Save Your Email Blasts from the Spam Folder
Email blasts are often created with all the focus on the content, 
leaving out one of the most crucial aspects of the email: the subject line.A well-crafted subject line can help you achieve your goals of reaching new patients and generating leads by encouraging a click to your content. If your subject line is confusing, misleading, or spammy, your email could end up in the Spam folder – relegated by triggering a spam filter or a user’s disinterest.
Good Subject Lines Require Balancing Act
Subject lines need to balance being informative and intriguing, without being deceptive. You need to set up the content as something that is interesting enough for a click. If you make your subject line boring or you describe the content all in one line, patients will not be enticed to click. On the flip side, if you make your subject line too ambiguous or don’t deliver content the subject line promises, you will lose readers. Below are some dos and don’ts of subject lines.
Dos of Subject Lines
- Promote Promotions
- Include Deadlines
- Simple word choice, “newest”, “limited”, “now”
Don’ts of Subject Lines
- All caps
- Exclamation points
- “Free”, “Percent Off”
- Boring subject lines
How to Write Subject Lines to Increase Open Rate
- Length: A good rule of thumb is keep your subject line within 50 characters or else the email provider will cut off the subject line.
- Word Choice: Leave out Spam folder triggers like “FREE!!!”, “Percent Off”, and “Reminder”. Keep it simple and interesting.
- Call to Action: Adding a call to action like “Call Today” or “Register Now” will help increase your open rate.
- Review: Write your subject line as if you were receiving the email, would you open it? Remember your subject line is competing with all the rest in your reader’s inboxes.
If you need inspiration, we included good and bad examples in subject lines.
Bad Subject Lines
- September Newsletter (boring)
- FREE Laser Hair Removal with Purchase of Spa Package!! (all caps and exclamation points)
- Acme’s Dental Practice Event this Thursday (no call to action)
- J. Smith’s Aesthetic Practice Now Has Exilis (no reason to click)
Good Subject Lines
- 3 Ways to Welcome Fall with Us in September (interesting)
- An Exclusive Gift Just for You with our Spa Package (no sales gimicks)
- Register Today for Our Thursday Program – 10 Spaces Left (call to action with urgency)
- Announcing Our Newest Anti Wrinkle Laser Treatment (simple and effective word choice)
- 4 Reasons Not To Miss Out On Our Latest Special (create value with useful reminders)
- Relatives in town? Treat Yourself at Our Spa Day (being seasonal is being relevant)
By giving subject lines extra attention, you can encourage your readers to open emails instead of sending them to the Spam folder. Standing out from the rest of the emails in your readers’ inboxes is hard enough and by following our guide your emails can improve in open rate.
Contact us if you have any questions on how to write interesting subject lines for your patients.