Short.

Hola amigos,

When it comes to subject lines, my advice to you is to think fewer, not less.

By that, I mean you should ask yourself this question: How can I say what I need to say but with fewer words?

Let me explain myself with an example.

• Subject Line 1: Our pre-spring sale starts Friday — get 20% off!

• Subject Line 2: THIS Friday. 20% off!

Both are saying the same thing, Subject Line 1 just happens to say it with 1/3 fewer words.

Does it matter that it’s the pre-spring sale? No. Well, it doesn’t matter to the customer at least. It may matter to some manager or C-level exec somewhere. But not to the customer.

If the word spring mattered to someone, you could always tie its importance in with the sale:

• Subject Line 3: All spring wear = 20% off!

  • Preview Text: Sale runs from Friday to Sunday

Ta-da!

In that example, I used the preview text to compliment the subject line, which is another little trick to “Think fewer, not less”.

Why is any of this important?

Well… because no one really reads your entire subject line. Especially if it’s long.

Moreover, my Outlook inbox (the email provider I use for work) displays about 6 words or 35 characters. THAT’S IT. So all your other linguistic brilliance is hidden behind an ellipsis.

But don’t take my word for it, Jay Schwedelson, the creator of SubjectLine.com — someone who, you know, might know a thing or two about subject lines — takes short, punchy, and intriguing subject lines to its extreme:

Lovely. Stunning. Brave.

If you’re weary of what I’m saying, go out and test it. Run the A/B test on your audience and see what resonates with them.

Like anything in marketing, you don’t know till you know, and it’s hard to know anything if you don’t test and compare.

Until next time,
Andrew