That’s curiosity, urgency, relevancy, value and emotion. It’s a system Alex Williams, vice president and creative director of Trendline Interactive, came up with to get more customers opening and acting on email promotions.
“A good subject line must possess at least two of the five CURVE elements,” Williams said. “One of the two elements almost always is the R (relevance) or the V (value).”
One of the most powerful elements in the formula, however, is curiosity, Williams said — as long as it’s used in a genuine way.
“You aren’t curious about things you already know,” he added, and customers can see through “fake” questions easily.
An example of bad/good curiosity techniques:
BAD SUBJECT: Are you ready for summer? (The customer thinks, “Yes,” and hits delete.)
GOOD SUBJECT: Want to spoil yourself like a celebrity at Cannes? (The customer thinks, “Yes,” and opens the email.)
Williams recommends testing subject lines informally among staff, friends, families and good customers. When they read the line, their immediate reaction should be “I want to open that.”
“Ask five people the question you’re thinking about using,” he said. “If they think they already know the answer or don’t answer the way you want, you have a problem with your question.”
