The answer often has something to do with their subject lines. Although they say not to judge a book by its cover, it can be challenging to avoid evaluating your emails by their subject lines, especially when trimming down an overcrowded inbox.
Did you know Statista states that global email users are projected to grow to 4.73 billion by 2026?
If your school wants its prospects to read emails, you must first master creating eye-catching, enticing Email Subject Lines for Students. After all, what’s the point of developing effective email content if no one opens it in the first place?
To enhance the value of your school’s email campaign, read on to learn how to craft click-worthy subject lines that prospects won’t resist.
Our targeted email marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students.
Discover how we can enhance your recruitment strategy today!
Extra Hurdles for College Admissions Emails
For higher ed marketers hoping to reach prospective and current students, the challenge of creating click-friendly emails may be even more significant. Post-secondary hopefuls are more connected on social media than ever, so your college recruitment team must work extra hard to be heard over a chorus of app notifications, commercial and brand messages, and competing email marketing campaigns.
Half the battle is won if you convince leads to click on your school’s message. Crafting delete-proof subject lines is essential to your overall student recruitment strategy. How can you ensure your subject line gets enough attention for a successful email marketing campaign?
Thankfully, there are a few hard and fast rules for creating the perfect subject line for college admissions emails. Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, we know that all good content begins with consulting your school’s target audience.
Each school has its unique prospective student base. Before you can determine what your subject lines should say, you’ll need to know exactly what will get your prospects’ attention – and student personas are a great way to figure that out. Personas can help you determine which selling points to emphasize and which concerns to address in your subject lines when writing a subject line for an admissions email.
Example: Below is an example of what a student persona could look like. When putting together a persona representing your institution’s audience, you’ll want to consider the background of your desired student body and think critically about their motivations and concerns about attending your school.
Once you’ve pinned down precisely who you’re writing to, you must consider a few fundamental components when launching your next email marketing campaign.
Clarity = Higher Student Open Rates
It can be a tricky balancing act to create email subject lines that is clear enough to communicate their intent to be opened. However, many guides focus on the power of “mysterious” subject lines to get more clicks, claiming that merely wanting to know more will compel recipients to open the message.
Example: Below, a mysterious subject line from the University of Kansas attempts to entice readers but withholds critical information. Readers know they should be excited about something but are unsure what.
- Who is sending the email?
- Why are they sending me the email?
- What’s the point?
Thus, the perfect email subject line captures interest but doesn’t fall short of clarifying its purpose and intent. Setting your recipient’s expectations and stating clearly what’s in the message dramatically boosts its likelihood of avoiding the trash and getting read.
Enticement = Higher Student Open Rates
Example: Instead of keeping information from the recipient, this subject line from Emerson College clearly states what’s inside, enticing the user to open the email to claim the fee waiver.
There’s no need to “tempt” leads with a full-blown mystery. It will serve to confuse rather than attract, which translates quickly into trash. With option number two, the recipient understands who the message is from and what it will contain – but there’s a nice balance of enticement about the special deal on tuition. The questions raised here are of good variety – the sort that prompts readers to click for more information.
Example: Here’s another “before and after.” Again, this is too mysterious to warrant a click. Prospective students will not be swayed by clichéd messaging. They need more reason than vague allusions to click on your school’s message.
The second subject line would be much more effective. The enticement lies in discovering those thousands of reasons, and the sender is very good about identifying both the school and the program.
When it comes to education lead generation, don’t let the mystery muddle the meaning. Use your marketing team’s creative muscle to address your target personas’ concerns and interests genuinely.
Keep Email Subject Lines for Students on the Short Side
While length isn’t the sole determinant of open rate, schools today will want to consider the effect of mobile devices on subject line visibility. According to data from Hubspot, 75% of Gmail view emails on mobile devices rather than laptops or computers. Typically, users can only see around 25 subject line characters when browsing their email on a mobile app.
Considering mobile devices’ impact on how an email is displayed, it’s essential to consider this factor when creating your school’s subject lines. To ensure that your school’s subject lines are scannable for all recipients, consider keeping them shorter than 50 characters as a best practice. Avoid unnecessary wordiness; instead, opt for clear and concise phrasing.
Example: McGill University uses a short-form subject line to its advantage, allowing users to view the message fully before opening it on their mobile device.
When keeping your subject lines short, another way to catch a user’s attention without being too wordy is to include a brief question. Posing a riveting question is a great way to make your audience stop and think while scrolling their inbox, increasing the chances that they’ll open the email to find the answer.
Example: This email from Kingston University asks a simple but intriguing question and promises the answer. This is a great way to make a subject line concise without being too vague.
