MailerMailer is a professional email marketing platform. They know a thing or two about email and how to get them opened, read and clicked.

Email Marketing is something I write a lot about. It’s also something I teach. One of the most common questions people ask me about email marketing is, “What do I write in the subject line?”

What to write depends on a lot of different factors. How to write a successful subject line, however, comes with fewer variables.

What’s The Ideal Subject Line Length?

In crunching the data based on 49,000 email campaigns, here are a couple of findings from MailerMailer’s research.

For open rate , the optimal length for a subject line is 28-39 characters .

, the optimal length for a subject line is 28-39 . For click rate , the optimal length for a subject line is 51+ characters .

, the optimal length for a subject line is 51+ . Subjects that sparked emotions of anticipation, curiosity and urgency generated more opens

Keeping it short is definitely the main takeaway from the research. It’s important to remember the vast majority of people reading emails these days are doing so on mobile devices. That means limited real estate to display subject lines.

Tweet Quote The optimal length for an email subject line is 28-39 characters.

Writing Better Subject Lines

In addition to keeping your subject lines short, and considering trying to evoke some kind of emotion, here are a few other tips.

Make it Relevant: Show the receiver how the message applies to them.

Show the receiver how the message applies to them. Try A Question: Sometimes a question is the best way to engage them in the conversation.

Sometimes a question is the best way to engage them in the conversation. Personalize: In some capacity, make the subject line mean something to them.

Writing subject lines is a bit of an art form. It’s something I experiment with on a near daily basis as I attempt to find the best combination of the variables to get emails opened, read and replied to.

Which leads to a final point… track the data!

Pay attention to the subject lines that are producing the best results for you and use them to attempt to replicate continued success.

Also take note of the subject lines that appear in your inbox daily that get you to open emails. What can you learn from them?

Inboxes are inundated more than ever these days. If you want to keep generating results, you’ve got to keep learning and experimenting to figure out what works best.