Do you really know what your subject lines look like to customers?
Creating great subject lines can make or break your email performance. If contacts don’t open your emails, they don’t see the email content you crafted.
Once upon a time there were standards for how long a subject line should be. Open rates were dependent upon compelling copy within that character length. The rise of tablets and smartphones with smaller screens changed the game. Desktops typically display 60 characters, while mobile shows 25-30. Technology further evolved with responded with personal setting options that change not only how much subject line appears, but also pull content into the inbox.
The subject line is no longer the only copy factored into open rates these days. What your contact sees before they decide to open or delete varies widely. We tested one email to multiple accounts and devices. The results may surprise you.
The Test:
Deploy one email to multiple email addresses. Open it on various devices with different screen resolutions and settings to see what portion of the message displays in the inbox.
The Subject Line in Our Test:
“How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line is rather long, and not everyone will see the full statement.”
The Results:
Recipient 1 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This sub
Recipient 2 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line… This is my eyebrow copy. My Headline May Show And Finally my body copy Did you event think the first paragraph would show up in the inb…
Recipient 3 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line is rather long, and not everyone will see th
Recipient 4 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line is rather long, and not ev
Recipient 5 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line
Recipient 6 saw:
How much of my Subject line do…This is my eyebrow copy. My Headline may Show And finally my body copy…
Recipient 7 saw:
How much of my Subject Line do you really see? This subject line is rather long, and no…This is my eyebrow copy. My Headline May Show And finally m
So where did that extra copy come from that we see in some messages?
It came from these spots within our email:
And when email design is not done carefully, the text will even pull in the names of your photos and links you did not intend to be part of your messaging at all.
We know the sender doesn't intend for “click here to view in a web browser” or “company logo” or, even worse, an unsubscribe link to appear in the inbox. I receive emails like this almost daily. The person who sent it doesn’t realize I’m seeing different information than they see in a test proof.
So what can you do?
- Design your subject line and messages carefully.
- Don’t just look at your subject line and your email content separately. Instead craft a message that will be powerful no matter which combination of text is displayed.
- Test your emails to ensure you don’t have unintended copy, like unsubscribe here, in the contact’s inbox.
- Look at your analytics to see what devices and screen resolutions your list use most.
- If you need help reviewing your subject line and email template strategy, engage an email expert.