While often neglected, the email subject line is the first piece of your communication that employees will see. They’re critical because they help employees quickly filter their crowded inboxes, which means that having a good email subject line could be the difference between capturing employee attention and being ignored. But how do you know which types of subject lines work for your population, and which don’t?
To help you figure out how to get more employees to open the Tiles Email, we’ve introduced a new feature called “A/B Subject Line Testing.”
You’ll now have the ability to run experiments to learn what employees will respond to. Here’s how it works: Employees will receive one of two subject line options at random. You’ll then be able to use metrics on employee logins to determine which variation performed better.
If done consistently, A/B testing can improve your Airbo participation. When you know what works and what doesn’t, it’s easier to create more effective subject lines that get employees to pay attention. You don’t need to use this feature for every email, but just remember to keep testing regularly, as things do change over time.
Here’s how to set up your test in Send:
Add a subject line like you normally would under Email Subject, such as “New Tiles.”
Underneath the Email Subject field, you’ll see a new field called Alternate Subject. Add your second subject line. Try one that tells your employees exactly what is in the email, like “New Tiles: New hires, earn $250 in incentives, and more!”
Send your email
Note: If you send yourself a test email, you’ll receive both versions of the email.
When you send your Tiles email, 50% of your population will automatically receive one email subject line, and 50% will receive the other.
Once employees start to interact with the email, you’ll be able to see the unique logins from your subject line test in the Reports tab, under Tile Emails.
If you’d like to test statistical significance of what subject performed better, we like this tool from Get Data Driven that that allows you just to plug in your numbers..
Want to use this feature or just revamp your subject lines, but not sure how?
Here are 4 best practices that we’ve uncovered over the years for crafting an effective email subject line. We’ve found that with improved subject lines, our customers' average participation rates increased 45% within 4 weeks.
Keep it short and sweet. Try to limit to no more than 75 characters.
Tell your employees exactly what is inside, and why it is valuable to them. If you are sharing Airbo Tiles about your company’s 401(k) plan, a company event, and a new hire, use a subject line like: “Updates to your 401(k), RSVP to our summer cruise, & welcome our new CFO.”
Channel your inner Buzzfeed and use numbers. If you send out several Tiles at once during Open Enrollment, use a subject line like: “4 Tiles with your 2018 Open Enrollment To-Dos”
Keep it fresh. Repeating the same subject line week after week is a recipe for the trash. Employees are more likely to delete an email with a subject line that they’ve previously seen. It’s important to establish a brand, but each new email’s subject line should preview specifically what is inside.
A great way to get started using this feature is to test an email subject line similar to what you’ve been using in past emails, and then create one that follows the suggestions from the list above.
If you need any help crafting a subject line, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Customer Success Representative or email support@airbo.com.