Top Performing Email Subject Lines for Small Businesses

We send a lot of emails on behalf of our customers … 102,500,000 last year to be exact. We’ve found that there’s a symbiotic relationship between email subject lines, open rates and increased sales. Email opens are key to gaining more business and carefully crafted subject lines are essential for better email open rates. But many business owners don’t give this much thought and instead default to unoriginal, dry subject lines. The downfall: These emails have notoriously low open rates.

So what can you write to entice readers to open an email and engage in your content? At OutboundEngine, we craft eye-catching, branded emails on behalf of our customers, and we work hard to ensure high delivery rates that are well above industry averages. After reviewing the emails we sent on behalf of business owners across many different industries in 2016, we’ve determined which three subject lines for each received the most opens. Here’s a list of the top performing email subject lines and their corresponding header images to help you build a solid strategy for 2017.

The industries covered in this post are:

• Financial Advisors
• Home Services
• Legal – Criminal Defense
• Digital Marketing Agencies
• Health and Wellness
• Automotive

Financial Advisors:

1: Is 2016 the year you pay with your phone?

2: What’s the one thing that every successful investor does?

3: How to Make Your Travel Dreams a Reality

Home Services:

1: 7 Safety Essentials for Your Home

2: 4 Backyard Water Features for Your Enjoyment

3: 4 Basic Electrical Upgrades for the DIYer

Legal – Criminal Defense:

1: Do you have to tell police who you are?

2: What kind of lawyer do I need?

3: What is your right to remain silent?

Marketing Agencies:

1: Is email an essential ingredient in your marketing mix?

3: Understanding the Latest SEO Best Practices

Health and Wellness:

1: 5 Surprising Health Benefits of Massage Therapy

2: How much should you exercise for a longer life?

3: Surprising Benefits of Curiosity and How to Cultivate It

Automotive:

1: Tires 101: What to Look For and What to Check

2: Cool New Safety Features Available in 2016 Vehicles

3: Tips for Dealing With a Traffic Ticket

Wrap-up

In 2016 the most highly engaged emails we crafted were written to help, not sell. The stats we’ve accumulated clearly show that the more creative and helpful an email subject line is, the more engaged the end reader will be. Not only that, but when you send interesting content, the likelihood of your emails getting forwarded to other people increases significantly.

By writing enticing email subject lines and providing sincere and valuable content, you encourage active readership and continued engagement. This not only goes a long way toward building a strong relationship, but it also increases repeat business and referrals from your past clients.

Download our Email Marketing Roadmap to make sure your emails are headed in the right direction.