason for choosing this subject line is because it creates intrigue, the combination of the subject line, the sender name (Dame Emma Thompson) and the super subject text which included personalisation ‘Jenna, my name is Emma Thompson, you may know me from films…’ made me click through. After clicking through the content was very gripping highlighting the Palm Oil petition that Green Peace is championing. This was a multichannel campaign encouraging me to share the message on social media with links throughout directly to Facebook and Twitter. I then watched the video on Twitter which was heart breaking and signed the petition, along with 20,000 people. I did all of that just from reading a subject line. This demonstrates the power a subject line has in driving action.” Kristian Bannister Senior Marketing Manager Pure360 What’s your favourite subject line? A beautiful bathtub is inside this email — Glossier Why? “Glossier’s email marketing is grabbing attention for its playful, irreverent and non-salesy approach. The beauty of the enticing subject line ‘A beautiful bathtub is inside this email’ is that when you open it, that’s exactly what you get. No hard sell. It leaves you smiling to yourself and feeling warm towards the brand.” Natalie Rockall Founder and Director Eleven11 Digital What’s your favourite subject line? Good things come to those who open | A special reward for you — Holland & Barrett Why? “It’s hinting at an offer being inside, but leaves me guessing as to what it is – so I need to open the email to find out. A special reward works for me as I’m a loyalty member at Holland & Barrett so I believe they’d have something special for me (over non-loyalty members). Finally, referencing ‘Good things come to those who open’ works for me as it’s in context of an email.” Luke Knight Senior Marketing Manager Pure360 What’s your favourite subject line? Cat Festival + Secret Tequila Party = Your Diary — The Nudge Why? “I always look forward to seeing a new creative subject line from The Nudge, this one particularly made me laugh. I think keeping a continued variety of funny and out-there subjects (if it’s in line with your brand) certainly helps with open rates.” Cara Wilson Digital Marketing Manager Pure360 What’s your favourite subject line? There are two! Here’s the first one: Bag question — Kate Spade Why? “The concise and informal nature of the subject line ‘Bag question’ makes it seem like the email was from someone I knew. I didn’t even clock that the sender was Kate Spade which says something about the impact of a subject line. The email itself is a great design — clean, modern, and like its subject line, concise.” What’s your other favourite subject line? Introducing…the luxury condom – Emerald Street Why? “I don’t know about you, but never have I heard of a luxury condom. And of all the people who’d tell me about it, it’s Emerald Street. Their newsletters are fun, modern and cheeky. And their subject lines cleverly reflect this.” Kevin Claridge Customer Success Director Pure360 What’s your favourite subject line? Last chance to make an offer – Watchfinder Why? “A good example from Watchfinder. While these guys rarely have a lot of work to do with segmentation, this subject line gets the basics right. Relevant, tantalising and urgent.”