Sharpen Your Subject Lines With This Testing Tool
Nonprofit Communications Report · 2024
If open rates appear lower than usual, a free subject line tester can offer insights to help you reach your audience. Drop a sample phrase into this free tool provided by Omnisend to quickly evaluate the strength of your hook based on criteria such as length, word count, the presence of negative words, scannability and more. Ultimately, you should be aiming for as close to a 100 percent score as possible. “Using a subject line tester can aid in cutting through the influx of emails in one's inbox,” says Jessica Ketz, digital marketing manager for FORM (Chagrin Falls, OH), a digital-first marketing agency for mission-driven organizations. “Getting a recipient to even notice an organization's email is the preliminary, and toughest, step,” she continues. “Since the primary method of communication for organizations is typically via email, improving a subject line may attract attention or yield a boost in open rates.” Ketz often recommends these kinds of tools to her nonprofit clients when they are looking for advice regarding email campaigns — but not without a few caveats. For example, she cautions nonprofit communicators to avoid relying on them too heavily, as they can become outdated quickly. “Another drawback is that a ‘plug-and-chug’ tool (as I call it) doesn't know your audience(s),” she says. “What fits most doesn't necessarily work in all instances, all the time — using a tool like this doesn't guarantee positive results.” Therefore, communications teams should strive to understand their audience by thoroughly reviewing analytics provided by the email marketing system and by administering occasional surveys to subscription lists. “Also, an organization should know, or get to know, their own voice or brand that will work with their audience,” Ketz adds. “It may take some experimentation, namely running A/B tests if an organization wants to take it to the next level.” However, if you're interested in identifying and rectifying common writing mistakes, a subject line tester can highlight areas for improvement and get those open rates moving in the right direction — up. Source: Jessica Ketz, Digital Marketing Manager, FORM, Chagrin Falls, OH. Phone (216) 921-9460. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.theformgroup.com