By approaching email subject lines with the understanding that shorter is often more successful, you can craft scannable phrases that say a lot in just a few words and, in turn, look forward to email subject lines with high open rates.
Make the Preview Text Count
Yes, you want your subject line to be short, but what if you could make the sneak peek that readers get of your email’s content even more valuable? Preview text is shown after the subject line of an email, revealing the first few words of the email. While the exact amount of preview text shown will ultimately depend on the email host and device used, your school can still control the message that the preview text contains. Maximizing the preview text will further entice the reader and provide more information while still being easy to read.
Example: Below is an example of the type of preview text that your school will want to avoid in its emails. Instead of further enhancing the subject line’s message, the preview text here is wasted on an automated message that doesn’t relate to the email’s content.
While the above is an example of what not to do, the school below demonstrates a great way to maximize preview text, further specifying the enrollment deadline and elaborating on the acronym used for the program.
Regarding best practices around email subject lines for students, using preview text wisely is a fool-proof way to improve your open rates. Using all available space prevents your school from missing any opportunities to generate leads.
Personalize Your Subject Line for College Admissions Emails
With all this talk about the benefits of tailoring your emails to your personas, why not go the extra mile and include your prospect’s name in the subject line?
Personalized subject lines stand out amongst a sea of anonymous messages. If prospects see their name bolded in their email inbox, they are more likely to take notice.
This doesn’t mean you have to create unique emails for every lead. CRM and marketing automation software can help speed up the process.
Example: In HubSpot, you can add a “personalization token” to customize your subject lines based on a specific contact property. In this case, the subject line will start with your contact’s first name.
The resulting subject line may look something like this one from Yorkville University:
While including a name is the most popular option for customized subject lines, you could also personalize your emails based on other factors, such as program of interest, age group, or location.
Example: This email from Western New England University uses location to appeal to students, specifically targeting this subject line to potential students in Colorado.
While personalization can be a great way to catch your audience’s attention and make them feel special, avoiding the ‘creep factor’ here is important. With too much personalization, students may become deterred by the feeling that your school has too much information about them.
Use Student Persona-Powered Language in Email Subject Lines for Higher Education
In marketing, certain words carry more persuasive power than others. No matter your school’s industry, target audience, or goals, the words you use in your content will directly impact your marketing outcomes. Why? Because words can change meaning, mood, and motivation.
Language choice is critical when creating email subject lines for higher education. It determines whether your email gets opened and the initial impression your institution makes on recipients.
Something else to consider when developing your school’s email marketing strategy is to avoid using a “sales pitch” when crafting email subject lines. This is especially true for schools that want to be known as institutions of learning, not profit-driven businesses. The advice aligns with our discussion regarding persona-worthy email subject lines.
Example: This London Business School email uses personalized subject lines and the word “us” to create a down-to-earth subject line that feels more like a conversation than an automated email.
Use Persona Keywords To Target Your Students
However, one could (and should) push the concept of language power further by identifying the keywords most likely to resonate with specific student personas. What are your school’s primary target audiences? Which keywords should you incorporate into your subject lines to help boost open rates?
For example, many colleges focus on affordability content to convert cost-conscious students. If this issue is fundamental to your target personas, why not incorporate affordability keywords into some of your educational email subject lines? These could include:
- Lower tuition
- Debtless degrees
- Affordable training
- Work-study program
- Job placement success
Example: Schools want to avoid sounding like they’re trying to sell a product. Instead, college marketers should list appropriate keywords for their target audiences and craft precise, compelling, relevant email subject lines around those ideas. The Newmark J-School, for example, appeals to an audience of potential students who need financial aid for their studies.
Once you’ve crafted a compelling subject line, the next step is to ensure you fulfill prospects’ expectations when they begin reading through your email. It’s not enough to create an eye-catching subject line – you’ll need to back up your claims in the body of your email. That way, you’ll sustain your prospects’ attention from their initial click to your email signature.
When you adopt personalized, engaging, and informative subject lines for your school, you’ll see the success of your email marketing campaigns grow. Not only will your prospective students be opening emails and reading the valuable information they’re receiving, but they’ll also be one step closer to confirming their decision to study at your institution.
**This blog was originally published in August 2014 but has been updated and expanded to reflect the latest industry trends and developments.
Our targeted email marketing services can help you attract and enroll more students.
Discover how we can enhance your recruitment strategy today!
FAQs To Consider:
How do you write a subject in an email for school?
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, we know that all good content begins with consulting your school’s target audience.
What do I put in the subject line of a college email?
College marketers should list appropriate keywords for their target audiences and craft precise, compelling, relevant email subject lines around those ideas.
