Super Subject Lines — 7 Tips to Get Your Fundraising Email Opened

The email inbox is a crowded place: To cut through the clutter, your subject line has to be sharp. A bad subject line leads to bad open rates, which will negatively affect your entire email campaign!

Start strong with these seven tips to get your fundraising email opened:

1. Message it right.
   Often, a line that arouses curiosity will spur donors to click. Other times, a benefit-oriented statement will work, such as “Save a hungry child.” Still, other situations require a more direct approach. If you have a matching grant appeal, a multiplier, or a specific offer, spell it out clearly. If you’re sending a year-end email, trumpet urgency and tax deductibility. Or if you’re doing disaster fundraising, be straightforward: “Flooding in Africa — how you can help.” But however you craft your subject line, don’t promise something your email doesn’t deliver.
2. Avoid tricks.
   Especially avoid blatantly misleading subject lines like, “Found your iPhone.”
3. Put the main idea first.
   Front-load your ideas. For example, instead of “Spring e-newsletter reveals three lives changed,” try “3 lives changed — your spring e-newsletter.” 
4. Use brief subject lines.
   Ideally, these should be under 50 characters. Anything more, and most recipients won’t even see the full subject line.
5. Avoid the spam trap.
   Probably the most notorious spam trigger is “free.” But even words and phrases like “Act now,” “amazing,” and “click here” — as well as symbols like exclamation points and ampersands (&) — can set off spam filters. Know what to avoid. Spam-trigger lists and spam checkers are available online.
6. Consider your “from” line.
   If your organization’s name is in the "from" line, there's no need to repeat it in your subject line.
7. Test.
   A simple A/B test will speak volumes. For example, try pitting a curiosity-based line against a benefit-oriented line, or test with and without first name personalization.