BLACK FRIDAY SALE - up to 57% off memberships for a limited time!

Explore our Email Marketing and Marketing Automation Toolkit

Simple email subject lines are failing to engage consumers

Author's avatar By Kim Greenop-Gadsby 01 Feb, 2017
Essential Essential topic

Chart of the Day: Simple vs complex subject lines

Many email marketers keep their subject lines simple and short, but are these causing recipients to fail to read on?

"Not only does this study suggest that complex language leads to greater email engagement, but it also once again proves the value of testing and optimisation."
~ Nikki Gilliland @ Econsultancy

The Automatic Readability index uses the number of characters to gauge the understandability of a piece of text. And that is what is used to create this rather complicated chart.

The chart shows a steady gradient increase in open% and CTO% as the complexity of the subject line increases. The difference may seem diminutive, but remember that this chart is working on a scale of billions of sends. So it can lead to some significant changes.

Before you start making drastic changes, remember to A/B test your subject lines to see if this appeals to your customers.

Chart of the day: simple email subjects are failing

Author's avatar

By Kim Greenop-Gadsby

I get very excited about all things email because I'm just a #EmailGeekUK. I was born and bred in South Africa and have over 16 years experience in web development and digital marketing. When I'm not being an email geek, I spend my time with my husband, two sons and our menagerie of pets.

Recommended Blog Posts